Sostenibilità Energetica e Controllo Ambientale

Knowledge and understanding

The course aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge required to understand the relationships among the built environment, urban microclimate, indoor environmental quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, building energy performance and the use of renewable energy sources. At the end of the course, students will understand the main physical phenomena governing heat exchanges among buildings, outdoor environment and occupants; the mechanisms leading to the urban heat island effect; indoor and outdoor comfort indices; the basic principles of indoor lighting and daylighting; the main descriptors of indoor acoustics; the role of high-reflectance materials, green roofs and bioclimatic strategies; the principles of solar radiation and energy harvesting; and the basic operation of solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind and shallow geothermal systems.

Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyse the microclimatic conditions of an urban site and the indoor environmental conditions of a building, assessing the effects of design choices on thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, energy consumption and environmental sustainability. Students will also be able to make preliminary estimates of solar radiation on surfaces with different orientations and tilts, interpret the main performance parameters of solar thermal, photovoltaic and shallow geothermal systems, assess the effects of shading, temperature, orientation and operating conditions on energy production, and compare passive and active strategies for improving the energy and environmental sustainability of the built environment.Making judgements

Students will be able to interpret climatic, energy and environmental data and critically distinguish between effective design strategies and merely apparent sustainable solutions. They will be able to make preliminary evaluations concerning the selection of materials, technologies and energy systems according to the climatic context, the urban or building scale, users’ comfort, environmental impacts and decarbonisation goals.

Communication skills

Students will be able to clearly describe, using appropriate technical language, the relationships between climate, buildings, comfort and energy systems. They will also be able to present the results of simple analyses, exercises or case studies through written reports, diagrams, graphs and oral discussion.

Learning skills

Students will acquire a study and analysis method that will allow them to independently further investigate topics related to energy sustainability, environmental control, bioclimatic design and the integration of renewable energy sources in buildings and urban environments.

The course includes lectures, numerical exercises, case-study analysis and guided discussion of design solutions. Lectures introduce theoretical and methodological concepts, while exercises focus on the application of analysis methods to real or simplified problems concerning urban microclimate, comfort, solar radiation, cool/green materials and solar energy systems.

If the course is delivered in blended or remote mode, appropriate adjustments may be made to the above, in order to ensure consistency with the syllabus.

Attendance is mandatory according to the Degree Programme regulations. Active participation in lectures and exercises is strongly recommended, as it allows students to progressively acquire the analysis methods and apply the calculation and assessment tools discussed during the course.

1. Introduction to energy and environmental sustainability in the built environment.
Role of buildings and cities in the ecological transition. Relationships among climate change, energy consumption, comfort, indoor and outdoor environmental quality. Sustainable Development Goals related to clean energy, sustainable cities, health and well-being, and climate action.

2. Urban microclimate and urban heat island.
Definition of urban microclimate. Morphological, radiative, thermal, hydrological and aerodynamic factors affecting urban climate. Urban heat island: causes, effects on comfort, energy consumption and health. Role of urban density, albedo, impervious surfaces, vegetation and anthropogenic heat.

3. Indoor and outdoor environmental quality: thermal, visual and acoustic comfort.
Definition of thermal comfort. Human body energy balance. Environmental and personal comfort parameters: air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, metabolic rate and clothing insulation. Fanger’s theory, PMV and PPD. Operative temperature. Adaptive comfort according to EN 16798-1. Local discomfort. Outdoor comfort indices: Humidex, Wind Chill, PET, UTCI and SPMV.
Principles of indoor lighting: illuminance, luminance, glare, uniformity, correlated colour temperature, colour rendering, daylighting and integration with electric lighting. Basic references to EN 12464-1, EN 17037 and LENI.
Principles of indoor acoustics: sound pressure level, equivalent continuous sound level, reverberation time, sound absorption, speech intelligibility, sound insulation, HVAC noise and acoustic comfort in educational and working environments.

