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Dr. Vincenzo Costanzo
Struttura Didattica Speciale di Architettura – Università degli Studi di Catania. Piazza Federico di Svevia, 96100 Siracusa, Italy

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0 Daylighting
0 Energy Efficiency
0 Passive Design
0 Thermal Comfort
0 Sustainable buildings

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Thermal Comfort
Energy Efficiency
Daylighting
Passive Design

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Journal article
Published: 02 July 2021 in Energies
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In order to reach the ambitious decarbonizing goals set by the European Union for 2030, deep renovation of the existing European building stock is a key issue. Within this context, the recently funded H2020 project “e-SAFE” is investigating market-ready wooden envelope renovation solutions for non-historic buildings, which encompass both energy and seismic improvement. The research carried out in the project aims at developing, testing and demonstrating these solutions on a real pilot. More specifically, this paper presents preliminary analyses to verify that the solutions satisfy the requisites set by the national regulations in force in most European countries, in terms of hygrothermal and acoustic performance. The analysis, carried out following relevant technical European Standards and based on calculations, considers different climate conditions and existing wall structures, selected amongst those most commonly adopted in Europe. The results show that the addition of a Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) layer with some wooden-based insulation on the outer side allows reaching very good thermal and acoustic performance. However, interstitial condensation may occur in cold climates under high indoor humidity values. This aspect deserves further investigation accounting for the transient behavior of the walls and all vapor transport mechanisms.

ACS Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Luigi Marletta. Hygrothermal and Acoustic Performance of Two Innovative Envelope Renovation Solutions Developed in the e-SAFE Project. Energies 2021, 14, 4006 .

AMA Style

Gianpiero Evola, Vincenzo Costanzo, Luigi Marletta. Hygrothermal and Acoustic Performance of Two Innovative Envelope Renovation Solutions Developed in the e-SAFE Project. Energies. 2021; 14 (13):4006.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Luigi Marletta. 2021. "Hygrothermal and Acoustic Performance of Two Innovative Envelope Renovation Solutions Developed in the e-SAFE Project." Energies 14, no. 13: 4006.

Journal article
Published: 21 June 2021 in Urban Climate
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The detailed analysis of the urban microclimate calls for the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools able to model complex heat and mass transfer mechanisms. ENVI-met is one of the most used and reliable tools for microclimate analysis if an accurate calibration is performed. The calibration process is fundamental to have a reliable model in order to perform microclimate analysis, but requires accurate on-site measurements of urban weather data and it is usually difficult to have urban meteorological data of the required granularity because of the lack of on-site stationary weather stations. To overcome such an issue, this paper explores the use of weather data retrieved from suburban meteorological stations and morphed for the urban context under study through the Urban Weather Generator (UWG) tool. UWG generates an urban weather file in the hourly .epw format that is eventually used for forcing the ENVI-met model of the investigated area. This approach is validated against on-site measurements at different times for various points located in a district of the city center of Catania (Italy). The validation process presented a very good correlation for most of the study points in the district during nighttime, while during daytime some discrepancies may occur.

ACS Style

Maurizio Detommaso; Vincenzo Costanzo; Francesco Nocera. Application of weather data morphing for calibration of urban ENVI-met microclimate models. Results and critical issues. Urban Climate 2021, 38, 100895 .

AMA Style

Maurizio Detommaso, Vincenzo Costanzo, Francesco Nocera. Application of weather data morphing for calibration of urban ENVI-met microclimate models. Results and critical issues. Urban Climate. 2021; 38 ():100895.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Detommaso; Vincenzo Costanzo; Francesco Nocera. 2021. "Application of weather data morphing for calibration of urban ENVI-met microclimate models. Results and critical issues." Urban Climate 38, no. : 100895.

Original articles
Published: 19 March 2021 in Building Research & Information
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The preservation of historic churches and their most precious artefacts usually includes a monitoring campaign of the indoor microclimate conditions. This research presents the information that can be obtained through the application of a novel set of risk indices to the monitored data acquired in a Baroque church of the 18th century in Italy. The main risks found with this comprehensive methodology, i.e. the biological risk that induces the growth of mould and the chemical and mechanical risks due to unsuitable indoor parameters, would not have been identifiable using the traditional approach based on the National UNI 10829 Standard. Indeed, such an approach only shows that indoor air temperature (below 15°C for 71% of the time) and relative humidity (over 85% for 73% of the time) are outside the range suggested for the conservation of the frescoes. On the other hand, the indications provided through risk indices can be used for more detailed information on the nature of the risks to assess, also in the case of a low-resolution monitoring campaign, so as to benefit the conservation of the widespread heritage inventory, for which funding is usually scarce.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Kristian Fabbri; Eva Schito; Marco Pretelli; Luigi Marletta. Microclimate monitoring and conservation issues of a Baroque church in Italy: a risk assessment analysis. Building Research & Information 2021, 1 -19.

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Kristian Fabbri, Eva Schito, Marco Pretelli, Luigi Marletta. Microclimate monitoring and conservation issues of a Baroque church in Italy: a risk assessment analysis. Building Research & Information. 2021; ():1-19.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Kristian Fabbri; Eva Schito; Marco Pretelli; Luigi Marletta. 2021. "Microclimate monitoring and conservation issues of a Baroque church in Italy: a risk assessment analysis." Building Research & Information , no. : 1-19.

Journal article
Published: 16 December 2020 in Energy
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Building Energy Simulation (BES) tools usually make use of single Typical Weather Years (TWYs) but the increased calculation capacity now allows for multi-year simulations based on Actual Weather Years (AWYs). This research analyzes how the use of a TWY affects the prediction of the energy demand and the peak load in a residential and an office building located in Catania (Italy), if compared to a multi-year approach. Different TWYs are considered, either developed by the authors according to standard international procedures and based on recent measurements from a local weather station, or already available on the internet. Results show that the adoption of a TWY is useful to assess the mean long-term energy demand, with a preference for the IWEC procedure (mean bias error below 2%). However, TWYs would underestimate the peak heating load by 12.5% and the peak cooling load by around 18% in the residential building, while in the office building the underestimation can be even higher. In the absence of specific design weather files when the aim of the simulations consists in sizing the mechanical systems, the peak values of the AWYs distribution based on the last 10–15 years of measurement should be preferred to TWYs.

ACS Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Marco Infantone; Luigi Marletta. Typical-year and multi-year building energy simulation approaches: A critical comparison. Energy 2020, 219, 119591 .

AMA Style

Gianpiero Evola, Vincenzo Costanzo, Marco Infantone, Luigi Marletta. Typical-year and multi-year building energy simulation approaches: A critical comparison. Energy. 2020; 219 ():119591.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Marco Infantone; Luigi Marletta. 2020. "Typical-year and multi-year building energy simulation approaches: A critical comparison." Energy 219, no. : 119591.

Journal article
Published: 09 August 2020 in Energies
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Building energy simulations are normally run through Typical Weather Years (TWYs) that reflect the average trend of local long-term weather data. This paper presents a research aimed at generating updated typical weather files for the city of Catania (Italy), based on 18 years of records (2002–2019) from a local weather station. The paper reports on the statistical analysis of the main recorded variables, and discusses the difference with the data included in a weather file currently available for the same location based on measurements taken before the 1970s but still used in dynamic energy simulation tools. The discussion also includes a further weather file, made available by the Italian Thermotechnical Committee (CTI) in 2015 and built upon the data registered by the same weather station but covering a much shorter period. Three new TWYs are then developed starting from the recent data, according to well-established procedures reported by ASHRAE and ISO standards. The paper discusses the influence of the updated TWYs on the results of building energy simulations for a typical residential building, showing that the cooling and heating demand can differ by 50% or even 65% from the simulations based on the outdated weather file.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Marco Filippo Infantone; Luigi Marletta. Updated Typical Weather Years for the Energy Simulation of Buildings in Mediterranean Climate. A Case Study for Sicily. Energies 2020, 13, 4115 .

