Passive house optimization for Southern Italy based on the “New Passivhaus Standard”

The IEE Passive-On project has drafted a proposal to adapt that Standard to the conditions that characterize Southern Europe, which is described in this paper together with its rationale. Compared with the original definition, one of the main changes is the introduction of explicit requirements on internal comfort during summer, in parallel to a limit to energy needs for cooling. The dynamic simulations conducted to test the new definition of the Standard in the context of Southern Italy (e.g. Palermo) show that the requirements identified by the Passivhaus Standard can be met by simplifying the envelope technologies (e.g. relaxing air-tightness design value) used in the context of Central Europe and adopting passive cooling strategies appropriately adjusted. Some simplifications of the ventilation system can be compensated by an increased role of thermal insulation of the building envelope and some of the choices can make energy needs tend to zero. In accordance with EN15251, thermal comfort is characterized according to Fanger’s PMV in cases where mechanical cooling is still required for peak situations, and according to the adaptive model where no mechanical cooling is required

Evaluation of building envelope retrofit techniques for reducing energy needs for space cooling.

One of the fastest growing sources of new energy demand is space cooling. According to EU-studies a four-fold growth in air-conditioned space is likely to take place between 1990 and 2020. The energy savings achievable in the end-use space cooling depend on a number of variables related to the building envelope, the plants and to some extent the behaviour of occupants. They are hence complex to evaluate and consequently often underrepresented in energy efficiency programmes and National Plans. This paper is based on some preliminary results of the IEE project KeepCool 2. It discusses in particular: a methodology for bottom-up assessment of the energy savings related to "sustainable summer comfort" solutions; reference base case building typologies are analyzed in 5 European climates, and dynamic simulations are used to calculate the reductions in the energy need for cooling which can be achieved by specific retrofit actions (e.g. additions of effective solar protections, increased thermal insulation, night ventilation, increase of active mass by PCM, low solar absorbance surfaces,...); situations where mechanical cooling can be avoided are evaluated using the Adaptive Comfort model, according to the norm EN 15251. case studies of buildings with good summer comfort and low energy consumption performances, according to the ten steps of the KC2 procedure. the analysis of case studies of "comfort policies" adopted by public and private bodies to ensure summer comfort with low energy consumption (commitments to give priority to heat load reductions instead of introducing mechanical cooling, relaxed dress codes, low thermal insulation chairs, local air velocity increase)

A smartphone-based chemosensor to evaluate antioxidants in agri-food matrices by in situ AuNP formation

In recent years, there has been a continuously growing interest in antioxidants by both customers and food industry. The beneficial health effects of antioxidants led to their widespread use in fortified functional foods, as dietary supplements and as preservatives. A variety of analytical methods are available to evaluate the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of food extracts and beverages. However, most of them are expensive, time-consuming, and require laboratory instrumentation. Therefore, simple, cheap, and fast portable sensors for point-of-need measurement of antioxidants in food samples are needed. Here, we describe a smartphone-based chemosensor for on-site assessment of TAC of aqueous matrices, relying on the antioxidant-induced formation of gold nanoparticles. The reaction takes place in ready-to-use analytical cartridges containing an hydrogel reaction medium preloaded with Au(III) and is monitored by using the smartphone’s CMOS camera. An analytical device including an LED-based lighting system was developed to ensure uniform and reproducible illumination of the analytical cartridge. The chemosensor permitted rapid TAC measurements of aqueous samples, including teas, herbal infusions, beverages, and extra virgin olive oil extracts, providing results that correlated with those of the reference methods for TAC assessment, e.g., oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)

seasonal abundance of the nearctic gall midge obolodiplosis robiniae in italy and the impact of its antagonist platygaster robiniae on pest populations

The Nearctic gall midge Obolodiplosis robiniae (Haldeman, 1847) (Diptera Cecidomyiidae) infesting black locusts, Robinia pseudoacacia L. (Fabaceae), was detected in Asia in 2002 and in Europe (first in Italy) in 2003. Its distribution in Europe has expanded dramatically, probably favored by extensive distribution of its host plant along the main routes. The results of a 3-yr study on the seasonal abundance of O. robiniae in northern Italy are reported here. O. robiniae can develop three to four generations per year by exploiting plants of different ages and vigor. Overwintering takes place as diapausing larvae and adults emerge in spring. Two generations are completed on mature plants where populations decline in summer. Two additional generations can develop on root suckers from midsummer onward. Pest population densities reach their highest levels in late spring. Gall midge larvae were attacked by various predators, but parasitism by the platygastrid Platygaster robiniae Buhl & Duso was particularly significant. The impact of parasitism by P. robiniae is indicated as a key factor in reducing O. robiniae population densities

