Energy

Efficiency
in Historic
Buildings

26
rehva
Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Energy Efficiency in
Historic Buildings

Francesca R. d'Ambrosio Alfano (Ed.)

Livio Mazzarella (Ed.)

Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
DISCLAIMER
This Guidebook is the result of the efforts of REHVA volunteers. It has been written with care,
using the best available information and the soundest judgment possible. REHVA and its
volunteers, who contributed to this Guidebook, make no representation or warranty, expressed
or implied, concerning the completeness, accuracy, or applicability of the information
contained in the Guidebook. No liability of any kind shall be assumed by REHVA or the authors
of this Guidebook as a result of reliance on any information contained in this document.
The user shall assume the entire risk of the use of any and all information in this Guidebook.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2018 by REHVA

REHVA is the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Associations, www.rehva.eu
All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopies or any other information storage and re-
trieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to:
REHVA Office, 40 Rue Washington, 1050 Brussels – Belgium
e-mail: [email protected]

ISBN 978-2-930521-20-6

Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Table of Contents

1 LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS .......................................................................1

1.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................1
1.2 European Directives and historic buildings ..........................................................1
1.3 The European standard ..........................................................................................4

2 HISTORIC BUILDINGS REHABILITATION PROCESS ..........................................6

2.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................6
2.2 The team ................................................................................................................7
2.3 The path of knowledge ..........................................................................................7
2.4 Scaling up the improvement process ................................................................... 14

3 BUILDING DIAGNOSIS ............................................................................................ 17

3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 17
3.2 The diagnosis procedure ...................................................................................... 17
3.3 Envelope Analysis ............................................................................................... 18
3.4 Building Service Systems Analysis ..................................................................... 22
3.5 Building Energy Modelling ................................................................................. 23
3.6 Energy Performance Assessment ........................................................................ 28

4 BUILDING PROGNOSIS ........................................................................................... 31

4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 31
4.2 Cultural Heritage Compatible Envelope Interventions ........................................ 32
4.3 Cultural Heritage Compatible Equipment Interventions ..................................... 40
4.4 Landscape integration analysis ............................................................................ 47
4.5 Fire Safety Issues ................................................................................................. 50

5 ENERGY AUDIT PROCEDURE................................................................................ 52

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 52
5.2 The scope of the energy audit .............................................................................. 53
5.3 Energy audit requirements ................................................................................... 53
5.4 Energy audit levels .............................................................................................. 54
5.5 The audit process ................................................................................................. 55
5.6 Energy calculation ............................................................................................... 60
5.7 Energy performance indicators ............................................................................ 61
5.8 Energy savings opportunity assessment procedure ............................................. 62
5.9 Multi-criteria analysis .......................................................................................... 67
5.10 Energy audit of historic buildings........................................................................ 69

iii
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
6 SYSTEM COMPATIBLE DESIGN ............................................................................ 70
6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 70
6.2 Water Systems ..................................................................................................... 70
6.3 Air Systems ......................................................................................................... 71
6.4 Combined Air and Water Systems ..................................................................... 72
6.5 Refrigerant Flow Systems.................................................................................... 72
6.6 Other System Components ................................................................................. 73
6.7 Heating Generation Systems................................................................................ 74
6.8 Cooling Generation Systems ............................................................................... 78
6.9 Combined Heating and Cooling Systems ............................................................ 80
6.10 Combined Heat and Power Generation ............................................................... 82
6.11 Electric Power Generation ................................................................................... 83
6.12 Designing new systems in brief ........................................................................... 87

7 SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE .............................................. 91

7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 91
7.2 Maintenance service ............................................................................................ 91
7.3 Maintenance plan ................................................................................................. 91
7.4 HVAC system maintenance ................................................................................. 92
7.5 Historic building system maintenance ................................................................. 97

8 APPLICATION EXAMPLES ...................................................................................... 99

8.1 The Castle of Acquabella, Reggello (Italy) ......................................................... 99
8.2 Paul VI Hall (Vatican City) ............................................................................... 101
8.3 Le Losserand, Hotel d'Activité – Paris (France) ................................................ 103
8.4 Royal Tropical Institute – Amsterdam (The Nederlands).................................. 105
8.5 National library Klementinum – Prague (Czech Republic) ............................... 110
8.6 Historic residential building upgrade to nZEB Coimbra, Portugal.................... 114

APPENDIX A. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY .......................................... 120

APPENDIX B. HYGROTHERMAL PARAMETERS ................................................... 125

APPENDIX C. TECHNICAL SHEETS ......................................................................... 127

APPENDIX D. BUILDING PERFORMANCE SIMULATION TOOLS ...................... 132

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 136

iv
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Preface

These guidelines provide information to intervention, reversibility, distinguishabil-

evaluate and improve the energy perfor- ity, expressive authenticity, durability and
mance of historic buildings, fully respect- respect of the original fabric.
ing their significance as well as their cul-
tural heritage and aesthetic qualities. The However, these guidelines have a more am-
guidelines are intended for both design en- bitious objective. Their aim is to expose the
gineers and government agencies. They relationship between restoration and instal-
provide design engineers with a tool for en- lation that today remains barely explored
ergy auditing the historic building and offer from a theoretical point of view and less
a framework for the design of possible en- well known than, for example, the corre-
ergy upgrades, which are conceptually sim- sponding relationship between restoration
ilar to those provided for non-protected and the need for full accessibility, or be-
buildings, but appropriately tailored to the tween restoration and structural consolida-
needs and peculiarities of cultural heritage. tion works.
These guidelines also provide the institu-
tions responsible for protecting the build- Even for structural consolidation, it is nec-
ing, the opportunity to objectively decide essary to radically rethink the concept,
on the level of energy efficiency achieved which is reflected in a new methodological
as a result of the rehabilitation in accord- approach, an example of which is suggested
ance with the conservation criteria. in these guidelines.

Whenever an intervention is required for a Considering the experiences of some years

protected property, or indeed for any prop- ago that led to debate on the problems asso-
erty of cultural value, it should be consid- ciated with the historical-critical process,
ered that the work to be carried out falls and to the scientific-technical process for
within the scope of restoration1. The prior- consolidation restoration projects, which
ity objectives are to preserve and bring recognised the need for rigorous unifica-
these assets in line with the future in the tion. This same fusion is proposed when
best possible condition. considering the energy efficiency of a cul-
tural asset.
Even the energy efficiency measures
should reflect the above purposes, which In the relationship between restoration and
means considering energy efficiency as a systems, we still see a gap in the rules and
tool for protecting – rather than a process of regulations. Notwithstanding this gap, the
upgrading that potentially conflicts with the need to include systems in the restoration
conservation requirements. It follows that concept and the three-point criteria (mini-
the design choices should be made by con- mum intervention, reversibility and com-
sulting with the conservation experts. The patibility) is well established.
criteria as set out in the Venice Charter for
Conservation and Restoration [1] are of in- In this regard, these guidelines also propose
valuable help: compatibility, minimum that the concept of “improvement” should

v
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
replace the concept of “adaptation” in the quality, and a determination of the risks to
current standards and the requirements re- them (including identification of possible
garding safety and comfort, should be elab- interventions for both the fabric and the
orated along the lines of “integrated conser- systems).
vation” [2].
As to the application of these principles,
Proposals to improve the energy compli- whenever it is possible, these guidelines re-
ance of an historic building (or, even, of a fer to existing legislation with non-binding
cultural landscape) can be made by taking methods that, given the nature of evolution
appropriate measures that are well balanced may, and will, be subject to revision and
and suitable for architectural or landscape updates.
integration. This means that you will often
have to settle for a partial architectural in- These guidelines are therefore both a point
tegration, rather than a total integration, as of arrival (if a unification of languages
would be desirable for new buildings. The among different regulations can be
required level of integration must be such reached), but above all they serve as a start-
that the interventions proposed do not upset ing point and a stimulus for further ad-
the asset itself, which is the case when vances and progress in a sector that will be
"adapting" it to the current standards and of fundamental importance to the develop-
requirements, as if it were a new building. ment of our future society.

The proposed methodology is based on an

interdisciplinary approach, the main steps
of which are clearly set out in the guide-
lines. Following a review of general princi-
ples and concepts, these steps include an Francesca R. d’Ambrosio Alfano
analysis of the building systems; in respect and Livio Mazzarella
of the historic buildings’ environmental Editors of the Guidebook

vi
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Foreword
REHVA, founded in 1963, is the European professional umbrella organisation that joins
national associations of building services engineers. Today REHVA represents more than
120.000 HVAC designers, engineers, technicians, and experts from 27 European countries.
REHVA is dedicated to the improvement of health, comfort and energy efficiency in all
buildings and communities. REHVA provides its members with a platform for international
networking, and knowledge exchange, contributes to technical and professional develop-
ment, follows EU policy developments, and represents the interests of its members in Eu-
rope and in the world. REHVA’s mission is to promote energy efficient and healthy tech-
nologies for mechanical services of buildings, and to disseminate knowledge among pro-
fessionals and practitioners in Europe and beyond. REHVA Guidebooks are among the
most important tools to diffuse knowledge on latest developments, and advanced technol-
ogies providing practical guidance to practitioners. REHVA has published 25 guidebooks
to date, this guide on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings is the 26th in the REHVA
Guidebook series.

Member countries of REHVA

Belgium | Croatia | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany |
Hungary | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Moldavia | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal |
Romania | Russia | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey |
United Kingdom

Working Group
This book was developed with a working group consisting of the following experts:

Main authors
• Francesca R. d'Ambrosio Alfano (Ed.) (Professor, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Livio Mazzarella (Ed.) (Professor of Building Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Laura Bellia (Professor, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Livio de Santoli (Professor, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Marco Filippi (Professor, Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Piercarlo Romagnoni (Professor, Università IUAV of Venezia, Italy)
Email: [email protected]

vii
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Case studies authors
• Michala Lysczas (Researcher, ČVUT, Czech Republic)
Email: [email protected]
• Hans Besselink (Senior Consultant, RoyalhaskoningDHV Buildings, Netherlands)
Email: [email protected]
• Nelson Silva Brito (Researcher, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal)
Email: [email protected]
• Manuel Carlos Gameiro da Silva (Professor, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal)
Email: [email protected]
• Stefano Paolo Corgnati (Professor, Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
Email: [email protected]
• Karel Kabele (Professor, ČVUT, Czech Republic)
Email: [email protected]
• Rik Maaijen (Consultant, RoyalhaskoningDHV Buildings, Netherlands)
Email: [email protected]

Reviewers
This book was reviewed with a working group consisting of the following experts:
• Derrick Braham (CIBSE, UK)
• Ahmet Arisoy (TTMD, Turkey)

Acknowledgements
REHVA expresses its gratitude to Task Force leaders and editors Livio Mazzarella and
Francesca R. d'Ambrosio Alfano, and all the volunteers for their valuable contribution to
the writing, edition, and review of this Guidebook. REHVA especially thanks to AiCARR
and REHVA Staff for their outstanding support in achieving this guidebook.

viii
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
1 Legislation and regulations
1.1 Introduction ble with the results of calculations per-
formed on other buildings only if the as-
The assessment of building energy perfor- sumptions are consistent. The calculated
mance is today based on the energy perfor- assessment of a building’s energy demand
mance indicator EP, which expresses the will be influenced by the assumptions that
primary energy consumption related to a the calculation method allows the designer
specific area, expressed in kWh/(m²·year). to make. When dealing with historic build-
This indicator is determined for both winter ing energy performance assessments,
and summer conditions and is calculated which are often unique, comparisons
according to the instructions provided by among them or with other existing build-
specific national laws (some EU states use ings is potentially meaningless. This is be-
total primary energy, some non-renewable cause it is very common that different his-
primary energy, etc.). toric buildings are subject to different con-
straints and, thus, the sets of compatible en-
The EP is thus a standardised performance ergy improvement actions are likely to be
indicator whose value may change accord- quite different. Consequently, the achieva-
ing to both the technical and technological ble energy performances are strongly dom-
solutions adopted. For this reason, when inated by local specific conditions and so
choosing any energy conversion system generalisations cannot be applied.
and/or modifying envelope components, it
is important to be able to compare the po-
tentially adoptable different solutions. The 1.2 European Directives and
main goal is to evaluate the feasibility of historic buildings 2
each possible solution with the aim of max-
imising energy efficiency, while meeting The building sector is one of the key energy
the regulatory restraints imposed on the consumers in Europe where energy use in
renovation of historic buildings and, of buildings has typically shown a rising trend
course, the usual financial constraints. over the past 20 years.