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Gianpiero Evola, Marco Filippo Infantone, Luigi Marletta. Updated Typical Weather Years for the Energy Simulation of Buildings in Mediterranean Climate. A Case Study for Sicily. Energies. 2020; 13 (16):4115.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Marco Filippo Infantone; Luigi Marletta. 2020. "Updated Typical Weather Years for the Energy Simulation of Buildings in Mediterranean Climate. A Case Study for Sicily." Energies 13, no. 16: 4115.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2019 in Cities
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Various governments are planning their cities to be climate responsive by reducing the energy consumption and carbon emissions according to different scenarios whilst maintaining good indoor comfort conditions. A robust and reliable tool that can estimate the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of a city is required. This paper presents a new bottom-up engineering-based multi-layer approach able to analyse the energy performance of existing settlements of every size by retaining as much information as possible about their complexities. The process involves i) creating a 3D model of the urban area, ii) building up templates representing different building characteristics such as functions, the age-band of the buildings and operating schedules, iii) running dynamic thermal simulations and iv) displaying the EUI or total energy demand in the 3D model which can be post-processed for further analysis. This approach offers a flexible simulation process according to various purposes, which is particularly useful in decision-making for urban energy retrofitting or planning for new areas. The hourly high-resolution outcomes would benefit the detailed analysis of energy efficiency strategies in order to achieve carbon reduction. The application of this approach is demonstrated for the case of Yuzhong district in Chongqing municipality, China.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Runming Yao; Xinyi Li; Meng Liu; BaiZhan Li. A multi-layer approach for estimating the energy use intensity on an urban scale. Cities 2019, 95, 102467 .

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Runming Yao, Xinyi Li, Meng Liu, BaiZhan Li. A multi-layer approach for estimating the energy use intensity on an urban scale. Cities. 2019; 95 ():102467.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Runming Yao; Xinyi Li; Meng Liu; BaiZhan Li. 2019. "A multi-layer approach for estimating the energy use intensity on an urban scale." Cities 95, no. : 102467.

Conference paper
Published: 27 October 2019 in Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes
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The aim of this investigation is to study the applicability of the Passivhaus standard to typical housing projects in the Colombian market. Dynamic simulations run in IESVE for a detached house and an apartment block revealed that under the business-as-usual construction scenario slightly cold indoor conditions are perceived in the cold climate of Bogotá (−0.8 ≤ PMV ≤ 0.15), while pronounced overheating (1.45 ≤ PMV ≤ 1.95) is predicted in the hot climate of Barranquilla. The implementation of typical passive design measures significantly improves indoor conditions in the cold climate of Bogotá, making these housing designs fulfil the Passivhaus energy requirements. On the other hand, in the hot climate of Barranquilla, these measures are not sufficient to meet the standard prescriptions, and thus further passive strategies should be sought along with the use of highly efficient cooling systems.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; J. E. Carrillo Gómez; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta. Suitability of Passivhaus Design for Housing Projects in Colombia. Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes 2019, 97 -107.

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, J. E. Carrillo Gómez, Gianpiero Evola, Luigi Marletta. Suitability of Passivhaus Design for Housing Projects in Colombia. Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes. 2019; ():97-107.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; J. E. Carrillo Gómez; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta. 2019. "Suitability of Passivhaus Design for Housing Projects in Colombia." Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes , no. : 97-107.

Journal article
Published: 15 October 2019 in Energy and Buildings
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A Solar Chimney (SC) is a passive system harnessing solar energy to ventilate inner spaces and improve occupants’ thermal comfort. The purpose of this study is to determine the time periods of a year most suitable for the use of a SC in terms of thermal comfort under the different climates of Bandar-Abbas (hot and humid), Yazd (hot and arid), Paris (mild and humid) and Toronto (cold and humid). To this aim, a thermosyphonic model – validated against published experimental data – was employed for running dynamic thermal simulations of a residential building using the EnergyPlus software. The optimal time periods of operation of the SC, driven by the values of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) between -0.7 and +0.7 and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) below 15%, are found to be November and January to April in Bandar-Abbas (2265 hours), while for the city of Yazd it comprises the months of April and May together with September and October (2145 hours). As for Paris and Toronto, the period spans from June to August, for a total of 1065 and 1620 hours respectively. Correlation coefficients disclosing the impact of the increased air mass flow rate revealed a positive impact everywhere during nighttime in terms of indoor air temperatures (from 0.02 in Bandar-Abbas to 0.77 in Yazd). On the other hand, the impact on indoor relative humidity is always negatively correlated, with a peak of -0.73 in Yazd. Year-long comfort conditions are finally displayed in psychometric charts against ASHRAE 55 Standard boundaries.

ACS Style

Ali Salehi; Rima Fayaz; Mehran Bozorgi; Somayeh Asadi; Vincenzo Costanzo; Nadie Imani; Francesco Nocera. Investigation of thermal comfort efficacy of solar chimneys under different climates and operation time periods. Energy and Buildings 2019, 205, 109528 .

AMA Style

Ali Salehi, Rima Fayaz, Mehran Bozorgi, Somayeh Asadi, Vincenzo Costanzo, Nadie Imani, Francesco Nocera. Investigation of thermal comfort efficacy of solar chimneys under different climates and operation time periods. Energy and Buildings. 2019; 205 ():109528.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ali Salehi; Rima Fayaz; Mehran Bozorgi; Somayeh Asadi; Vincenzo Costanzo; Nadie Imani; Francesco Nocera. 2019. "Investigation of thermal comfort efficacy of solar chimneys under different climates and operation time periods." Energy and Buildings 205, no. : 109528.

Journal article
Published: 26 September 2019 in Sustainable Cities and Society
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Outdoor microclimate modelling is getting popular for estimating comfort conditions in urban environments. Current calibration approaches usually rely on measurements of air temperature for a limited number of points in the study domain, in spite of the fact that it is the Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt) the parameter mostly affecting comfort. However, the direct measurement of Tmrt outdoors via the globe thermometer or using the six direction radiation method is prone to errors. To overcome these issues, the present paper proposes a novel method to indirectly improve its estimate based on the use of infrared thermal pictures gathered by drone flights to measure surface temperatures, and then use these values for calibrating numerical models. This novel approach has been demonstrated for a 400 × 400 m2 wide area in the city of Medicina (Italy) and showed a good agreement with ENVI-met simulations, with average and standard deviation values difference between measured and simulated surface temperatures of 1.53 °C and 2.22 °C respectively. The highest differences (up to 19 °C) are found for areas densely covered by vegetation. Further studies are planned to evaluate the goodness of the calibration pixel wise and to propose calibration thresholds based on Tmrt sensitivity.

ACS Style

Kristian Fabbri; V. Costanzo. Drone-assisted infrared thermography for calibration of outdoor microclimate simulation models. Sustainable Cities and Society 2019, 52, 101855 .

AMA Style

Kristian Fabbri, V. Costanzo. Drone-assisted infrared thermography for calibration of outdoor microclimate simulation models. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2019; 52 ():101855.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kristian Fabbri; V. Costanzo. 2019. "Drone-assisted infrared thermography for calibration of outdoor microclimate simulation models." Sustainable Cities and Society 52, no. : 101855.

Journal article
Published: 04 September 2019 in Sustainability
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The Passive House (PH) concept is considered an efficient strategy to reduce energy consumption in the building sector, where most of the energy is used for heating and cooling applications. For this reason, energy efficiency measures are increasingly implemented in the residential sector, which is the main responsible for such a consumption. The need for professionals dealing with energy issues, and particularly for architects during the early stages of their architectural design, is crucial when considering energy efficient buildings. Therefore, architects involved in the design and construction stages have key roles in the process of enhancing energy efficiency in buildings. This research work explores the energy efficiency and optimized architectural design for residential buildings located in different climate zones in Spain, with an emphasis on Building Performance Simulation (BPS) as the key tool for architects and other professionals. According to a parametric analysis performed using Design Builder, the following optimal configurations are found for typical residential building projects: North-to-South orientation in all the five climate zones, a maximum shape factor of 0.48, external walls complying with the maximum U-value prescribed by Spanish Building Technical Code (0.35 Wm−2K−1) and a Window-to-Wall Ratio of no more than 20%. In terms of solar reflectance, it is found that the use of light colors is better in hotter climate zones A4, B4, and C4, whereas the best option is using darker colors in the colder climate zones D3 and E1. These measures help reaching the energy demand thresholds set by the Passivhaus Standard in all climate zones except for those located in climates C4, D3 and E1, for which further passive design measures are needed.

ACS Style

Maria-Mar Fernandez-Antolin; José Del Río; Vincenzo Costanzo; Francesco Nocera; Roberto-Alonso Gonzalez-Lezcano. Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Different Spanish Climate Zones. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4816 .

AMA Style

Maria-Mar Fernandez-Antolin, José Del Río, Vincenzo Costanzo, Francesco Nocera, Roberto-Alonso Gonzalez-Lezcano. Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Different Spanish Climate Zones. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (18):4816.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria-Mar Fernandez-Antolin; José Del Río; Vincenzo Costanzo; Francesco Nocera; Roberto-Alonso Gonzalez-Lezcano. 2019. "Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Different Spanish Climate Zones." Sustainability 11, no. 18: 4816.

Journal article
Published: 29 January 2019 in Renewable Energy
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The application of Natural Ventilation (NV) as a measure to improve comfort conditions in transition and summer periods has been a topic of research on the spotlight for years. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how the combined effect of a dense urban layout with high pollutant concentrations may affect its potential. This paper addresses this gap by running detailed thermal simulations for a typical apartment flat located in the Yuzhong district of Chongqing city (China) using a holistic approach that makes use of: i) wind pressure coefficients on building facades from urban-scale CFD simulations, ii) hourly measured values of PM2.5 concentrations and weather variables and iii) indoor environment measurements for validation purposes. Scenario analysis revealed the average amount of air change rates achievable in a year varies from 8 to 15 ACH according to the windows orientation. These figures drop down to around 2 ACH when taking into account reduced windows opening time when outdoor PM2.5 concentrations are too high. The resulting natural ventilation potential of the case study decreases from 4234 hours when outdoor pollution is neglected to 2707 and 529 hours when considering the exposure thresholds set by the Chinese government and the WHO respectively.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Runming Yao; Tiantian Xu; Jie Xiong; Qiulei Zhang; BaiZhan Li. Natural ventilation potential for residential buildings in a densely built-up and highly polluted environment. A case study. Renewable Energy 2019, 138, 340 -353.

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Runming Yao, Tiantian Xu, Jie Xiong, Qiulei Zhang, BaiZhan Li. Natural ventilation potential for residential buildings in a densely built-up and highly polluted environment. A case study. Renewable Energy. 2019; 138 ():340-353.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Runming Yao; Tiantian Xu; Jie Xiong; Qiulei Zhang; BaiZhan Li. 2019. "Natural ventilation potential for residential buildings in a densely built-up and highly polluted environment. A case study." Renewable Energy 138, no. : 340-353.

Review
Published: 12 December 2018 in Buildings
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The performance of space heating and cooling systems in buildings is usually measured by applying the first law of thermodynamics, which makes it possible to quantify the energy losses of the single components and to measure their energy conversion efficiency. However, this common approach does not properly consider that different forms of energy have different potentials to produce useful work, the latter being a function of the temperature at which energy is made available. As a result, it is not possible to properly address how the “quality” of energy is exploited or conserved in the different processes. On the contrary, the second law of thermodynamics is able to do that by introducing the concept of exergy: This is the maximum amount of work that can be produced through an ideal reversible process evolving until a full condition of equilibrium with the environment is attained. Exergy is; thus, a possible way to measure the “quality” of an energy flow or an energy source. This perspective is particularly relevant when dealing with buildings and their energy conversion systems, which usually deliver thermal energy at a temperature level that is close to the environmental temperature. This means that the users require “low-quality” energy; notwithstanding, this energy comes from the depletion of “high-quality” energy sources, such as fossil fuels and electricity. The exergy analysis helps with identifying such irrational use of the energy sources, which cannot come to light from the energy analysis. In this paper, a literature review identifies methods and metrics commonly used to carry out the exergy analysis of buildings and their energy technologies, while also underlining discrepancies and open methodological issues. Then, the review discusses the main lessons learned from selected works, providing significant advice about the rational use of energy in buildings as well as the most effective technological solutions.

ACS Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Luigi Marletta. Exergy Analysis of Energy Systems in Buildings. Buildings 2018, 8, 180 .

