Energy performance analysis of residential buildings in Bari, in the South of Italy

Refurbishment of existing residential buildings and energy saving represent important aspects of environmental sustainability, against the problems of greenhouse gas emissions and scarcity of resources. Many economic interests have turned built heritage into a global energy problem: they have not respected the places and the different climatic areas. It has caused damage to urban landscape and the deterioration of living conditions. Nevertheless, built heritage is an opportunity to apply many technologies to achieve significant improvements in comfort and thermal performance. Therefore, this work focuses on thermal analysis about one of the most common building types in the city of Bari, in the South of Italy. The aim is to obtain an estimate of energy consumption of a part of the city: energy simulation softwares, such as DesignBuilder / EnergyPlus and Mc4, are useful to evaluate the thermal performances of studied buildings and to compare dynamic and steady state results. In fact, in Mediterranean area, the evaluation of their thermal performance is necessary because if, on one hand, buildings have low insulation in winter, on the other hand, they need cooling in summer. These data are essential to understand the influence of this building type on the heat balance of the city. The results permit us to obtain a detailed analysis of a significant area in the city of Bari using GIS technologies that allow us to estimate the energy needs of built heritage on a territorial level. In this context, it is possible to carry out a mapping of the studied area and its energy needs. In this way, it can be used to choose some retrofit strategic actions in order to improve the energy performance of buildings for sustainable energy planning

Façade retrofitting: from energy efficiency to climate change mitigation

Abstract Since climate changes are now evident, it is not only important to achieve high level of energy efficiency, but also to think about retrofit actions in order to mitigate the natural hazard impacts and to make buildings resilient. The paper focuses on climate change effects in summer and investigates how it is possible to reduce them through facade retrofitting solutions (external insulation, PCM, green wall, cool materials) in Mediterranean climate. The goal is to develop a set of climatic resilience indicators for opaque envelopes in order to consider resilience ability against climate change, both inside and outside of buildings

Re-interpretation of an ancient passive cooling strategy: a new system of wooden lattice openings

Abstract Traditional passive cooling strategies are a very important tool in Mediterranean architecture to face climate changes and to limit energy consumption, both in new and ancient buildings, toward sustainability and reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Starting from the traditional architectural culture, the aim of the study is to understand how using and re-interpreting ancient constructive elements that interact with the outdoor environment, in order to assure the indoor thermal-hygrometric comfort. In this regard, the paper proposes the study of a new system of wooden lattice openings to be installed in Mediterranean buildings. It originates from the Islamic architecture and it is used especially to control natural light into the buildings. Actually, it has also the function to regulate the airflow into the indoor environment, mitigating the climate conditions and ensuring the comfort of inhabitants. For this reason, the research proposes the analysis of this system through modern computational tools and demonstrates that it can guarantee better indoor summer conditions, improving wind velocity and air change rate in the room

The color in the vernacular bioclimatic architecture in Mediterranean region

Abstract The building sector plays a crucial role in relation to energy and environmental issues. For this reason, today, it pays great attention to the need of a bioclimatic architecture closely related to environment, history and traditions of the various places. In this context, the guidelines for careful planning of environmental issues can be traced precisely in vernacular architecture, the result of a close link with the territories and a great sensitivity towards nature. This study focuses on an example of vernacular Mediterranean architecture, represented by the old town of Ostuni (Puglia, Italy). The objective is to analyze the peculiarities of the building and urban layout, with particular attention to the external coating with white lime base, showing in detail the influence of the staining on microclimatic conditions. The results of the carried out analysis highlight the benefits and weaknesses of studied constructive solutions. Thus, it is supported the view that it is necessary to rediscover and be inspired by the vernacular architecture, not representing them as anachronistic, but always drawing on the contributions of technical and scientific progress. The research points out the influence of exterior finishing surfaces on the energy performance of buildings as well as on the outdoor thermal and visual comfort of the inhabitants

Improving the indoor climate of the traditional Ottoman houses in the Medina of Algiers

n/

Recovery of ancient bioclimatic strategies for energy retrofit in historical buildings: the case of the Infants' Tower in the Alhambra

Abstract Among Mediterranean historical buildings, the Andalusi architecture is the result of an intuitive and experimental process of adaptation to the surrounding environment. The medieval Muslims coped with difficult climatic conditions in al-Andalus through passive cooling strategies, paying attention also to the thermal comfort. The paper focuses, in particular, on natural ventilation in the Infants' Tower in the Alhambra of Granada. It has eight mashrabiyas at the top whose performance is investigated through a CFD model, in order to understand their contribution to the improvement of indoor thermal comfort and rational energy use during summer

The energy renovation pathway to ZEB in Italy: Analysis of typical buildings and methodological aspects

The evolution towards high-energy efficient buildings is one of the most important challenges today and is in line with the objectives set by the new European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) which provides for the decarbonization of entire building stock by 2050. The study starts from the analysis of the current regulatory framework in Europe and Italy, highlighting the lack of homogeneity in the methods of transposition of European directives by the Member States already at the “nearly zero energy buildings” level (nZEB). Starting from these considerations, the critical analysis of the European and Italian context highlights the need to overcome the standards currently in force and investigate new perspectives for the design of high-efficient buildings in the direction of “zero energy and zero emissions”. For this reason, two residential and office buildings typologies are examined to confirm whether the net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) objective can be achieved through the legislation in force in Italy, starting from nZEB level. The study analyses the energy balance through dynamic simulations and evaluates energy needs of buildings and renewable energy production in order to verify the compliance to ZEB target, on yearly and monthly basis

High Risk of Secondary Infections Following Thrombotic Complications in Patients With COVID-19

Background. This study’s primary aim was to evaluate the impact of thrombotic complications on the development of secondary infections. The secondary aim was to compare the etiology of secondary infections in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Methods. This was a cohort study (NCT04318366) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients hospitalized at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital between February 25 and June 30, 2020. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated by univariable Poisson regression as the number of cases per 1000 person-days of follow-up (PDFU) with 95% confidence intervals. The cumulative incidence functions of secondary infections according to thrombotic complications were compared with Gray’s method accounting for competing risk of death. A multivariable Fine-Gray model was applied to assess factors associated with risk of secondary infections. Results. Overall, 109/904 patients had 176 secondary infections (IR, 10.0; 95% CI, 8.8–11.5; per 1000-PDFU). The IRs of secondary infections among patients with or without thrombotic complications were 15.0 (95% CI, 10.7–21.0) and 9.3 (95% CI, 7.9–11.0) per 1000-PDFU, respectively (P = .017). At multivariable analysis, thrombotic complications were associated with the development of secondary infections (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.788; 95% CI, 1.018–3.140; P = .043). The etiology of secondary infections was similar in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Conclusions. In patients with COVID-19, thrombotic complications were associated with a high risk of secondary infections

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries