Buildings Energy Efficiency: Interventions Analysis under a Smart Cities Approach

Gabriele Battista, Luca Evangelisti, Claudia Guattari, Carmine Basilicata and Roberto De Lieto Vollaro
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Gabriele Battista: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, via Vito Volterra 62, Rome 00146, Italy
Luca Evangelisti: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, via Vito Volterra 62, Rome 00146, Italy
Claudia Guattari: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, via Vito Volterra 62, Rome 00146, Italy
Carmine Basilicata: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, via Vito Volterra 62, Rome 00146, Italy
Roberto De Lieto Vollaro: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, via Vito Volterra 62, Rome 00146, Italy

Sustainability, 2014, vol. 6, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Most of the world’s population lives in urban areas and in inefficient buildings under the energy point of view. Starting from these assumptions, there is the need to identify methodologies and innovations able to improve social development and the quality of life of people living in cities. Smart cities can be a viable solution. The methodology traditionally adopted to evaluate building energy efficiency starts from the structure’s energy demands analysis and the demands reduction evaluation. Consequently, the energy savings is assessed through a cascade of interventions. Regarding the building envelope, the first intervention is usually related to the reduction of the thermal transmittance value, but there is also the need to emphasize the building energy savings through other parameters, such as the solar gain factor and dye solar absorbance coefficients. In this contribution, a standard building has been modeled by means of the well-known dynamic software, TRNSYS. This study shows a parametrical analysis through which it is possible to evaluate the effect of each single intervention and, consequently, its influence on the building energy demand. Through this analysis, an intervention chart has been carried out, aiming to assess the intervention efficiency starting from the percentage variation of energy demands.

Keywords: TRNSYS; smart environment; building efficiency; intervention efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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