Special issue "Smart Urban Lighting Systems"

The design and operation of multifunctional infrastructures for public lighting as well as their impact on the urban environment and citizens' life is today of great interest. The cost of energy for public lighting is often an issue for the budget of municipalities. Furthermore, researchers' and designers' attention is increasingly focused on aspects of public lighting not directly valuable through economic factors. Starting from the "quality" of the light environment, looking at citizens' visual comfort, the light has to be considered as an instrument to improve the urban context and objects therein (including buildings). Indeed, urban degradation (lack of infrastructures, maintenance, services, etc.) is linked to the poor quality of everyday issues, such as traffic, pollution, noise, lack of information, long times to access focal points, and the lack of safety. Simultaneously, in many areas, the potential related to the valorization of historical heritage is often underexploited. The installation of efficient lighting systems coupled with the implementation of ICT solutions can provide economic, social, and health benefits, energy efficiency, and visual comfort. On the other hand, as for indoor lighting, these systems can be expensive, not easy to maintain, and not as efficient as expected. The aim of this Special Issue was to investigate the problems and advantages of smart urban lighting systems in more detail. This Special Issue included 6 papers of the 10 submitted papers

Explainable post-occupancy evaluation using a humanoid robot

The paper proposes a new methodological approach for evaluating the comfort condition using the concept of explainable post occupancy to make the user aware of the environmental state in which (s)he works. Such an approach was implemented on a humanoid robot with social capabilities that aims to enforce human engagement to follow recommendations. The humanoid robot helps the user to position the sensors correctly to acquire environmental measures corresponding to the temperature, humidity, noise level, and illuminance. The distribution of the last parameter due to its high variability is also retrieved by the simulation software Dialux. Using the post occupancy evaluation method, the robot also proposes a questionnaire to the user for collecting his/her preferences and sensations. In the end, the robot explains to the user the difference between the suggested values by the technical standards and the real measures comparing the results with his/her preferences and perceptions. Finally, it provides a new classification into four clusters: True positive, true negative, false positive, and false negative. This study shows that the user is able to improve her/his condition based on the explanation given by the robot

Comparison between the performances of daylight linked control system at two different latitudes

The aim of this work is to compare the performance of a daylight-linked control system installed and tested in two different case studies by means of a set of indices. The two case studies are characterized by different geometry, location and windows orientation. The first one is located at the ENEA premises in Lampedusa (IT, 35° 30' N); the second one is located in Palermo (IT, 38°6' N) on the third floor of the building 9 of the Department of Engineering if the University of Palermo. In both cases, the indices were calculated by using the same daylight-linked control system and the same end-use (office). The results were reported and analysed in order to demonstrate as the performances of the control system can be different from the ideal performance and that they can be different according to the installation. Furthermore, according to the first outcomes, it results that a detailed analysis of the space before the installation of the control system is a necessary practice

Modeling of light pipes for the optimal disposition in buildings

A light pipe is an excellent solution to transport and distribute daylight into environments without or with little lighting, guaranteeing comfort inside the rooms. As stated in the literature, the evaluation of the performances of light pipes presents numerous complexities, making the work very difficult for technicians and designers. This study is aimed to present a methodology that is able to identify the potential of light pipes using indices such as daylight autonomy (DA), continuous daylight autonomy (DAc), and useful daylight illuminance (UDI). This paper presents an analysis of daylight obtained by several configurations of simple models of light pipes installed into a 5 7 5 m plant area room. All simulations are carried out in a DAYSIM environment, which allows calculating the annual availability of daylight based on a RADIANCE raytracer backward. Several daylight conditions were analyzed for different light pipe configurations, considering different pipe lengths and a variable number of light pipes. The light pipes are tested also in the horizontal position, for different orientations. The results of all the combinations were compared with the performances of a window with dimensions equal to 1/8 of the internal surface, which was in accordance with the minimum value to be guaranteed by the Italian Regulation (D.M. 5 July 1975 n. 190) for different orientations. The results indicated a difference in daylight distribution, showing a strong correlation between the percentage levels of DA and DAc with the length and number of pipes, during different periods of the year. The simulated model is strongly influenced by the aspect ratio (R = diameter/length). The results show that the illuminance levels decrease drastically, increasing the length

Alternative energy storage options for heat pump water heater coupled with photovoltaic plant for domestic hot water production

