The EPBD (Energy Performances of Buildings Directive) updated on 9 July 2010 imposes new rules for energy savings in buildings. By 31 December 2020 all new buildings must be nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) with reference to the consumption of fossil fuels. The roadmap that each nation is adopting for this purpose imposes a further significant increase in the share of the building energy requirement covered by renewable energy. Achieving this goal at acceptable costs for the communities represents a real challenge considering the current state of the art. The role of Eco-Architecture will be fundamental in this phase of introduction and spread of innovative techniques in the design of building-plant system. For this aim, the installation of heat pumps for building heating is able to contribute significantly in terms of better energy performance and exploitation of renewable energy. In fact, in the EPBD the energy from heat sources of heat pumps (air, ground, water) is considered renewable energy. An assessment about the possibilities and limits of the electric heat pump installation in dwellings is here reported for different case studies and climates in Europe.

Due to its more and more widespread diffusion, Air Conditioning (A/C) systems in automobiles will face two main challenges in the near future: to improve the evaluation and control of perceived thermal comfort, and to reduce the fuel consumption increase due to its use (up to 70% in urban operation under hot weather [1]). In view of future regulations and heightening environmental concern, rapid action is needed to reduce such negative A/C impact. Moreover, the A/C system has also an important role in safety, since it has to assure the driver’s visibility by avoiding fogging formation on the windshield in any condition of use. This function has to be assured in the most reliable and automatic way, minimising the interaction of the driver with the A/C system itself. The two research projects described in the present paper have the following goals: • To improve the perceived thermal comfort evaluation. • To lower the impact of air conditioning system on fuel consumption. • To detect incipient fogging conditions in a reliable and predictive way. The research activity has been performed with the following constraints: • To minimize the number of sensors. • To reduce the cost of the air conditioning system.

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