4. Passive strategies and materials for climate mitigation.
Sol-air temperature. Effect of albedo and emissivity on surface temperatures. Cool materials, cool roofs and cool pavements. Solar reflectance, infrared emissivity and Solar Reflectance Index. Limits, maintenance and ageing of reflective materials. Green roofs, green façades and street trees. Effects on comfort, thermal loads, stormwater management and urban heat island mitigation. Basic references to Minimum Environmental Criteria and summer performance requirements.

5. Solar radiation and solar geometry.
Solar constant, extraterrestrial radiation, atmospheric attenuation, air mass. Solar position, solar altitude, azimuth, declination, hour angle and angle of incidence. Direct, diffuse and reflected components of solar radiation. Clearness index. Estimation of solar radiation on horizontal and tilted surfaces. Influence of tilt, orientation and shading on energy performance.

6. Solar thermal systems.
Operating principle of solar collectors. Flat-plate collectors, evacuated-tube collectors and unglazed collectors. Collector efficiency and influence of operating conditions. Main components of a solar thermal system: collector, primary circuit, heat transfer fluid, pump, heat exchanger, storage tank, control unit, expansion vessel and safety devices. Hydraulic configurations, collector connections, pressure losses, stagnation and preliminary sizing criteria.

7. Photovoltaic systems.
Photovoltaic effect and P-N junction solar cell. From module to photovoltaic generator. STC, NOCT, instantaneous efficiency, standard efficiency and annual efficiency. Effects of temperature, orientation, tilt, shading and mismatch. System components: modules, strings, inverter, MPPT, protection and monitoring devices. Preliminary sizing criteria for grid-connected photovoltaic systems and systems with storage. Basic introduction to batteries and energy storage systems.

8. Wind energy and shallow geothermal energy.
Origin of wind, vertical wind speed profile, available wind power, wind turbine types, power curve, capacity factor, siting criteria and environmental impacts.
Principles of shallow geothermal energy for buildings: ground temperature, heat exchange with the ground, vertical borehole heat exchangers, horizontal ground heat exchangers, ground-source heat pumps, COP, SPF, ground thermal balance, thermal regeneration, geological, environmental and regulatory constraints. Preliminary assessment of technical and energy feasibility.

9. Exercises and case studies.
Analysis of climatic and microclimatic data. Preliminary assessment of urban mitigation strategies. Simplified calculation of solar radiation on tilted surfaces. Assessment of orientation and shading effects on solar systems. Preliminary sizing examples for solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. Simplified assessment of indoor visual comfort, reverberation time and lighting energy demand. Preliminary analysis of ground-source heat pump systems. Discussion of case studies concerning buildings and urban spaces in Mediterranean climates.

Teaching material provided by the lecturer: slides, notes, exercises, case studies and technical documents available on Studium.

Recommended references:

T.R. Oke, G. Mills, A. Christen, J.A. Voogt, Urban Climates, Cambridge University Press.
G. Cammarata, Climatologia dell’ambiente costruito.
G. Cammarata, Impianti termotecnici – Volume I: Termofisica degli edifici.
J.A. Duffie, W.A. Beckman, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, Wiley.
ANIT Manual, Progettazione delle coperture con materiali Cool Roof.
ANIT Guide, Criteri Ambientali Minimi per l’edilizia.
Technical standards and documents discussed during the course.

The assessment consists of a written test, an oral examination and an individual or group project.

The written test assesses the student’s ability to apply the acquired knowledge through exercises, open questions and technical problems related to thermal comfort, urban microclimate, solar radiation and renewable energy systems.

The project concerns the analysis of a case study, the evaluation of an energy and environmental sustainability strategy or the preliminary sizing of a system or intervention related to the course topics.

The oral examination assesses the understanding of theoretical concepts, the ability to connect the different topics of the course, the appropriate use of technical language and the ability to critically discuss design choices.

The final mark, expressed out of 30, will consider content accuracy, ability to apply methods and equations, clarity of presentation, quality of the project, critical analysis and appropriate use of technical terminology.