Towards a systematic approach for energy refurbishment of historical buildings. The case study of Albergo dei Poveri in Genoa, Italy

Franco, Giovanna; Magrini, Anna; Cartesegna, Marco; Guerrini, M.

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.10.051

Cited by 40 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The proposed measures include improved thermal insulation of floors and roofs, external wall insulation through the use of highly insulating plaster [10], the installation of more efficient (and draught-proofing) windows, the improvement of heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting systems (e.g. installation of light emitting diodes [LEDs]), the installation of photovoltaic tiles, and even the elimination of rising damp [11][12][13]. Hence, previous studies have mainly presented examples of retrofitting of historical buildings that have been successful in decreasing the building energy consumption.…”

Section: Mitigating Climate Change In the Cultural Built Heritage Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating Climate Change in the Cultural Built Heritage Sector

Sesana

Bertolin

Gagnon

et al. 2019

Climate

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Climate change mitigation targets have put pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of cultural heritage buildings. Commonly adopted measures to decrease the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of historical buildings are targeted at improving their energy efficiency through insulating the building envelope, and upgrading their heating, cooling and lighting systems. However, there are complex issues that arise when mitigating climate change in the cultural built heritage sector. For instance, preserving the authenticity of heritage buildings, maintaining their traditional passive behaviours, and choosing adaptive solutions compatible with the characteristics of heritage materials to avoid an acceleration of decay processes. It is thus important to understand what the enablers, or the barriers, are to reduce the carbon footprint of cultural heritage buildings to meet climate change mitigation targets. This paper investigates how climate change mitigation is considered in the management and preservation of the built heritage through semi-structured interviews with cultural heritage experts from the UK, Italy and Norway. Best-practice approaches for the refurbishment of historical buildings with the aim of decreasing their energy consumption are presented, as perceived by the interviewees, as well as the identification of the enablers and barriers in mitigating climate change in the cultural built heritage sector. The findings emphasise that adapting the cultural built heritage to reduce GHG emissions is challenging, but possible if strong and concerted action involving research and government can be undertaken to overcome the barriers identified in this paper.

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Section: Mitigating Climate Change In the Cultural Built Heritage Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating Climate Change in the Cultural Built Heritage Sector

Sesana

Bertolin

Gagnon

et al. 2019

Climate

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“…This implies that their performance should be characterized through on-site experimental investigations, especially for the assessment of the thermal transmittance [7]. In any case, in order to perform energy simulations, some simplifications and assumptions must be introduced; as an example, the vaults can be approximated as flat surfaces and an appropriate mean floor height can be assumed to get equivalent heated volumes [8]. De Fino et al [9] underline that, in the case of exposed stone surfaces, retrofitting walls in historic buildings has a very low degree of transformability, whereas in the case of plastered surfaces, a medium degree of transformability is observed since one has only to ensure similar color and thickness.…”

Section: Main Issues In Historic Buildings Renovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal and Economic Analysis of Renovation Strategies for a Historic Building in Mediterranean Area

Cirami¹,

Evola

Gagliano

et al. 2017

Buildings

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Around 30% of the European building stock was built before 1950, when no regulations about energy efficiency were in force. Since only a small part of them has been renovated by now, the energy performance of this building stock is on average quite poor, resulting in a significant impact on the energy balance of European countries, as confirmed by data published by ISTAT (Italian National Statistical Institute). However, energy retrofit in historic edifices is a quite demanding issue as any intervention must take into account the need to preserve existing building materials and appearances while also allowing reversibility and low invasiveness. As an example, in these buildings it is not possible to apply an ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System), since this would alter the historic and architectural value of the façade. On the other hand, internal insulation would have the drawback of reducing the net useful floor area, which also implies a loss of economic value. Moreover, internal insulation may induce overheating risks and mold formation. In this paper, all these issues are investigated with reference to an existing historic building located in southern Italy, showing that a retrofit strategy aimed at energy savings and cost-effectiveness is still possible if suitable materials and solutions are adopted.

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“…The drive for these reductions has shifted to include the refurbishment of existing and historic building stock with upgrades to building fabric and heating systems becoming common [3]. In most cases there is a greater challenge involved in adapting historic buildings for energy efficiency [4] as their retrofit requires a different pallet of materials and construction techniques than most new builds [5]. If not adopted, damage can occur to the original building fabric, with performance and character being compromised [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building Performance Evaluation – A Design Approach for Refurbishment of a Small Traditional Building in Scotland

Foster

Poston

Foster³

2017

Restoration of Buildings and Monuments

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In recent years, thermal performance improvements have been applied to an increasing number of historic buildings towards the achievement of the legally binding Scottish carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions. Over 20 % of the built environment in Scotland was constructed pre 1919 and the targeting of fabric improvements in these buildings can pose a performance risk if inappropriate measures are applied. This paper discusses through a case study a Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) approach used in conjunction with the design process for refurbishment of a community owned historic building, located in Arisaig, Scotland. The community received funding to improve the energy performance of this nineteenth century stone building and committed to a 75 % reduction in CO2 emissions. BPE was conducted in 2014 as part of the design process and repeated post-refurbishment in 2015 to validate the design. The initial BPE identified high heat losses, inefficient heating and lighting systems that resulted in occupant discomfort, high running costs and consequently the loss of a community facility during the winter months. The resulting BPE quantified improvements to the building fabric, occupant comfort and reduced energy consumption, which advocated this design approach as a beneficial tool for informing historic building refurbishment.

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Towards a systematic approach for energy refurbishment of historical buildings. The case study of Albergo dei Poveri in Genoa, Italy

Cited by 40 publications

References 6 publications

Mitigating Climate Change in the Cultural Built Heritage Sector

Mitigating Climate Change in the Cultural Built Heritage Sector

Thermal and Economic Analysis of Renovation Strategies for a Historic Building in Mediterranean Area

Building Performance Evaluation – A Design Approach for Refurbishment of a Small Traditional Building in Scotland

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