AMA Style

Gianpiero Evola, Vincenzo Costanzo, Luigi Marletta. Exergy Analysis of Energy Systems in Buildings. Buildings. 2018; 8 (12):180.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianpiero Evola; Vincenzo Costanzo; Luigi Marletta. 2018. "Exergy Analysis of Energy Systems in Buildings." Buildings 8, no. 12: 180.

Journal article
Published: 16 October 2018 in Sustainability
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In school buildings, natural light has considerable physiological benefits, and increases energy efficiency while reducing the operational energy consumption of buildings. It is thus crucial to maximize the amount of daylight, as well as to improve its quality, in educational premises. In Italy and other European countries, many historic buildings are reused as school buildings, changing their original function. This process of adaptive reusing is one method for conserving heritage buildings, however sometimes this process sacrifices the quality of daylight and well being of pupils. It has therefore become apparent that it is difficult to reconcile the cultural value of historic buildings with comfort standards. This study aimed to investigate the natural lighting performance of a school located in an historic building, and proposes different technological solutions to improve the visual comfort in classrooms whilst also respecting the cultural value of built heritage. Daylight performance was carried out in a representative classroom in the ‘Caserma Gaetano Abela’, an historical building located in Siracusa (Italy). A daylight model built in Radiance was first validated against an illuminance measurement campaign, and was then used to run detailed dynamic simulations. Climate Based Daylight Modelling (CBDM) metrics were used to show the achievable improvements in visual comfort conditions by means of proposed retrofit interventions. These interventions may also be used in other areas of southern Europe with similar climatic and constructive/distributive characteristics of architectural heritage.

ACS Style

Francesco Nocera; Alessandro Lo Faro; Vincenzo Costanzo; Chiara Raciti. Daylight Performance of Classrooms in a Mediterranean School Heritage Building. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3705 .

AMA Style

Francesco Nocera, Alessandro Lo Faro, Vincenzo Costanzo, Chiara Raciti. Daylight Performance of Classrooms in a Mediterranean School Heritage Building. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (10):3705.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Nocera; Alessandro Lo Faro; Vincenzo Costanzo; Chiara Raciti. 2018. "Daylight Performance of Classrooms in a Mediterranean School Heritage Building." Sustainability 10, no. 10: 3705.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Building and Environment
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This paper first reports the outcomes of a one-year measurement campaign of a passive house built in the Mediterranean climate of Cesena (Italy) in terms of thermal comfort parameters temperature and relative humidity and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) parameter CO2 concentrations. The design carried out with the help of the steady state Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) was able to guarantee good comfort conditions during the heating period, but on the other hand, overheating occurrences during the cooling season have been recorded for almost 50% time according to EN 15251 Standard. Further analyses conducted with the help of dynamic simulations in EnergyPlus allowed identifying the insulation levels and ventilation mode as the key design factors to change in order to reduce overheating to less than 20% of time while keeping a comfortable indoor environment in winter. The simplifications that can be made by reducing the insulation material thickness (up to a third of the original value) on the roof and on the walls, replacing triple-glazed windows with double-glazed windows and implementing a hybrid ventilation strategy instead of using Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) alone could also lead to economic savings. These savings, due to both lower construction costs and operational energy savings, amount to 8755 euros in terms of Net Present Value (NPV) over 30 years' time. The Passivhaus Standard can still be regarded as a good reference for designing low-energy and comfortable houses in a Mediterranean climate if some simplifications are made according to detailed building performance simulations.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Kristian Fabbri; Stefano Piraccini. Stressing the passive behavior of a Passivhaus: An evidence-based scenario analysis for a Mediterranean case study. Building and Environment 2018, 142, 265 -277.

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Kristian Fabbri, Stefano Piraccini. Stressing the passive behavior of a Passivhaus: An evidence-based scenario analysis for a Mediterranean case study. Building and Environment. 2018; 142 ():265-277.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Kristian Fabbri; Stefano Piraccini. 2018. "Stressing the passive behavior of a Passivhaus: An evidence-based scenario analysis for a Mediterranean case study." Building and Environment 142, no. : 265-277.

