Analysis of Constructive Technologies for improving Energy Performance of Buildings

Abstract

Abstract. The current increase in the price of fossil fuel and, consequently, of energy, and the decrease in the availability of these resources, led to the enactment of laws, among which the European Directive 31/2010 on Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), with more strict limits on energy needs. So it is grown the interest in constructive solutions and equipments to reduce heat losses and the energy demand for heating, as well as the study to reduce energy needs for cooling and lighting in order to obtain a zero or nearly energy building. This study aims to identify solutions for zero energy building design and investigates some construction technologies and equipments in order to optimize the energy performance and to reduce the environmental impact of residential buildings. A simulation tool was used for the investigation of the feasibility of NZEB applied to a case study.

Design solutions for reducing the energy needs of residential buildings

“…The Net ZEB study case is a multi-storey residential building with 39 apartments located in Sicily (Acireale; lat 15°9', long 37°36') [16]. The internal design temperature is 20°C during the heating period (15 November 31 March) and 26°C during the cooling period (1th Marzo 14 November).…”