Energy Efficient Buildings

This research group focuses on energy flexible buildings and building clusters, faҫade system concepts, architectural solutions for natural ventilation and daylighting, nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) with high indoor environmental quality (IEQ).

The overall research driver of the group is the definition of comfortable and healthy buildings, exploiting the natural sources use of the context where they are built to minimize the energy needs.

The research group is involved within the Energy Efficient Buildings (E2B) international no profit industrial association and within the European Construction Technology Platform. It is further involved with a leading role in several International Energy Agency and a number of European research projects

MAIN TOPICS:

• passive solutions for heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation both regarding the envelope and the whole building
• flexible energy building solution-sets, to optimize the use of available natural source and increase the rate of usable RES, while improving the interaction with energy grids
• retrofitting strategies and technologies
• multifunctional façade system
• building modelling and simulation: overall approach, uncertainty, multi objective optimization, calibration
• reliable assessment and characterization of building as energy system: measurement and verification protocol, laboratory testing procedures on building sub-systems and components
• building stock analysis to define transformation scenarios towards nearly zero energy target, as well as technical-economic requalification feasibility studies
• integrated design process and performance-based tender procedures

RESEARCH PROJECTS ARE FOCUSED ON:

• cost-effective architectural and envelope solutions, to minimize energy needs, through thermal, moisture, ventilation, light control
• technologies and methodologies for retrofitting of residential and commercial buildings
• evaluation of user behavior impact
• natural ventilation and daylighting strategies
• continuous commissioning and control strategies, also through identification of building analytical models, based on measured data
• technical and economic analysis for single or multi owner building stock retrofitting

SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANCY BOTH FOR PRIVATE ENTERPRISES AND PUBLIC AUTHORITIES ARE PROVIDED IN TERMS OF:

• development and performance assessment of innovative building technologies aimed at not renewable energy needs reduction
• energy auditing
• support in the execution of Integrated Design Processes (IDP) for high energy efficiency buildings
• support in performance-based tender procedures and contents
• elaboration and implementation of continuous commissioning processes (building set up and monitoring)
• laboratory test for the steady-state and dynamic, thermal and optical characterization of building components and systems

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH:

• dynamic simulations for the whole building, dynamic Finite Element Method (FEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis
• monitoring of single buildings and whole city quarters
• laboratory tests under controlled boundary conditions, in compliance with the standard in force and with ad hoc developed procedure
• The energy efficiency is also studied at district scale.

RESEARCH GROUP STRUCTURE:

The Research Group is led by Roberto Lollini and internally structured with the following Teams:

• Team on Building envelope technologies - coordinated by Stefano Avesani
• Team on Healthy and confortable buildings - coordinated by Annamaria Belleri
• Team on Smart buildings - coordinated by Cristian Pozza