Research article
Published: 17 August 2018 in Building Simulation
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The incorporation of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) into the opaque envelope of lightweight buildings is a good solution to compensate for the small thermal inertia, which usually entails pronounced overheating and high space cooling load in summer. However, the position and the thickness of the PCMs, as well as their thermal properties, must be attentively selected in order to ensure their effective operation. This paper shows a comprehensive investigation about the effectiveness of a commercial PCM, available in the form of mats, when installed within drywall partition systems in air-conditioned lightweight office buildings. The study is based on dynamic simulations carried out with EnergyPlus on a typical office building, with the aim to calculate the indoor operative temperature and the cooling load under thermostatic control. The performance for the base case (without PCM) is then compared with the case where PCM mats with various thickness and melting temperature are applied. The analysis is repeated in three different locations, ranging from Southern Europe (Rome, Italy), Continental Europe (Wien, Austria) and Northern Europe (London, UK). The results of the simulations highlight that in lightweight air-conditioned office buildings PCMs contribute to attenuate the inside surface temperature peak by around 0.5 °C, while also reducing the peak cooling load by 10% or even 15%, depending on the PCM thickness and on the outdoor climate. The conclusions may help designers to make the correct choices in terms of thickness of the PCMs, scheduled rate of nighttime ventilation and value of the peak melting temperature.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta; Francesco Nocera. The effectiveness of phase change materials in relation to summer thermal comfort in air-conditioned office buildings. Building Simulation 2018, 11, 1145 -1161.

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Gianpiero Evola, Luigi Marletta, Francesco Nocera. The effectiveness of phase change materials in relation to summer thermal comfort in air-conditioned office buildings. Building Simulation. 2018; 11 (6):1145-1161.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta; Francesco Nocera. 2018. "The effectiveness of phase change materials in relation to summer thermal comfort in air-conditioned office buildings." Building Simulation 11, no. 6: 1145-1161.

Journal article
Published: 28 July 2018 in Sustainability
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This paper aims at promoting the use of Climate Based Daylight Modelling (CBDM) and related state-of-the-art metrics by discussing a range of design options to improve daylight fruition in rooms with different orientation, shape, function, and furniture of an elementary school that is located in the Mediterranean climate of Agira (Italy). The local climatic conditions, with clear skies for most of the year, require the integration of different shading and re-directing systems with the existing envelope and rooms’ layout. Results show that the dynamic modelling is a powerful and ‘creative’ tool in the designer’s hands, which helps to inform about the choice of the most appropriate technological solutions and on their architectural integration. Comparison with mostly used static daylight metrics, such as the average Daylight Factor (aDF) and the Uniformity Ratio (UR), reveals a contrast with what would be suggested if considering these metrics alone, as prescribed by the Italian legislation. These outcomes rebate the need of performing more accurate and dynamic daylight simulations using recorded (i.e., varying) rather than fixed sky conditions to correctly inform the design process.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta; Fabiana Pistone Nascone. Application of Climate Based Daylight Modelling to the Refurbishment of a School Building in Sicily. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2653 .

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Gianpiero Evola, Luigi Marletta, Fabiana Pistone Nascone. Application of Climate Based Daylight Modelling to the Refurbishment of a School Building in Sicily. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (8):2653.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta; Fabiana Pistone Nascone. 2018. "Application of Climate Based Daylight Modelling to the Refurbishment of a School Building in Sicily." Sustainability 10, no. 8: 2653.

Journal article
Published: 29 March 2018 in Energy and Buildings
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Built-up areas tend to comprise a variety of buildings with diverse and complex shapes, functions and construction characteristics. This variety is the source of significant challenges when calculating building energy use at the building stock level. Moreover, the process of developing stock models usually requires large amounts of data that are frequently scarce, nonexistent or at least not publicly available. Under these circumstances, defining a limited set of reference buildings representing the stock is useful to study the actual energy consumption and the potential effects of different energy conservation measures. This paper presents a new method for developing typical residential reference buildings at district level for bottom-up energy modeling purposes. By means of widely and freely available satellite images, an information database of building shapes is created and a clustering analysis of the geometrical features is performed to define a number of archetypes representative of the heating and cooling energy demand of the district. The method is tested and demonstrated through the case study of the Yuzhong District in Chongqing (China) by comparing the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of the archetypes derived in this way against detailed dynamic simulations. Results show very small differences in the estimated stock energy consumption (+0.03% in heating energy consumption and +2.97% in cooling energy consumption).

