Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
6.1
The European Norms for Energy Certification
and the Passivhaus Standard
Evaluating the effects of active energy efficiency measures, namely the automation
of technical infrastructures of buildings, and those of passive energy efficiency
measures, based on the use of particularly efficient building techniques and
materials, is a quite challenging task. Besides, the evaluation here proposed refers
to a residential house located in a Euro Mediterranean city (Palermo) and thus
considers a warm climate scenario. The evaluations allow assessing the economic
viability of the adopted strategy. The tools available for such numerical evalua-
tions are set out for energy certification purposes and are referred to the European
regulatory framework. As far as the active energy efficiency is concerned, a list of
measures (automation functions) can be found in the technical standard EN 15232
(
2012
), while a list of passive measures in warm climates can be identified taking
as reference the studies carried out for the Passivhaus standard in warm climates
(Passive-On project
2013
). A list of passive energy efficiency measures with the
description of a methodology to numerically evaluate the effects can be found in
the Deliberation of the Italian Authority of Electrical Energy and Gas (AEEG),
EEN 09/
2011
. Such Deliberation implements the European framework on white
certificates and energy efficiency. The work carried out in this chapter shows first
how the control, monitoring and automation functions considered by EN 15232
can strongly influence the energy performance class, defined according to the
standard EN 15217 (
2007
), of a single-family test house located in the Italian city
of Palermo, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The analysis shows that the
benefit that can be drawn from the installation of Building Automation Control,
BAC, and Technical Building Management, TBM, systems depends on the type of
existing technical appliances in the household and on the starting energy perfor-
mance class of the house. The second part instead is devoted to the assessment of
the effects of some of the passive measures identified taking as reference the
studies on the Passivhaus standard in Euro Mediterranean warm climates, using
the methodology outlined in the directive EEN 09/
2011
. The Passivhaus concept
represents the highest energy standard today with the promise of reducing the
heating energy need of buildings by around 90 %. Widespread implementation of
the Passivhaus design would have a strong impact on energy saving.
6.2
Background on Energy Performance in Buildings: The
Italian Case
The term ''energy performance'' indicates the amount of energy consumed to meet
different needs associated with a standard utilization of a building (building
heating/cooling, lighting, ventilation, etc.). The energy performance depends on
constructive, thermal but also electrical factors like:
