Papers by Lorenzo Pagliano
Energy and Buildings, 2016
Outdoor test cells have been extensively used for analyzing the thermo-physical properties of bui... more Outdoor test cells have been extensively used for analyzing the thermo-physical properties of building envelope components under real climate conditions. The paper presents a new test cell facility, under development at the Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics, du Bâtiment et de l'Industrie (ESTP Paris) within the framework of a collaboration between the end-use Efficiency Research Group of Politecnico di Milano and ESTP. The facility will allow to obtain reliable estimates of thermal performance indicators of transparent and opaque building elements. A particular care has been taken in the design phase in order to minimize or to accurately evaluate all sources of uncertainty, such as (i) conductive heat losses through the test cell envelope, (ii) time lag of response to transient solar conditions, (iii) levels of airtightness and of resistance to vapour or water penetration..
… : DAN ENERGIJE U …, 2001
... 128 REGULACIJA CIJENA U SVRHU OTKLANJANJA DESTIMULANSA I POTICAJ KA POVEĆANJU PRODAJE ENERGIJ... more ... 128 REGULACIJA CIJENA U SVRHU OTKLANJANJA DESTIMULANSA I POTICAJ KA POVEĆANJU PRODAJE ENERGIJE U DIJELOVIMA MONOPOLA RESTRUKTURIRANIH TRITA ELEKTRIČNE ENERGIJE I PLINA: TARIFNA SHEMA VIESTRUKIH POTICAJA (MDT) 2 ...
ABSTRACT The paper presents the analysis made to support an Architect Studio (Richard Meier, NY) ... more ABSTRACT The paper presents the analysis made to support an Architect Studio (Richard Meier, NY) in the process of designing a large office and laboratory building (6 400 m2 above ground and 10 600 m2 under ground) that will be constructed in 2008 in the new technology area near Bergamo. The building, following the design style of Meier (see for example the Dives in Misericordia Church in Rome) aims at constant visual contact of the occupants with the outdoor and the sky through use of transparent surfaces. Based on analysis made by eERG, the resulting challenge from the energy and comfort point of view has been addressed via a number of refinements and additions to the original design. The owner aims at achieving the GreenBuilding partner status.
Building Simulation Conference proceedings, Aug 28, 2013
At the Passivhaus of Cherasco, located in Pianura Padana (Italy), an earth to air heat exchanger ... more At the Passivhaus of Cherasco, located in Pianura Padana (Italy), an earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) and natural night ventilation (in summer) are used to deliver comfort conditions with very low energy consumption. One year and a half of continuous measurements have been carried out in order to evaluate the energy and comfort performances of this building, which combines the Passivhaus concept with local architectural solutions. We present an analysis of the system constituted by building envelope and EAHE. Monitored data (with a particular focus on cooling potential) were evaluated with the use of established indicators and compared with simulations performed by coupling dynamic simulation software (EnergyPlus) and an analytic model for the EAHE. Based on this analysis a simplified steady-periodic model is developed to provide an estimate of the behaviour of the coupled system building envelope (including night ventilation) and EAHE from the point of view of energy and comfort, over a period of few weeks. The model is validated towards monitored data and shows a good agreement in terms of temperature profile, with a slight phase discrepancy, as expected based on the simplifying assumptions about thermal capacity effects. The analytic model is proposed as a tool for (i) evaluating the integration of EAHEs during the early design phase and (ii) optimise their operation under variable weather and occupation conditions, via incorporation in the control software of the building.
