Towards the Necessary Decarbonization of Historic Buildings: A Review

Manuela Almeida, Fabrizio Ascione (), Anna Iaccheo, Teresa Iovane and Margherita Mastellone
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Manuela Almeida: Department of Civil Engineering, ISISE, ARISE, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, University of Minho, 4800-058 Braga, Portugal
Fabrizio Ascione: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Anna Iaccheo: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Teresa Iovane: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Margherita Mastellone: Department of Architecture, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Toledo 402, 80134 Napoli, Italy

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-48

Abstract: The critical and urgent issue of decarbonization by 2050 needs to include the existing historical built environment in the process of energy requalification. These buildings, subjected to heritage preservation, are extremely inadequate to the modern standards of energy efficiency and thermal comfort, and they exhibit the poorest energy performance. In this study, a review of the existing scientific literature on the matter of energy renovation processes applied to historic buildings is provided. The reviewed papers, selected from scientific databases, were initially categorized according to their reference scale—either individual buildings or urban contexts. Subsequently, the papers were grouped on the basis of the main energy efficiency levels they investigated. The goal is to offer a comprehensive overview of the materials, technologies and strategies currently in use, as well as future perspectives, to aid the ecological transition and foster sustainable development, all while preserving the artistic, cultural and architectural heritage of these buildings.

Keywords: historic building; energy efficiency; building scale; urban scale; building envelope; building–plant system; renewable energy sources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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