The present work relies on the topic of energy storage for Heat and Electricity applied to Heat Pump Water Heaters coupled with photovoltaic plants for Domestic Hot Water production. The main idea is to evaluate the possibility to exploit the water tank as heat storage for the produced photovoltaic energy and, where appropriate combined with electrical storage. For this reason, two heat pumps with different volume size have been chosen and smart control strategies have been applied while monitoring the water temperature in the tank. Calculations account on tapping profile inferred from monitored data of a representative end-user in a Mediterranean small island. Results show how the combination of smart control strategies and battery systems is the most suitable solution in order to fulfil the domestic hot water energy demand by renewable sources while maintaining comfort requirements

A survey on daylighting education in italian universities. Knowledge of standards, metrics and simulation tools

Daylighting is a strategic topic to achieve sustainable buildings, so it is more and more imperative that it is implemented in architecture curricula to prepare a new generation of daylighting-oriented practitioners. In this frame, the DAYKE project (Daylight Knowledge in Europe) was set up to explore the level of knowledge about daylighting among European professionals and students. DAYKE-Europe was replicated as DAYKE-Italy to study the knowledge of daylight standards, metrics and software among Italian architecture students, and to compare it to that observed within DAYKE-Europe. A sample of 542 questionnaires were collected in five universities. Primary outcomes were: (i) a general low level of knowledge on daylighting was observed; the most cited metrics were the average daylight factor and the geometrical window-to-floor ratio, while climate-based daylight metrics were rarely mentioned; (ii) master science M.Sc. students reported more knowledge on daylight metrics and regulations than bachelor B.Sc. students, while the implementation of daylight metrics and strategies in projects was mainly deficient among B.Sc. students; (iii) compared to European students (DAYKE-Europe), Italian students showed a higher knowledge of daylight metrics and software (especially as for M.Sc. students), while the opposite was observed for standards, regulations and protocols. Based on the results, a reconsideration of daylight education in architecture curricula is recommended

A Survey on Daylighting Education in Italian Universities : Knowledge of Standards, Metrics and Simulation Tools

Daylighting is a strategic topic to achieve sustainable buildings, so it is more and more imperative that it is implemented in architecture curricula to prepare a new generation of daylighting-oriented practitioners. In this frame, the DAYKE project (Daylight Knowledge in Europe) was set up to explore the level of knowledge about daylighting among European professionals and students. DAYKE-Europe was replicated as DAYKE-Italy to study the knowledge of daylight standards, metrics and software among Italian architecture students, and to compare it to that observed within DAYKE-Europe. A sample of 542 questionnaires were collected in five universities. Primary outcomes were: (i) a general low level of knowledge on daylighting was observed; the most cited metrics were the average daylight factor and the geometrical window-to-floor ratio, while climate-based daylight metrics were rarely mentioned; (ii) master science M.Sc. students reported more knowledge on daylight metrics and regulations than bachelor B.Sc. students, while the implementation of daylight metrics and strategies in projects was mainly deficient among B.Sc. students; (iii) compared to European students (DAYKE-Europe), Italian students showed a higher knowledge of daylight metrics and software (especially as for M.Sc. students), while the opposite was observed for standards, regulations and protocols. Based on the results, a reconsideration of daylight education in architecture curricula is recommended

The new Checklist of the Italian Fauna: marine Mollusca.

The mollusc fauna of the Mediterranean Sea is still considered as the best-known marine mollusc fauna in the world. The previous modern checklists of marine Mollusca were produced by joint teams of amateurs and professionals. During the last years the Italian Society of Malacology (Società Italiana di Malacologia – S.I.M.) maintained an updated version of the Mediterranean checklist, that served as the backbone for the development of the new Italian checklist. According to the current version (updated on April 1st, 2021), 1,777 recognised species of marine molluscs are present in the Italian Economic Exclusive Zone, including also the Tyrrhenian coasts of Corsica and the continental shelf of the Maltese archipelago. The new checklist shows an increase of 17% of the species reported in the 1995 Checklist. This is largely (yet not solely) due to the new wave of studies based on Integrative Taxonomy approaches. A total of 135 species (7.6%) are strictly endemic to the Italian waters; 44 species (2.5%) are alien and correspond to the 28% of the Mediterranean alien marine molluscs. All eight extant molluscan classes are represented. The families represented in the Italian fauna are 307, an increase of 14.6% from the first checklist, partly due to new records and partly to new phylogenetic systematics. Compared with the whole Mediterranean malacofauna, the Italian component represents 71% in species and 61% in families, which makes it a very remarkable part of the Mediterranean fauna