The subflorescence and efflorescence phenomena are widely acknowledged as the major causes of permanent damage to fresco wall paintings. They are related to the occurrence of cycles of dry/wet conditions inside the walls. Therefore, it is essential to identify the presence of water on the decorated surfaces and inside the walls.Nondestructive testing in industrial applications have confirmed that active infrared thermography with continuous timed images acquisition can improve the outcomes of thermal analysis aimed to moisture identification. In spite of that, in cultural heritage investigations these techniques have not been yet used extensively on a regular basis. This paper illustrates an application of these principles in order to evaluate the decay of fresco mural paintings in a medieval chapel located in North−West of Italy. One important feature of this study is the use of a robotic system called aIRview that can be utilized to automatically acquire and process thermal images. Multiple accurate thermal views of the inside walls of the building have been produced in a survey that lasted several days. Signal processing algorithms based on Fast Fourier Transform analysis have been applied to the acquired data in order to formulate trustworthy hypotheses about the deterioration mechanisms.

Electric radiant heating panels are frequently selected during the design phase of residential and industrial heating systems, especially for retrofit of existing buildings, as an alternative to other common heating systems, such as radiators or air conditioners. The possibility of saving living and working space and the ease of installation are the main advantages of electric radiant solutions. This paper investigates the thermal performance of a typical electric radiant panel. A climatic room was equipped with temperature sensors and heat flow meters to perform a steady state experimental analysis. For the dynamic behavior, a mathematical model was created and compared to a thermographic measurement procedure. The results showed for the steady state an efficiency of energy transformation close to one, while in a transient thermal regime the time constant to reach the steady state condition was slightly faster than the typical ones of hydronic systems.

Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.