This paper focuses on the experimental validation of a building energy performance simulation tool by means of a comparative analysis between numerical results and measurements obtained on a real test room. The empirical tests were carried out for several months under variable weather conditions and in free-floating indoor temperature regime (switched off HVAC system). Measurements were exploited for validating an in-house simulation tool, implemented in MatLab and called DETECt, developed for dynamically assessing the energy performance of buildings. Results show that simulated indoor air and surface room temperatures resulted in very good agreement with the corresponding experimental data; the detected differences were often lower than 0.5 °C and almost always lower than 1 °C. Very low mean absolute and percentage errors were always achieved. In order to show the capabilities of the developed simulation tool, a suitable case study focused on innovative solar radiation high-reflective coatings, and infrared low-emissivity materials is also presented. The performance of these coatings and materials was investigated through a comparative analysis conducted to evaluate their heating and cooling energy saving potentials. Simulation results, obtained for the real test cell considered as equipped with such innovative coatings and material, show that for the weather zone of Naples a 5% saving is obtained both in summer and in winter by simultaneously adopting a high-reflectance coating and a low- emissivity plaster for roof/external walls and interior walls, respectively.

Worldwide, the design, renovation, and sustainable management of port buildings play a crucial role for sustainability. In this framework, a computer simulation of a building’s thermal behaviour is an almost mandatory tool for making informed decisions. However, the development of a building energy model is a challenging task that could discourage its adoption. A possible solution would be to exploit an existing Building Information Modeling (BIM) model to automatically generate an accurate and flexible Building Energy Modeling (BEM) one. Such a method, which can substantially improve decision-making processes, still presents some issues and needs to be further investigated, as also detectable from the literature on the topic. In this framework, a novel workflow to extrapolate BIM data for energy simulation is proposed and analysed in this paper. Here, the BIM to BEM approach was tested as a useful tool for the maritime industry to improve the implementation of effective energy-saving measures. Specifically, in order to prove the capabilities of the proposed method, a maritime passenger station in Naples was chosen as case study and investigated by comparing different strategies to reduce the annual primary energy consumption. The optimal level of modelling detail required by a trustable building energy assessment was also investigated. By the proposed method, interesting primary energy savings (ranging from 24 to 41%) are achieved and CO₂ emissions avoided (ranging from 16 to 34 tons CO₂/year) for the investigated building, proving the potential of this approach. Definitely, this paper proves the validity of the proposed methodology and emphasizes its numerous benefits towards the achievements of the most modern sustainability standards.