It should be remembered that legislation Several actions have been taken by the Eu-
and regulations identify the building as a ropean Commission to reduce this energy
whole: however, during the assessment of consumption through Energy Performance
energy performance, it is advisable to dis- Building Directive (EPBD) 2002/91/EC
tinguish among energy needs for each (European Parliament, 2002) and the EPBD
HVAC system and for other individual recast directive 2010/31/EU (European
building services, and the primary energy Parliament, 2010). While the first directive
use related to each service. This characteri- was primarily focused on methodologies
sation allows performing an energy audit in and new buildings (i.e. new construction),
a more effective manner so as to evaluate the second provides increased considera-
possible inefficiencies in energy utilisation. tion of existing buildings not only when
they are subject to major renovation but
Finally, it is important to note that the cal- also when building elements and/or tech-
culated EP value of a building is compara- nical systems are retrofitted or replaced.

1
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

It is very evident that to reduce fossil fuel The two directives of the European Union,
consumption and CO2 production in the the EPBD and EPBD recast had, and still
building sector, the challenge is to reduce maintain, a key element of EU legislation
existing buildings’ energy needs. A sub- aiming at reducing EU energy consumption,
stantial share of the stock in Europe is older of which about 40% is related to buildings.
than 50 years with many buildings in use
that are hundreds of years old. More than 1.2.1 EPBD
40% of our residential buildings were con- Since the first EPBD directive “major ren-
structed before the 1960s when energy re- ovations of existing buildings above a cer-
lated building regulations were very lim- tain size” has been regarded “as an oppor-
ited, or non-existent, as in case of most his- tunity to take cost effective measures to en-
toric buildings. hance energy performance”, not only for
the whole building but also for “those parts
Data on typical heating consumption of the that are most relevant for the energy per-
existing stock sorted by age shows that the formance of the building and are cost-effec-
most significant energy saving potential is tive”. It was also emphasised that “renova-
associated with older building stock In tion requirements for existing buildings
some cases buildings from the 1960s are should not be incompatible with the in-
worse than buildings from earlier decades. tended function, quality or character of the
Insufficient building envelope insulation in building”. Only the first statement was re-
1960s buildings was also reflected through flected in an article - Article 6 Existing
historical U-value data, which comes with Buildings. The second was only, indirectly
no surprise, as insulation standards in those and weakly, taken into consideration in Ar-
construction years were limited (BPIE, ticle 4 stating that “Member States may de-
2011). Instead, older buildings, typically cide not to set or apply the energy require-
known as ‘historic buildings’, despite the ments for the following categories of build-
absence of insulating material, achieve ings:
lower U-values due to their thicker enve-
lope walls. • buildings and monuments officially
protected as part of a designated envi-
Since the EPBD and the EPBD recast came ronment or because of their special ar-
into force, member states have shown an in- chitectural or historic merit, where
creased interest in interventions aimed at compliance with the requirements
delivering energy savings in existing build- would unacceptably alter their charac-
ings. This resulted in an explicit article on ter or appearance,
building renovation in Energy Efficiency • buildings used as places of worship and
Directive 2012/27/EU (European Parlia- for religious activities,
ment, 2012). • ….”

All these considerations point to the con- 1.2.2 EPBD recast

clusion that energy retrofit of existing With the second EPBD directive, the recast,
buildings is a critical challenge in reduc- slightly more focus was given to existing
ing energy consumption, but such oppor- building by specifying that “for reasons of
tunity has to be managed carefully espe- cost-effectiveness, it should be possible to
cially when dealing with historic build- limit the minimum energy performance re-
ings. quirements to … the renovated building or

2
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 1 Legislation and regulations

building unit as a whole and/or … to the technically, economically and functionally

renovated building elements, … in so far as feasible.” In addition, the application and
this is technically, functionally and eco- use of intelligent energy metering and auto-
nomically feasible”. This means that only matic control systems shall be encouraged.
technical, functional and economic reasons
can justify the avoidance of the energy per- In the case of historic buildings, it is usually
formance requirements, not reasons related quite impossible to achieve NZEB perfor-
to historic, cultural or landscape heritage. mance and, if exempted, this is not a re-
quirement. The underlying principle of re-
The Directive energy performance require- ducing the energy requirement as much as
ment can only be disregarded for the offi- practically possible, to increase the energy
cially exempted building categories, as re- system performance as much as it is eco-
ported in Article 4, which was reworded as: nomically and technically feasible, and to
exploit on-site renewable energy as much
• buildings officially protected as part of as possible and compatible with the histor-
a designated environment or because ical character of the building and its sur-
of their special architectural or histor- rounding landscape, can still be applied or,
ical merit, in so far as compliance with at least, explored.
certain minimum energy performance
requirements would unacceptably alter 1.2.3 Directive 2012/27/EU
their character or appearance, Another directive, Directive 2012/27/EU
• .. etc. on Energy Efficiency (European Parlia-
ment, 2012) Article 4, specifically ad-
Following this, important references are dresses building renovation stating that
made to existing building in respect of “Member States shall establish a long-term
Nearly Zero Energy buildings (Article 9, strategy for mobilising investment in the
point 5): the Commission shall propose renovation of the national stock of residen-
measures to “encourage best practices as tial and commercial buildings, both public
regards the cost-effective transformation of and private”.
existing buildings into nearly zero-energy
buildings”; and includes the introduction of To avoid issues with historic buildings,
the completely new Article 8 – Technical point 2 of Article 5 again states that “Mem-
building system. ber States may decide not to set or apply the
requirements referred to in paragraph 1
This new article states that “Member States (3% renovation rate, Ed.) to the following
shall, for the purpose of optimising the en- categories of buildings:”
ergy use of technical building systems, set
system requirements in respect of the over- • buildings officially protected as part of
all energy performance, the proper instal- a designated environment or because
lation, and the appropriate dimensioning, of their special architectural or histor-
adjustment and control of the technical ical merit, in so far as compliance with
building systems which are installed in ex- certain minimum energy performance
isting buildings. (…). System requirements requirements would unacceptably alter
shall be set for new, replacement and up- their character or appearance,
grading of technical building systems and • … etc.
shall be applied in so far as they are

3
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

1.2.4 Some remarks ministrations related to cultural heritage.

As can be seen by the previous highlights This will enable the cultural heritage sector
from the EU directives, the technical prob- to influence legislation both reactively and
lems related to the feasibility of energy ret- proactively.
rofit within an historic context were almost
neglected, or generally derogated. There was
no mention of how to improve energy effi- 1.3 The European standard
ciency in historic buildings while preserving
their “function, quality or character”, and European Standard EN 16883 (CEN, 2017)
just a weak definition of what could charac- contains guidelines for the energy refur-
terise an “officially protected building”. bishment of historic buildings. The docu-
ment, written by experts in conservation
Furthermore, the EU directives do not give and energy efficiency in buildings, defines
any indication of how to deal with the his- an historic building as single manifestation
toric buildings that are not included in the of immovable tangible cultural heritage in
list of officially protected buildings. the form of an existing building that does
not necessarily have to be a heritage-desig-
Coming back to the question on what is ‘of- nated building.
ficially protected’ and how this is defined
at national level, the real question is The scope of the guidelines underlines the
whether the EU can limit the national built peculiarities of historic buildings and the
heritage to only what is protected or not? need for careful and interdisciplinary
The issue is that Cultural heritage policies analysis to establish how to optimise as-
are not part of the EU Treaty, while cultural pects of both energy and conservation. To
heritage is funded and supported by the EU. achieve this goal, the Standard presents a
For this reason, the EU has no capabilities systematic approach, or procedure, which
in regulating the area of cultural heritage. cannot presuppose a need for energy im-
The EU legal acts (directives) that nega- provements in all historic buildings.
tively affect the administration of cultural
heritage and conservation stem from areas In Figure 1.1, the iterative process for deter-
that fall within EU competencies. This neg- mining the best intervention is shown, which
ative influence creates an increasing prob- will constitute what is called the Energy
lem for the maintenance and conservation Audit of Historic Buildings.
of cultural heritage following the guide-
lines outlined in international treaties, con- Such an approach will be followed in this
ventions and charters, (Nypan, 2010). Guidebook, detailing each section of the
Thus, the only way to regulate, in a harmo- procedure as much as possible without los-
nised way, the relationship between energy ing generality and applicability. Some ad-
retrofit and the needs of historic buildings ditional information will be provided in the
is to monitor the development and imple- appendixes to support the practical applica-
mentation of directly or indirectly relevant tion of the given procedures.
legislation and to inform all appropriate ad-

