The article describes the outcomes of the monitoring campaign carried out in an educational building nearby Tirana, capital of Albania. Performed under the bilateral agreement between the National Research Council of Italy and the Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of Albania, the study proposes a combined approach for the assessment of the IEQ, not limiting only in the collection of objective data through the environmental monitoring of indoor variables but it also includes the subjective perception of indoor environment by the students through the compilation of a specific questionnaire. The classrooms were also modelled using a parametric model combining the functionalities of Honeybee plugin with OpenStudio and Radiance. The results are illustrated by maps of the indoor microclimate and illuminance with spatial resolution of 0.5 meters and one-hour temporal resolution step. Aggregated index and environmental data derived from models are compared to those monitored with nEMoS. This hybrid method overcomes the drawback caused by a low resolution of the monitoring steps and allows the comparison of the objective and subjective perception of the considered environmental factors, as well as the identification of discrepancies in terms of objective evidence and subjective perception related to the considered environmental factors.

Since its introduction in 2010, the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) concept has known a large diffusion in European countries. Albania, an aspiring candidate country to join the European Union EU, is paving the way towards its introduction by transposing EU directives in the fields of energy efficiency into the national legislation. Most of the national building stock includes buildings with low thermal and energy performance but with high refurbishment potential, too. The country can become an important contributor in the EU decarbonization strategy due to the high percentage of electricity produced by hydropower stations, making it one of the least carbon-intensity countries in the electricity production point of view. The article focuses on the evaluation of the energy performance of an existing school located in Tirana and the potentialities to reach the nZEB target, analysing both the suitable technological solutions and the energy market situation. The Primary Energy Factors PEF for the local electricity market are estimated referring to statistical data and in comparison, with neighbouring countries, Italy and Greece, in order to investigate the potential of the achievement of the nZEB target in Albania.

The article presents the outcomes of a monitoring campaign and a survey performed in a~school building in Tirana. Included in the Bilateral Agreement between the National Research Council of Italy and the Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of Albania, the research is based on environmental analysis, collection of data from monitoring of environmental variables and students' feedback. The monitoring of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) was carried out with a~nearable Environmental Monitoring System (nEMoS) for IEQ purposes, designed and developed by ITC-CNR based on the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) philosophy. The proliferation of the maker movement philosophy has promoted the diffusion of DIY-based technologies. The spread of this movement is observed outside schools but there is a growing interest among educators to introduce this philosophy in the students' education, approaching to STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) in a different and more stimulating way. The application of two nEMoS devices in two classrooms (in different locations) aroused the curiosity of students, bringing them closer to the world of technology with a practical example. It also increased their awareness about the overall IEQ conditions in the classrooms where they spend a considerable part of their lives.