Journal of Architectural Engineering, Dec 1, 2023
ABSTRACT One of the fastest growing sources of new energy demand is space cooling. The studies EE... more ABSTRACT One of the fastest growing sources of new energy demand is space cooling. The studies EECCAC and EERAC predict a four-fold growth in air- conditioned space between 1990 and 2020 (Adnot, J. et Al, 2003). The IEA Future Building Forum identified space cooling as one of the fastest growing sources of new energy demand (International Energy Agency, 2004). In its preamble, the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) states that “Priority should be given to strategies which enhance the thermal performance of buildings during the summer period. To this end there should be further development of passive cooling techniques, primarily those that improve indoor climatic conditions and the microclimate around buildings” (European Communities, 2003, p. L1/66). But such passive cooling technologies, which are already available and cost effective (such as use of well designed sun shades, efficient lighting and office equipment, passive cooling via thermal exchange with the ground, night ventilation etc.) are not widely used in an integrated way today: the most common choice for a building owner when addressing summer comfort issues is still mechanical cooling, often without previously investigating other available measures regarding the optimization of envelope features (e.g. solar protections, glazing solar factor, thermal insulation of opaque surfaces, thermal mass). This paper is based on some preliminary results of the project KeepCool2 (KC 2 in the following) to contribute to a broad market transformation from “a p. 1 / 8 cooling approach” to “a sustainable summer comfort approach” which makes effective use of • the most advanced knowledge and technologies for good design of building envelope (or redesign through retrofit actions) • passive cooling techniques and • comfort responses and adaption mechanisms of occupants (according to the new European Standard EN15251/ 2007, (CEN 2007a), (Nicol and Pagliano 2007)) In the Keepcool project “sustainable summer comfort” is defined as “achieving good summer comfort conditions with no or limited use of non renewable energy1 and through the use of environmentally non-harmful materials”, according to the definition set up in the KeepCool project (Varga and Pagliano 2006, see also https://www.keep-cool.net/keepcool.html).
Figure 1: Annual cooling energy demand in the European Union, forecast by the project EECCAC (Adn... more Figure 1: Annual cooling energy demand in the European Union, forecast by the project EECCAC (Adnot et al, 2003, p. 21).
... 128 REGULACIJA CIJENA U SVRHU OTKLANJANJA DESTIMULANSA I POTICAJ KA POVEĆANJU PRODAJE ENERGIJ... more ... 128 REGULACIJA CIJENA U SVRHU OTKLANJANJA DESTIMULANSA I POTICAJ KA POVEĆANJU PRODAJE ENERGIJE U DIJELOVIMA MONOPOLA RESTRUKTURIRANIH TRITA ELEKTRIČNE ENERGIJE I PLINA: TARIFNA SHEMA VIESTRUKIH POTICAJA (MDT) 2 ...
Building Simulation Conference proceedings, Aug 28, 2013
The European standard EN 15251 specifies design criteria for dimensioning of building systems. In... more The European standard EN 15251 specifies design criteria for dimensioning of building systems. In detail, it proposes that the adaptive comfort model is used, at first, for dimensioning passive means; but, if indoor operative temperature does not meet the chosen long-term adaptive comfort criterion in the "cooling season", the design would include a mechanical cooling system. In this case, the reference design criteria are provided accordingly the Fanger comfort model. However, there is a discontinuity by switching from the adaptive to the Fanger model, since the best building variant, according to the former, may not coincide with the optimal according to the latter. In this paper, an optimization procedure to support the design of a comfort-optimized net zero energy building is proposed. It uses an optimization engine (GenOpt) for driving a dynamic simulation engine (EnergyPlus) towards those building variants that minimize, at first, two seasonal long-term discomfort indices based on an adaptive model; and if indoor conditions do not meet the adaptive comfort limits or analyst's expectations, it minimizes two seasonal long-term discomfort indices based on the Fanger model. The calculation of such indices has been introduced in EnergyPlus via the Energy Management System module, by writing computer codes in the EnergyPlus Reference Language. The used long-term discomfort indices proved to provide similar ranking capabilities of building variants, even if they are based on different comfort models, and the proposed procedure meets the twostep procedure suggested by EN 15251 without generating significant discontinuities.
Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn eBooks, Feb 13, 2015
A primary goal of buildings is to provide shelter, a space to live and engage in activities, and ... more A primary goal of buildings is to provide shelter, a space to live and engage in activities, and to facilitate provision of a comfortable environment. In the context of net-zero energy buildings (Net ZEBs), this means they should efficiently provide a comfortable environment while meeting the net-zero energy target. While comfort was once considered something that occupants passively tolerate, more recent research has recognized that occupants adapt themselves and their environment in order to improve comfort (de Dear and Brager, 1998). For this reason, comfort is tightly linked to energy performance; if occupants are not provided with comfortable conditions, they often adapt in the most convenient and responsive way rather than in energy conserving ways (Cole and Brown, 2009). Therefore, comfort should be critically assessed throughout the design and operation of Net ZEBs. This chapter focuses on the three main categories of occupant comfort in buildings (thermal, visual, and acoustic) and indoor air quality (IAQ). These domains are all linked to each other and energy performance and must be incorporated into design as such, as shown in Figure 3.1. For instance, in naturally ventilated buildings, occupants are often faced with making compromises between acoustic comfort (noise from outside), thermal comfort (a cooling sensation from moving air or by introducing cooler outdoor air), and indoor air quality (fresh outdoor air). Conventionally, thermal comfort has been considered a function of four environmental variables (air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, and air speed) and two personal variables (metabolic activity and clothing level). Using an energy balance of the human body, comfort levels are predicted based on laboratory-based experiments and occupant ratings of comfort. A newer approach, known as adaptive thermal comfort, acknowledges that occupants tend to attempt to control the indoor environmental variables to restore comfort. Adaptive comfort models generally predict lower energy use as long as convenient, responsive, and effective means for occupants to improve their environment are available (e.g., operable windows). Perspectives on visual comfort have also evolved recently due to renewed emphasis on daylighting as an important approach to reducing energy use for Net ZEBs, daylight's importance to health and well-being (Veitch, 2011), and the predominant use of vertically oriented computer monitors (as opposed to deskwork). Visual comfort is affected by window size, position, and type, and interior geometry and finishes. Daylight glare can be controlled using fixed shading (e.g., overhangs and fixed louvers) and dynamic shading devices (e.g., blinds). Acoustic comfort is often neglected during the design of standard and Net ZEBs because it can conflict with good daylighting and natural ventilation design. Recent reports of postoccupancy evaluation of low-energy buildings have revealed that they generally Modeling, Design, and Optimization of Net-Zero Energy Buildings, First Edition. Edited by Andreas Athienitis and William O'Brien.
IOP conference series, Jul 1, 2019
The increase in the energy need for cooling is one of the major challenges in nearly Zero Energy ... more The increase in the energy need for cooling is one of the major challenges in nearly Zero Energy Buildings. Recent constructions are characterized by high thermal insulation levels, which can be effective in preventing summer discomfort in combination with accurate control of solar gains through glazed surfaces and discharge of overall gains via ventilation. In addition, urbanization, densification and the global warming trends registered in the last decades can increase the risk and magnitude of overheating effect if an accurate design and use of correct technologies and good practices are not considered. The paper investigates the effects and the potential of natural night ventilation, as a strategy to reduce the energy need for cooling even taking into account the evolution of surrounding urban area with the exacerbation of urban heat island under future weather projections. Among the different tools available for the assessment of the cooling potential in buildings, the research focuses on two methodologies, which are adaptable to the conceptual design phase, where a first approximation of the natural ventilation potential is required. The study is developed on the weather datasets referred to the area of Milan and shows the future evolution of the night cooling potential, highlighting the importance of orienting building design towards greater integration between different passive cooling strategies for the summer period.
Energy Procedia, Nov 1, 2015
Old buildings that are severe energy wasters and provide low indoor environmental quality (IEQ) f... more Old buildings that are severe energy wasters and provide low indoor environmental quality (IEQ) form a large fraction of the European building stock. These buildings represent nevertheless, an asset that should be re-evaluated in order to promote local communities development. This paper describes the study that supported the design for the zero energy retrofit of a kindergarten as part of a renovated smart district. The work will substantially reduce the energy needs for heating and cooling while improving IEQ. Prefabricated modules, including mechanical ventilation and solar shading are proposed and particular attention is given to natural, mechanical and hybrid ventilation.
A large office building has been the object of a detailed feasibility study in order to select th... more A large office building has been the object of a detailed feasibility study in order to select the most effective actions for energy saving in space cooling. Actions concerning the modification of building envelope layout, including materials, shading devices, colours, and retrofit insulation have been tested together with a set of improvements of the lighting system and an extensive use of daylighting strategies. Building energy performances under the various retrofit hypotheses have been assessed by means of DOE-2.1E. Changes in consumption of both electricity and fuel have been evaluated through all year round simulation. The integration of daylighting with lighting controls was simulated using a specific software (LUMENMICRO) in combination with DOE-2. All the actions have been classified according to their economic, energy and environmental performances.
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Papers by Lorenzo Pagliano