4
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 1 Legislation and regulations

PROCESS OUTCOME
Initiating the planning process

Building survey and assessment Building documentation

Specifying the objectives List of targets

Deciding if improvement of If no need, process ends

energy performances is needed

Assessment and selection of measures

for energy refurbishment

Exclude inappropriate measures Long list of measures

Assessment of remaining measures Short list of measures

Selection of package of measures Packages of measures

Assessment of packages in relation to targets

Decisions Proposed measures

Figure 1.1. Energy Audit procedure for historic buildings. From (CEN, 2017)

5
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process
2.1 Introduction to gain a deeper understanding of the nature
of the building and the role it plays within
Historic buildings are the living legacy of the landscape.
centuries of evolution and innovation. As
climate change mitigation and energy secu- Energy redevelopment must avoid adapta-
rity issues increase the demand for energy tion and must ensure the conservation of
efficiency, many ancient buildings are ei- features that define the testimonial charac-
ther excluded from the common effort (see ter of the historic building. The energy per-
Ch. 1.2.4) or pushed towards “deep renova- formance refurbishment also has to comply
tion” - aims they were never designed to with any constraints imposed by national or
meet or endure. Frequently cultural herit- local authorities that control the protection
age is geographically scattered and, in some and preservation of cultural heritage.
cases, it is composed of a series of artefacts
and buildings, which, while they are not of This path of knowledge must be based on a
any particular relevance individually, to- survey of form, construction detail, mate-
gether they constitute a whole that defines rial and structural characteristics of the his-
the specificity and historical memory of a toric building and its services systems and
particular place. One of the features of this the requirements linked to the needs of the
whole is its considerable fragility, making current use of the building, to ensure a com-
it extremely vulnerable to even small prehensive understanding among all the de-
changes in the external morphologies and signers involved in a closely controlled
colours of the buildings. However, the im- modification to the property. The survey
provement of the energy performance of should not be limited to the building but
historic buildings is generally obtained also take into consideration the neighbour-
through architectural changes, which often hood so as to evaluate any possible impact
affect the characteristics that define its his- on it, or any other possible synergistic ac-
torical value. In addition, the fragility of tion, which could lead to cost reduction
historic buildings is both of an aesthetic- (such as through scale or repeatability).
formal and structural nature, in that the im-
plementation of technological systems, Even in the case of interventions aimed at
which have not been designed properly, can improving energy efficiency, the survey
have repercussions on the building’s struc- cannot ignore the architectural, aesthetic
tural integrity. A common example is the and structural aspects of the building. An
construction of rooms or shafts to house the accurate, critical analysis can be under-
services systems that do not properly take taken in relation to parts that can be modi-
account of the building structural needs. In fied without damaging the building and
addition, often the absence of documenta- those where the invasiveness of the work
tion for the work, makes it extremely diffi- must be minimised. Therefore, it is not just
cult for any work to be carried out to miti- a survey relating to the services systems of
gate the actual, or potential, damage that a building, but a complete structural, archi-
has been caused. So, there is a need to raise tectural and degradation survey, integrated
the designer’s awareness so that activities with a complete historical and documentary
are led by developing a path of knowledge analysis, with the addition of in-depth

