A Holistic Approach for Energy Renovation of the Town Hall Building in a Typical Small City of Southern Italy

Assimakopoulos, Margarita-Niki; Papadaki, Dimitra; Tariello, Francesco; Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter

doi:10.3390/su12187699

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Assimakopoulos et al [8] highlighted that adding volume to existing buildings offers numerous benefits beyond energy efficiency, potentially motivating occupants, tenants, and communities to actively engage in the design process. This approach could significantly hasten the transition of the existing building stock to nearly zero energy standards, marking a critical objective for the sustainable evolution of the building sector.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Energy Renovation in Buildings, a Case Study in Greece

Dragonetti,

Papadaki,

Assimakopoulos

et al. 2024

Buildings

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The environmental and economic evaluation of energy renovation in buildings plays a crucial role in achieving sustainability goals and the decarbonization of the built environment. This paper presents a case study of a student house in Athens, Greece, to assess the environmental and economic impacts of energy renovation and seismic reinforcement with a steel exoskeleton. This study utilizes a comprehensive approach that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies using One Click LCA. The LCA assesses the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while the LCC evaluates the economic aspects, both analyses being conducted for a lifespan of 25 years from now. The results provide an evaluation of what would happen in terms of greenhouse emissions and costs in two scenarios: with and without interventions. ProGETonE strategy results in an environmental impact with a GWP of 26.78 kgCO2eq/m2y with a reduction of 30% of the pre-renovation state. Economically, the actualized energy use costs for 25 years are 50% less in the post-renovation state, but the high construction costs make the strategy seem inconvenient. In this context, it is important to consider the non-economic benefits of seismic reinforcement, such as enhanced safety and the potential lives saved, which are critical in high seismic zones. These advantages complement the strategy’s environmental and energy use impacts, underscoring the holistic value of integrated seismic and energy retrofitting approaches like ProGETonE. The study underscores the importance of LCA and LCC analyses when evaluating the feasibility of renovation projects and of an evidence-based decision-making process for policymakers, building owners, and stakeholders for energy-efficient retrofitting.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Energy Renovation in Buildings, a Case Study in Greece

Dragonetti,

Papadaki,

Assimakopoulos

et al. 2024

Buildings

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the basis of this study, the diagram was conceived in the case that the LS installation takes place at the same time as an energy refurbishment. Indeed, this situation is frequent, since measures that provide envelope building refurbishment are often joint to the whole HVAC-building system refurbishment [37,38]. Obviously, if the refurbished scenarios addition is deleted, then the chart continues to maintain its valence.…”

Section: Pmv (-)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Disciplinary Analysis of Light Shelves Application within a Student Dormitory Refurbishment

et al. 2021

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The achievement of sustainable cities and communities is closely linked to an accurate design of the buildings. In this context, the transparent elements of the building envelope have a crucial role since, on one hand, they are a bottleneck in regards to heat and mass transfers and sound propagation, while, on the other hand, they must allow daylight penetration. Thus, they are responsible for occupants’ thermal and visual comfort and their health. Considering passive solutions for windows, the light shelves can improve natural light penetration, reducing the lights’ electricity demand and controlling windows’ related thermal aspects. The scientific literature is characterized by several studies that analyze this topic, which, however, focus only on the daylight field and sometimes the energy saving for lights. Moreover, they often refer to fixed sky type for the simulations. The aim of the present study is to analyze the application of the light shelves with a multi-disciplinary approach, by means of dynamic simulations, in the EnergyPlus engine, for a whole year. A new methodological approach is presented in order to investigate the technology under different fields of interest: daylight, lighting energy, cooling and heating needs, and thermo-hygrometric comfort. The case study chosen is an existing building, a student dormitory belonging to the University of Athens. It is subject to a deep energy renovation to conform to the “nearly Zero Energy Building” target, in the frame of a European research project called Pro-GET-onE (G.A No. 723747). By means of the calibrated numerical model of this HVAC–building system, ten different configurations of light shelves have been investigated. The best solution is given by the application of an internal horizontal light shelf placed at 50 cm from the top of the window with a depth of 90 or 60 cm. It has been found that despite the reduction in electricity demand for lighting, the variation in heating and cooling needs does not always lead to a benefit.

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“…Simple and economical ways of retrofitting old buildings are favoured. Assimakopoulos et al [18] developed the simulation model of the building-factory system and examined the effects of the St. George's Palace industrial refurbishment on energy usage and the environment. In the last ten years, the research on building renewal has developed rapidly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy-Saving and Ecological Renovation of Existing Urban Buildings in Severe Cold Areas: A Case Study

Liu,

Chen,

Wang

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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High-rise buildings in cold regions have a requirement of ecological improvement due to the continuous response to climate change throughout the year. This study evaluates wind environment, light environment, thermal environment, and energy consumption environment using Phoenics, Ecotect, and DesignBuilder tools, utilizing a high-rise residential building in an intensely cold place as an example. With the goal of repairing the buildings, green energy-saving measures are applied from the perspectives of form, structure, system, and equipment strategy. The energy-saving rates and carbon dioxide emission reduction rates of the renovated buildings were predicted. The results reveal that, in the building performance diagnostic, the wind speed clearly rise at the building’s corner, particularly on the outdoor level and the top floor; meanwhile, the inside lighting is insufficient, and there is a glare hazard adjacent to the window. The performance of the target building has unquestionably increased following the repair of 12 measures, including the bay windows, exterior walls, and solar energy. The influence of strong winds in winter and tranquil winds in summer greatly decreased in terms of the wind environment. In the light environment, indoor lighting is more uniform; the range of (Universal Design index) UDI100–2000 increased from 9.2% to 32.7%; and UDI2000, which may cause glare, decreased by 28.4%. Energy savings and pollution reduction rates were as high as 19.8% and 38.8%, respectively, due to the installation of solar photovoltaic panels. Based on all the measures, the overall energy saving rate of the target building was 63.8%, and the CO2 emission reduction rate was 90.3%.

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A Holistic Approach for Energy Renovation of the Town Hall Building in a Typical Small City of Southern Italy

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Energy Renovation in Buildings, a Case Study in Greece

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Energy Renovation in Buildings, a Case Study in Greece

Multi-Disciplinary Analysis of Light Shelves Application within a Student Dormitory Refurbishment

Energy-Saving and Ecological Renovation of Existing Urban Buildings in Severe Cold Areas: A Case Study

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