Is a self-sufficient building energy efficient? Lesson learned from a case study in Mediterranean climate

Rubeis, Tullio de; Nardi, Iole; Ambrosini, Dario; Paoletti, Domenica

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.166

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…However, to compare and discuss results, in terms of thermal conductance, of simulations (S) and of experimental survey (M), the root mean square error (RMSE), the mean absolute error (MAE) and the mean bias error (MBE) have been employed [41]. Such values have been calculated according to Equations (8)(9)(10),…”

Section: Results Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of insulation defects on the thermal performance of walls. An experimental and numerical investigation

Nardi¹,

Perilli²,

Rubeis³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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The addition of insulating layers on vertical walls of buildings is a common practice for providing a higher thermal insulation of the envelope. Workmanship defects, however, might influence the effectiveness of such insulation strategy. Damaged materials, incorrect installation, use of aged or weathered materials might alter the capability of reducing heat transfer through the envelope, whether vertical or sloped. In this work, drawbacks caused by the wrong installation of insulating material and by damaged material are assessed. A specimen wall was investigated by experimental and numerical approaches, the latter carried out by using COMSOL Multiphysics®. Results are compared and discussed.

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Section: Results Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of insulation defects on the thermal performance of walls. An experimental and numerical investigation

Nardi¹,

Perilli²,

Rubeis³

et al. 2018

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Uncertainty analysis of the thermal transmittance values was carried out by using the Holman's method [50,51], according to which, if a set of measurements is supposed, the calculated result uncertainty is estimated on the basis of the uncertainties in the primary measurements. The result R is a given function of the independent variables x 1 , x 2 , .…”

Section: Uncertainty Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, w n are the uncertainties in the independent variables. Therefore, the uncertainty in the result is determined by Equation 5 [50,51].…”

Section: Uncertainty Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Measuring and Control System for Thermal Analysis of Buildings Components in Hot Box Experiments

et al. 2019

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In this paper, a novel integrated measuring and control system for hot box experiments is presented. The system, based on a general-purpose microcontroller and on a wireless sensors network, is able to fully control the thermal phenomena inside the chambers, as well as the heat flux that involves the specimen wall. Thanks to the continuous measurements of air and surfaces temperatures and energy input into the hot chamber, the thermal behavior of each hot box component is analyzed. A specific algorithm allows the post-process of the measured data for evaluating the specimen wall thermal quantities and for creating 2D and 3D thermal models of each component. The system reliability is tested on a real case represented by a double insulating X-lam wall. The results of the 72 h experiment show the system’s capability to maintain stable temperature set points inside the chambers and to log the temperatures measured by the 135 probes, allowing to know both the U-value of the sample (equal to 0.216 ± 0.01 W/m2K) and the thermal models of all the hot box components. The U-value obtained via hot box method has been compared with the values gathered through theoretical calculation and heat flow meter measurements, showing differences of less than 20%. Finally, thanks to the data postprocessing, the 2D and 3D thermal models of the specimen wall and of the chambers have been recreated.

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“…The monthly approach shows that the energy needs for cooling are completely suppressed, while the energy needs for heating are 7 kWh/m²/year and the primary energy use is 67 kWh/m²/year. De Rubeis et al [35] present energy performance of an energy self-sufficient residential building, located in the outskirt of L'Aquila city, in central Italy. The analysis is performed via energy simulation with EnergyPlus™ and reports energy needs for heating equal to 29.9 kWh/m²/year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yearly operational performance of a nZEB in the Mediterranean climate

Causone

Tatti

Pietrobon

et al. 2019

Energy and Buildings

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Over the last decades, the reduction of the energy use in the building sector has become a topic of major investigation and policy development worldwide. Guidelines have been defined to drive governments and building construction stakeholders towards the retrofit of the existing building stock and to the construction of new highperformance buildings. However, availability of operational data is often limited, especially when it comes to high performance buildings in warm climates, although it is essential to define design approaches targeted to energy efficiency, to design smart energy grids and demand-response oriented energy programs. Buildings, such as living laboratories, may offer opportunities to implement and develop energy databases, to provide benchmarks and to study occupant behaviour under different operational conditions. The paper investigates the energy and thermal comfort performance of a residential building in the Mediterranean climate. The building, certified as Passivhaus and equipped with an advanced monitoring system, allows to test different control strategies, to study occupant behaviour and to provide real time operational data. In particular, the data analysis showed a positive energy balance on yearly basis, i.e. an energy use of 59.7 kWh/m 2 net/year vs. an on-site energy generation of 76.0 kWh/m 2 net/year. The energy breakdown highlighted, that energy uses related to user behaviour and comfort requests account for about 72 % of the total energy use, confirming that occupant behaviour is one of the major drivers of the operational energy use (and the related services) in high performance buildings.

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Is a self-sufficient building energy efficient? Lesson learned from a case study in Mediterranean climate

Cited by 36 publications

References 53 publications

Influence of insulation defects on the thermal performance of walls. An experimental and numerical investigation

Influence of insulation defects on the thermal performance of walls. An experimental and numerical investigation

Integrated Measuring and Control System for Thermal Analysis of Buildings Components in Hot Box Experiments

Yearly operational performance of a nZEB in the Mediterranean climate

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