Influence of Insulating Materials on Green Building Rating System Results

Fabio Bisegna, Benedetta Mattoni, Paola Gori, Francesco Asdrubali, Claudia Guattari, Luca Evangelisti, Sara Sambuco and Francesco Bianchi
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Fabio Bisegna: Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Benedetta Mattoni: Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana, 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Paola Gori: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, Via Vito Volterra, 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
Francesco Asdrubali: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, Via Vito Volterra, 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
Claudia Guattari: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, Via Vito Volterra, 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
Luca Evangelisti: Department of Engineering, University of Roma TRE, Via Vito Volterra, 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
Sara Sambuco: Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti, 67, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Francesco Bianchi: Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti, 67, 06125 Perugia, Italy

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of a change in the thermal insulating material on both the energy and environmental performance of a building, evaluated through two different green building assessment methods: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Istituto per l’innovazione e Trasparenza degli Appalti e la Compatibilità Ambientale (ITACA). LEED is one of the most qualified rating systems at an international level; it assesses building sustainability thanks to a point-based system where credits are divided into six different categories. One of these is fully related to building materials. The ITACA procedure derives from the international evaluation system Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool), modified according to the Italian context. In the region of Umbria, ITACA certification is composed of 20 technical sheets, which are classified into five macro-areas. The analysis was developed on a residential building located in the central Italy. It was built taking into account the principles of sustainability as far as both structural and technical solutions are concerned. In order to evaluate the influence of thermal insulating material, different configurations of the envelope were considered, replacing the original material (glass wool) with a synthetic one (expanded polystyrene, EPS) and two natural materials (wood fiber and kenaf). The study aims to highlight how the materials characteristics can affect building energy and environmental performance and to point out the different approaches of the analyzed protocols.

Keywords: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); Istituto per l’innovazione e Trasparenza degli Appalti e la Compatibilità Ambientale (ITACA); green building rating systems; insulating materials; energy performance; environmental impact (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: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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