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Italian local codes for energy efficiency of buildings: Theoretical definition and experimental application to a residential case study

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  • Salvalai, Graziano
  • Masera, Gabriele
  • Sesana, Marta Maria

Abstract

The environmental concern in light of anthropogenic climate change is directly concerning the building sector as one of the major energy consumers and CO2 producers. To reduce the environmental impact of new and refurbished buildings, one of the most promising policies is the widespread adoption of Building Energy Regulation Codes (BERC), since they have a direct impact on the everyday work of local planners, architects, engineers and building companies. This article will look at how BERCs were implemented in Italy, where Regions and municipalities have developed in recent years a number of local regulations trying to drive the market towards more energy efficient practices. This happened in a legislative vacuum because the Italian Government implemented the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (2002/91/EC) only in 2005 and defined the related National Guidelines only in 2009. This article provides an overview on EPBD implementation in Europe and a Geocluster Italian distribution of BERCs in order to show their geographical distribution and their influence on the construction sector practices, focusing in particular on the region of Lombardy. Then the article describes the methodology followed for the definition of BERCs in nine municipalities in the same region. In conclusion, the paper presents the practical application of one of the nine BERCs to a NZEB residential case study as an example of what the EBPD recast define as nZEB.

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  • Salvalai, Graziano & Masera, Gabriele & Sesana, Marta Maria, 2015. "Italian local codes for energy efficiency of buildings: Theoretical definition and experimental application to a residential case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1245-1259.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:42:y:2015:i:c:p:1245-1259
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.038
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    4. López-Ochoa, Luis M. & Las-Heras-Casas, Jesús & López-González, Luis M. & Olasolo-Alonso, Pablo, 2019. "Towards nearly zero-energy buildings in Mediterranean countries: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive evolution and the energy rehabilitation challenge in the Spanish residential sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 335-352.
    5. Graziano Salvalai & Marta Maria Sesana & Diletta Brutti & Marco Imperadori, 2020. "Design and Performance Analysis of a Lightweight Flexible nZEB," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-27, July.
    6. Luis M. López-Ochoa & Jesús Las-Heras-Casas & Luis M. López-González & César García-Lozano, 2020. "Energy Renovation of Residential Buildings in Cold Mediterranean Zones Using Optimized Thermal Envelope Insulation Thicknesses: The Case of Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-34, March.
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    11. Ke Fan & Edwin H. W. Chan & C. K. Chau, 2018. "Costs and Benefits of Implementing Green Building Economic Incentives: Case Study of a Gross Floor Area Concession Scheme in Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    12. Shad, Rouzbeh & Khorrami, Mohammad & Ghaemi, Marjan, 2017. "Developing an Iranian green building assessment tool using decision making methods and geographical information system: Case study in Mashhad city," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 324-340.
    13. Najat El Asri & Nawal Abdou & Mohammed Mharzi & Abdelmajid Maghnouj, 2023. "Moroccan Public Buildings and the RTCM: Insights into Compliance, Energy Performance, and Regulation Improvement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Ferrari, S. & Zoghi, M. & Blázquez, T. & Dall’O’, G., 2022. "New Level(s) framework: Assessing the affinity between the main international Green Building Rating Systems and the european scheme," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    15. Rui Jiang & Rongrong Li, 2017. "Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Life-Cycle Carbon Emission in China’s Building Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-18, May.
    16. López-Ochoa, Luis M. & Las-Heras-Casas, Jesús & González-Caballín, Juan M. & Carpio, Manuel, 2023. "Towards nearly zero-energy residential buildings in Mediterranean countries: The implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018 in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    17. Berardi, Umberto, 2017. "A cross-country comparison of the building energy consumptions and their trends," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 230-241.

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