Energy Performance Database of Building Heritage in the Region of Umbria, Central Italy

Abstract

Abstract:Household energy consumption has been increasing in the last decades; the residential sector is responsible for about 40% of the total final energy use in Europe. Energy efficiency measures can both reduce energy needs of buildings and energy-related CO2 emissions. For this reason, in recent years, the European Union has been making efforts to enhance energy saving in buildings by introducing various policies and strategies; in this context, a common methodology was developed to assess and to certify energy performance of buildings. The positive effects obtained by energy efficiency measures need to be verified, but measuring and monitoring building energy performance is time consuming and financially demanding. Alternatively, energy efficiency can also be evaluated by specific indicators based on energy consumption. In this work, a methodology to investigate the level of energy efficiency reached in the Umbria Region (Central Italy) is described, based on data collected by energy certificates. In fact, energy certificates, which are the outcomes of simulation models, represent a useful and available tool to collect data related to the energy use of dwellings. A database of building energy performance was developed, in which about 6500 energy certificates of residential buildings supplied by Umbria region were inserted. On the basis of this data collection, average energy and CO2 indicators related to the building heritage in Umbria were estimated and compared to national and international indicators derived from official sources. Results showed that the adopted methodology in this work can be an alternative method for the evaluation of energy indicators; in fact, the ones OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2015, 8 7262 calculated considering simulation data were similar to the ones reported in national and international sources. This allowed to validate the adopted methodology and the efficiency of European policies.

Towards Differentiated Energy Renovation Strategies for Heritage-Designated Multifamily Building Stocks

“…In a regional study of a residential building stock in Umbria, Italy, energy performance certificates were used in order to understand the potential for energy and CO 2 savings in different age segments. The heritage building as a concept was used for defining the older segments of the building stock [17]. In order to develop a methodology for residential urban building stocks, different building-specific data were used as inputs to identify trends and tendencies in energy performance in a selected building stock in the city of Gothenburg [18].…”

Balancing preservation and energy efficiency in building stocks

“…In a regional study of building stock of residential buildings in Umbria, Italy, energy certificates were used to determine the potential of energy and CO 2 savings in different age segments of the building stock. In this case, the concept 'heritage buildings' was used to define the older segments of the building stock (Buratti et al, 2015). To develop a methodology for residential urban building stocks, building data were used as input to reveal trends in energy performance in a selected building stock in Gothenburg, Sweden.…”

An overview of energy retrofit actions feasibility on Italian historical buildings

“…Buratti et al [25] analysed the state of the art of energy certification of households in an Italian region and compared results with national and international indicators, making it possible to evaluate actual energy performances and savings. Focusing on the age of buildings, the results showed that just 6.0% of buildings built before 1950 are provided an energy certificate, and this building stock has the highest energy consumption.…”