From the Apennines to the Alps: recent range expansion of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata L., 1758 (Mammalia: Rodentia: Hystricidae) in Italy

In the last few decades, the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata L., 1758) showed a marked range expansion in Italy. Published and unpublished material was collected to reconstruct this phenomenon. Data were gathered by means of: (i) specific papers on crested porcupine distribution and more generic books and articles, (ii) expert collaboration in various Italian regions and (iii) information from the national Vertebrates mailing list. Until the 1970s, H. cristata was only present in Central and Southern Italy, mostly in the western part. Since 1978, the porcupine has been protected by Italian national law. The species first crossed the Apennines from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Marche, where the expansion to the north may have begun, and then reached the northernmost regions. An analysis of the potential distribution of the species was performed in a species distribution modeling framework (Maxent). The model suggested a high suitability of most of the Central and Southern Italian Peninsula for H. cristata, including the two major islands. Northern Italy proved suitable for the species' establishment only in some central and western areas of the Po Valley. The core areas of the Apennines and of the Alps, as well as some areas characterized by low annual rainfall, were predicted as unsuitable. Historical and social factors related to the progressive urbanization and the consequent abandonment of the traditional land use in mountain landscapes probably helped the re-expansion of forests and uncultivated fields. Three introduced populations have been detected in Sardinia, Liguria and the province of Varese. In order to make the data collected easily consultable and to give people the opportunity to contribute to a continuous updating of the distributional map of the species, a web page dedicated to H. cristata was set up, in the framework of an open-source wildlife mapping project. © 2013 Unione Zoologica Italiana

Climate optimised building parameters for low energy summer comfort under a discomfort index

An in-dept analysis of a large office building built in the 60s (occupied by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, chosen for its representa- tivity of buildings built in the 50Ks and 60Ks) has been performed. A software model of the build- ing has been created and used to simulate its be- haviour in the climate zone of Rome, using a dynamic simulation software. Then a building with the same geometry and same internal gains but with higher storage mass (m > 350 kg/m2, calculated with the method of Heindl T ISO 13786, 1994), selective glazing (U value of windows < 1,8 W/m2K), movable ex- ternal blinds (solar factor: g < 0,15) and a sim- ple night ventilation strategy has been simulated and optimized to achieve good comfort condi- tions at low or no energy consumption for me- chanical cooling. Blinds have been designed and simulated to obtain required shading without penalizing daylighting. We calculate the values of the thermo- physical parameters which minimise a discom- fort index. elaborated starting from the PMV scale of Fanger. Comparison of the coriginal buildingsd to the coptimized buildingsd shows: - a 85% reduction of discomfort index suppos- ing the buildings are not air-conditioned; - a 30% to 80% reduction in energy consump- tion for cooling supposing the buildings are air-conditioned. A consequent reduction of greenhouse gases emission up to 70÷100 tCO2-eq/year. The analysis leads to a proposal for munici- pal building codes optimized to the climate zone, where the installation of air conditioning is allowed, in new buildings or large retrofits, only if certain target values are achieved by the building envelope and structure

Methodology for design and evaluation of zero energy buildings in mediterranean climate. Application to a Passivhaus with EAHE.

We discuss how the current definitions of zero-energy building should be completed with explicit descriptions of the comfort models adopted and how this could influence the design phase via a formal optimization procedure. We discuss with a concrete example the potentialities of the long term comfort indexes presented in EN15251 within this optimization procedure, problems and ways to overcome them. We present the results of a measurement campaign conducted on a Passivhaus built in Pianura Padana (Italy). In particular we discuss the performances of the earth-air heat exchanger (EAHE), based on metered data. We analyse the fulfilment of comfort category III (existing buildings) indoor thermal comfort conditions through the two years continuous measurements of air temperature and relative humidity in different zones of the building and through detailed measurements for shorter periods. The behaviour of the system envelope-EAHE, were calculated with the use of a dynamic simulation software. Metered results and outputs of dynamic simulation are compared. Dynamic simulations of the integrated model of the building and the EAHE are then used to develop optimised configurations in climates of the Centre and South of Italy through a parametric analysis of the main design and control variables. Further work is ongoing and will be reported in future papers

Estimating transmissivity from specific capacity for artesian aquifers in the middle Venetian alluvial plain (NE, Italy).

XXXVIII I.A.H. Congress, Groundwater quality sustainability, 2010, Krakow, PL