ACS Style

Xinyi Li; Runming Yao; Meng Liu; Vincenzo Costanzo; Wei Yu; Wenbo Wang; Alan Short; BaiZhan Li. Developing urban residential reference buildings using clustering analysis of satellite images. Energy and Buildings 2018, 169, 417 -429.

AMA Style

Xinyi Li, Runming Yao, Meng Liu, Vincenzo Costanzo, Wei Yu, Wenbo Wang, Alan Short, BaiZhan Li. Developing urban residential reference buildings using clustering analysis of satellite images. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 169 ():417-429.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xinyi Li; Runming Yao; Meng Liu; Vincenzo Costanzo; Wei Yu; Wenbo Wang; Alan Short; BaiZhan Li. 2018. "Developing urban residential reference buildings using clustering analysis of satellite images." Energy and Buildings 169, no. : 417-429.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in Applied Thermal Engineering
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ACS Style

BaiZhan Li; Chenqiu Du; Runming Yao; Wei Yu; Vincenzo Costanzo. Indoor thermal environments in Chinese residential buildings responding to the diversity of climates. Applied Thermal Engineering 2018, 129, 693 -708.

AMA Style

BaiZhan Li, Chenqiu Du, Runming Yao, Wei Yu, Vincenzo Costanzo. Indoor thermal environments in Chinese residential buildings responding to the diversity of climates. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2018; 129 ():693-708.

Chicago/Turabian Style

BaiZhan Li; Chenqiu Du; Runming Yao; Wei Yu; Vincenzo Costanzo. 2018. "Indoor thermal environments in Chinese residential buildings responding to the diversity of climates." Applied Thermal Engineering 129, no. : 693-708.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in Journal of Building Engineering
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ACS Style

Runming Yao; Vincenzo Costanzo; Xinyi Li; Qiulei Zhang; BaiZhan Li. The effect of passive measures on thermal comfort and energy conservation. A case study of the hot summer and cold winter climate in the Yangtze River region. Journal of Building Engineering 2018, 15, 298 -310.

AMA Style

Runming Yao, Vincenzo Costanzo, Xinyi Li, Qiulei Zhang, BaiZhan Li. The effect of passive measures on thermal comfort and energy conservation. A case study of the hot summer and cold winter climate in the Yangtze River region. Journal of Building Engineering. 2018; 15 ():298-310.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Runming Yao; Vincenzo Costanzo; Xinyi Li; Qiulei Zhang; BaiZhan Li. 2018. "The effect of passive measures on thermal comfort and energy conservation. A case study of the hot summer and cold winter climate in the Yangtze River region." Journal of Building Engineering 15, no. : 298-310.

Review
Published: 13 May 2017 in Buildings
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The study of daylight conditions within educational buildings has been a topic of interest since the nineteenth century in western countries, and European ones in particular. Although it has been argued that providing a view outside—or even using daylight instead of more stable and manageable artificial light—could reduce students’ performance without providing a pleasant and healthy environment, nowadays it seems that a large consensus upon the need to design well daylit spaces is being reached. This paper reviews how the research community has tackled the task of understanding and solving the complex relationships amongst local climate, users’ needs and design constraints in school buildings by showing the different approaches used and technological solutions suggested. The reported case studies, based either on experimental measurements or on simulations, highlight the need of a comprehensive approach to the topic to fully understand the non-trivial requirements of a daylit educational environment.

ACS Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta. A Review of Daylighting Strategies in Schools: State of the Art and Expected Future Trends. Buildings 2017, 7, 41 .

AMA Style

Vincenzo Costanzo, Gianpiero Evola, Luigi Marletta. A Review of Daylighting Strategies in Schools: State of the Art and Expected Future Trends. Buildings. 2017; 7 (4):41.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vincenzo Costanzo; Gianpiero Evola; Luigi Marletta. 2017. "A Review of Daylighting Strategies in Schools: State of the Art and Expected Future Trends." Buildings 7, no. 4: 41.