GLOBAL SAVING EVALUATION THROUGH A RETROFITTING ACTION

Abstract

The paper shows a work that was carried out by the authors as members of the PADesign Company, academic spin off of University of Palermo. Currently, energy retrofit of existing building has become an important goal, because it is now widely recognized that the buildings are one of the main causes of CO2 production and of non-renewable energy consumptions. To act on the energy performance of existing buildings (adapting their performances to those required by regulations) is an important strategy to reduce energy consumptions since they are much more than new buildings. Through the application of innovative technologies and methodologies and the choice of appropriate investments, the retrofit can also be an economic opportunity. The paper will present the result of a research about the convenience of the retrofit actions: it can be possible to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies proposed by examining an emblematic building and measuring the improvements obtainable through the energy requirements simulation according to the intended use. In this way it is possible to predict the final energy needs and to estimate the obtainable savings. A cost-benefits analysis allows to evaluate the proposed solution. This aspect will be addressed with special effort, in fact most of the energy retrofit action despite being efficient they don't take into account the high costs of interventions, discouraging the users.