Influence of Occupant Behaviour Lifestyle on an Italian Social Housing

The Post-Carbon City concept has a decisive effect on the building design, in terms of envelope and system technologies, and, especially, of interaction between the occupant and the building itself. Occupant behaviour lifestyle is one of the most significant driving factors of uncertainty in the prediction of building energy use and thus represents a fundamental aspect that is necessary to modelling. This study examines the difference between the energy consumptions assessed during design phase and the monitored ones for a social housing. Dynamic simulation was employed to demonstrate the impact of occupant behavior lifestyles and household composition on energy uses

Proposal for a modified cost-optimal approach by introducing benefits evaluation

The recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive introduced the concept of nearly-zero energy building and encouraged setting the nearly-zero energy target with a view to cost-optimal level - the energy performance that leads to the lowest cost during the building estimated economic lifecycle. To searching this regard, the cost-optimal methodology based on the global cost was defined providing a tool to assess different nearly-zero energy scenarios. Nowadays, the cost-optimal analysis is used as a decision-making tool between different energy design alternatives mostly on a theoretical level; but it has spread little among the professional field. The aim of this paper is to give a more holistic and all-comprehensive approach to the cost-optimal methodology. This paper proposes and applies a modified approach of the cost-optimal evaluation, which will lead to the achievement of more interesting results for all the actors involved, including investors and final users. This study highlights the usefulness of including not only costs but also benefits that can derive from each energy design scenario. Choosing different energy efficiency solutions, the related benefits evaluation could turn the tables. Different kinds of benefits could be considered as the increase of the real estate market value, the enhancement of the indoor comfort, the reduction of CO2 emissions and others. Thus, a proposal of how quantifying these qualitative benefits in monetary terms is shown to introduce them in the global cost formula. Actually, benefits conversion into monetary values is the most challenging issue. Precisely, this paper shows a list of benefits that can affect the choice of different envelope and HVAC system solutions, pointing out their influence on the global cost evaluation. Certainly, introducing benefits in the global cost formula means using a more holistic and complete approach, while the already complex degree of the cost-optimal methodology – due to the numerous input data –increases. To validate the reviewed global cost formula, it will be necessary to apply it to various case studies

The energy center initiative at politecnico di torino: practical experiences on energy efficiency measures in the municipality of torino

Urban districts should evolve towards a more sustainable infrastructure and greener energy carriers. The utmost challenge is the smart integration and control, within the existing infrastructure, of new information and energy technologies (such as sensors, appliances, electric and thermal power and storage devices) that are able to provide multi-services based on multi-actors and multi and interchangeable energy carriers. In recent years, the Municipality of Torino represents an experimental scenario, in which practical experiences in the below-areas have taken place through a number of projects: 1. energy efficiency in building; 2. smart energy grids management and smart metering; 3. biowaste-to-energy: mixed urban/industrial waste management with enhanced energy recovery from biogas. This work provides an overview and update on the most interesting initiatives of smart energy management in the urban context of Torino, with an analysis and quantification of the advantages gained in terms of energy and environmental efficiency

Sindbad: A new operational service for a safer leisure and boating navigation

The SINDBAD- Leisure and Boating Safety Navigation - project goal is the development of an advanced operational service to support navigation in a specific area. The first prototype covers the Ligurian Sea (a very busy touristic area in the North Mediterranean Sea) It develops an ICT Service Infrastructure to provide innovative intelligent automation functions and to develop customized services, accessible by your mobile device, for conducting a boat and avoiding any kind of risk ensuring the best degree of comfort

Electrify Italy

This study explores a possible pathway to implement a new energy paradigm in Italy based on electrification. The objectives are: • To build a forward-looking vision of possible scenarios at 2022, 2030 and 2050 by integrating a multi-focus perspective on the penetration of renewables and the electrification potential of the residential, industrial and transport sectors. • To estimate the potential benefits of further electrification through the calculation of Key Performance Indicators in four different areas: energy, economy, environment and society. The study shows how the electricity triangle, a paradigm based on clean generation by renewable sources, electrification of final uses, and electricity exchange through efficient smart grids, closes the loop of clean energy and efficient consumption. This leads to improvements in energy, environment, economy and social performances, and boosts the share of renewables in final consumption

Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean - Part 1: Status of operations and a framework for future development

Due to the semi-enclosed nature of the Mediterranean Sea, natural disasters and anthropogenic activities impose stronger pressures on its coastal ecosystems than in any other sea of the world. With the aim of responding adequately to science priorities and societal challenges, littoral waters must be effectively monitored with high-frequency radar (HFR) systems. This land-based remote sensing technology can provide, in near-real time, fine-resolution maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with reliable directional wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network and the future roadmap for orchestrated actions. Ongoing collaborative efforts and recent progress of this regional alliance are not only described but also connected with other European initiatives and global frameworks, highlighting the advantages of this cost-effective instrument for the multi-parameter monitoring of the sea state. Coordinated endeavors between HFR operators from different multi-disciplinary institutions are mandatory to reach a mature stage at both national and regional levels, striving to do the following: (i) harmonize deployment and maintenance practices; (ii) standardize data, metadata, and quality control procedures; (iii) centralize data management, visualization, and access platforms; and (iv) develop practical applications of societal benefit that can be used for strategic planning and informed decision-making in the Mediterranean marine environment. Such fit-for-purpose applications can serve for search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, the monitoring of extreme events, the investigation of transport processes, and the connectivity between offshore waters and coastal ecosystems. Finally, future prospects within the Mediterranean framework are discussed along with a wealth of socioeconomic, technical, and scientific challenges to be faced during the implementation of this integrated HFR regional network

Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean - Part 2: Applications in support of science priorities and societal needs

The Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate-change hot spot, with many socioeconomically vital coastal areas being the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, high-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in coastal ocean observing systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-user and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: (i) maritime safety, (ii) extreme hazards and (iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean coastal areas required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to provide a set of recommendations for future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution to extending science-based HFR products into societally relevant downstream services to support blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU's Green Deal goals