In high energy performance buildings, comfort depends largely on the passive components (envelope, windows, shading and natural ventilation) and on how they are managed. The thesis addresses this topic through a case study in a Mediterranean climate: a newly built single-family house in Santeramo in Colle (Bari, Italy), with an envelope made of hemp-lime blocks and a room layout partly opposite to the one suggested by bioclimatic design, with the first-floor bedrooms facing north-east and the service rooms facing south-west. The building is analysed through energy simulation with a dynamic multi-zone model in TRNSYS 18, and comfort is assessed during the occupied hours of six rooms using the adaptive model of UNI EN 15251 (Category II). Three scenarios are compared: a baseline scenario, with no heating or cooling system and windows opened according to hourly schedules, and two scenarios with automatic control of windows and shading. Scenario 1 is based on rules of thermal enabling and protection against overcooling; scenario 2 opens the windows in proportion to the deviation from the comfort temperature. For all three scenarios, the energy demand is also estimated with an ideal system of unlimited capacity. In the baseline scenario, discomfort is almost entirely due to cold: between November and March because the free heat gains are insufficient, especially in the north-east-facing bedrooms, and between May and September because of the night ventilation set by the opening schedule. The automatic control reduces the occupied hours outside the comfort band by 46–47%, almost entirely eliminates discomfort between May and September, makes all rooms comply with the summer requirement of the Italian Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM), and increases from 5 to 105–129 the days of the year on which the building needs no support from heating or cooling systems. Between November and March, however, managing the openings cannot replace a heat supply. With the system in operation, the control in energy-saving mode reduces the energy demand for heating and cooling, which is 3,765 kWh per year in the baseline scenario, by 12% in scenario 1 and by 27% in scenario 2. The control should therefore switch between a comfort mode, when the system is off, and an energy-saving mode, when it is on. The results come from simulations, not from measurements on the real building. The model does not account for moisture transport, which is relevant in hemp-lime; the natural ventilation airflow through the windows is calculated for single-sided ventilation; the control has ideal sensors and actuators and does not consider rain, wind, noise or security.
Negli edifici ad alta prestazione energetica il comfort dipende in larga parte dalle componenti passive (involucro, serramenti, schermature e ventilazione naturale) e da come queste vengono gestite. La tesi studia questo tema su un caso studio in clima mediterraneo: un’abitazione unifamiliare di nuova costruzione a Santeramo in Colle (BA), con involucro in blocchi in calce-canapa e una distribuzione degli ambienti in parte opposta a quella suggerita dalla progettazione bioclimatica, con al primo piano le camere della zona notte rivolte a nord-est e i servizi a sud-ovest. L’edificio è oggetto di simulazione energetica con un modello dinamico multizona in TRNSYS 18 e il comfort è valutato nelle ore di occupazione di sei ambienti con il modello adattivo della UNI EN 15251 (categoria II). Sono confrontati lo scenario di partenza, senza impianti e con le finestre aperte secondo programmi orari, e due scenari con controllo automatico di finestre e schermature, basati su regole di consenso termico e di protezione dal freddo (scenario 1) e su un’apertura proporzionale allo scostamento dalla temperatura di comfort (scenario 2); per i tre scenari è stimato anche il fabbisogno di energia con un impianto ideale di potenza infinita. Nello scenario di partenza il discomfort è quasi interamente da freddo: fra novembre e marzo per l’insufficienza degli apporti gratuiti, soprattutto nelle camere esposte a nord-est, e fra maggio e settembre per la ventilazione notturna prevista dal programma. Il controllo automatico riduce le ore occupate fuori dalla fascia di comfort del 46–47%, elimina quasi del tutto il discomfort fra maggio e settembre, porta tutti gli ambienti a rispettare il requisito estivo dei Criteri Ambientali Minimi e amplia da 5 a 105–129 i giorni dell’anno in cui l’edificio non necessita di integrazione impiantistica; fra novembre e marzo, invece, la gestione delle aperture non può sostituire un apporto di calore. Con l’impianto in funzione, il controllo in modalità di risparmio riduce il fabbisogno di energia per la climatizzazione, che nello scenario di partenza è di 3.765 kWh all’anno, del 12% nello scenario 1 e del 27% nello scenario 2: il controllo deve quindi alternare una modalità di comfort, senza impianto, e una di risparmio. I risultati derivano da simulazioni e non da misure sull’edificio reale. Il modello non rappresenta il trasporto di umidità, rilevante nella calce-canapa; la portata di ventilazione naturale dalle finestre è calcolata per la ventilazione monolaterale; il controllo ha sensori e attuatori ideali e non considera pioggia, vento, rumore e sicurezza.
STRATEGIE DI CONTROLLO DELLE COMPONENTI PASSIVE IN EDIFICI AD ALTA PRESTAZIONE ENERGETICA
MASSARI, GABRIELE
2025/2026
Abstract
In high energy performance buildings, comfort depends largely on the passive components (envelope, windows, shading and natural ventilation) and on how they are managed. The thesis addresses this topic through a case study in a Mediterranean climate: a newly built single-family house in Santeramo in Colle (Bari, Italy), with an envelope made of hemp-lime blocks and a room layout partly opposite to the one suggested by bioclimatic design, with the first-floor bedrooms facing north-east and the service rooms facing south-west. The building is analysed through energy simulation with a dynamic multi-zone model in TRNSYS 18, and comfort is assessed during the occupied hours of six rooms using the adaptive model of UNI EN 15251 (Category II). Three scenarios are compared: a baseline scenario, with no heating or cooling system and windows opened according to hourly schedules, and two scenarios with automatic control of windows and shading. Scenario 1 is based on rules of thermal enabling and protection against overcooling; scenario 2 opens the windows in proportion to the deviation from the comfort temperature. For all three scenarios, the energy demand is also estimated with an ideal system of unlimited capacity. In the baseline scenario, discomfort is almost entirely due to cold: between November and March because the free heat gains are insufficient, especially in the north-east-facing bedrooms, and between May and September because of the night ventilation set by the opening schedule. The automatic control reduces the occupied hours outside the comfort band by 46–47%, almost entirely eliminates discomfort between May and September, makes all rooms comply with the summer requirement of the Italian Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM), and increases from 5 to 105–129 the days of the year on which the building needs no support from heating or cooling systems. Between November and March, however, managing the openings cannot replace a heat supply. With the system in operation, the control in energy-saving mode reduces the energy demand for heating and cooling, which is 3,765 kWh per year in the baseline scenario, by 12% in scenario 1 and by 27% in scenario 2. The control should therefore switch between a comfort mode, when the system is off, and an energy-saving mode, when it is on. The results come from simulations, not from measurements on the real building. The model does not account for moisture transport, which is relevant in hemp-lime; the natural ventilation airflow through the windows is calculated for single-sided ventilation; the control has ideal sensors and actuators and does not consider rain, wind, noise or security.I documenti in UNITESI sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14253/110839