6
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process

studies relating to its original bioclimatic 2.3 The path of knowledge

passive characteristics and, ultimately, its
original services systems. The basis for evaluating the energy behav-
iour of an historic building is knowledge of
Of course, in an environment with a strong the building itself, of the urban historical
interdisciplinary approach this work must context around it and of the surrounding cli-
involve all the relevant skills and must con- mate. In this endeavour, the most appropri-
sider coordination with, and supervision ate strategies must be implemented taking
by, the restoration project leader and the lo- into account the historic and artistic value
cal authority representative appointed to of the building and the landscape. Thus, dif-
protect and preserve cultural heritage. ferent levels of information are needed
when planning energy efficiency related in-
terventions in historic buildings and areas:
2.2 The team at micro-scale, meso-scale and macro-
scale. Each scale can provide complemen-
The final point in the last paragraph is the tary assessment perspectives that are rele-
starting point for a successful process to im- vant to plan a retrofit intervention:
prove an historic building: to assemble a
qualified team. There are only a few in- • Micro-scale is useful to identify spe-
formed, technically able and financially ca- cific building physics patterns that
pable decision makers who can both reduce translate individual characteristics and
emissions while conserving cultural herit- uses, how they match (or not) with the
age, and from those only a small proportion intended goals and adequate/cost-ef-
can access potentially available funding. fective energy-related strategies: con-
Thus, this team should ideally consist of a servation, efficiency and renewable
preservation architect, mechanical engi- sources at the building scale level;
neer, electrical engineer, structural engi- • Meso-scale is an opportunity to review
neer, and preservation consultants, each the micro-scale results in a neighbour-
knowledgeable in codes and local require- hood perspective, identify measures
ments. If a special use building (church, applicable in other nearby buildings,
museum, art studio) or a collection is in- and shareable measures and equipment
volved, a specialist familiar with the me- for energy conservation, efficiency and
chanical requirements of that building type renewable production; and to evaluate
or collection should also be hired. Team strategies to solve financing, contract-
members should be familiar with the needs ing, deployment, operation and optimi-
of historic buildings and be able to balance sation issues in cost-effective ways;
complex factors: the preservation of the • Macro-scale perspectives are then nec-
historic architecture (aesthetics and conser- essary to identify those measures that
vation), requirements imposed by mechan- best match with regional or national en-
ical systems (quantified heating and cool- ergy efficiency, energy security and cli-
ing loads), building codes (health and mate change mitigation strategies, and
safety), tenant requirements (quality of to account for the environmental im-
comfort, ease of operation), access (mainte- pact of the proposed measures.
nance and future replacement), and the
overall cost to the owner.

7
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Consequently, inter-scale perspectives of structural elements, the construction tech-

historic buildings can be successfully ap- niques and the phenomena of physical,
plied for comprehensive interpretations of chemical and biological degradation. This
the energy efficiency constraints and op- should identify unused areas within the
portunities. The micro-scale assessment of building that are suitable for new systems
the historic building earns a new meaning to pass through - beyond what may be usual
within the meso-scale of the surrounding in a standard energy audit procedure.
neighbourhood, and potentially signifi-
cantly enhances the project when matched The following paragraphs provide more de-
with macro-scale regional, or national, tail of the different levels of-knowledge,
guidelines and incentives. Thus, assess- which must be understood in an integrated,
ments of historic buildings are informed by but not necessarily in a sequential, manner.
inter-scalar views of the construction’s
original strategy, subsequent historical de- 2.3.1 Site survey
velopments and long-term goals that to- Understanding the context in which the
gether form effective ways to achieve re- building is situated is the first step of the
quired energy efficiency levels. But, in ad- investigation and comprises of a full and
dition to the common problems of all exist- careful identification of the whole build-
ing buildings, in the case of historic build- ing’s surroundings. Primarily, the local
ings and their surrounding areas, it can be context of the building location should be
difficult to gather data characterising the examined to identify possible historical
original building and the changes that have context. During this stage, the relationship
occurred over time due to anthropogenic of the building with its surroundings should
transformations, ageing of the material be analysed through the description of the
and/or natural disasters. However, in many architectural complex. This is formed by
cases, a campaign of investigation may be the collection of one or more buildings and
incompatible with the preservation of the spatially defined by the surrounding streets,
building and sometimes beyond the availa- and by the spatial and functional relation-
ble resources. Therefore, there is a need to ships between the building and any neigh-
refine the techniques of analysis and inter- bouring artefacts (other buildings, court-
pretation of historic buildings to discrete yards, porches, fountains, squares, etc.).
stages based on direct observation, with The study of the fabric allows, among other
specific reference to existing services sys- things, to understand the order of construc-
tems, and pre-existing technologies, that tion and the relationship between the build-
have nevertheless left traces in the building ing and its surroundings. This is because
and that may have a significant strati- historic buildings did, and still do, work as
graphic value in documenting their evolu- part of a larger environment, and by har-
tion. This may all be of interest throughout nessing this relationship can provide signif-
the whole building, or in part of it, depend- icant savings of scale. In fact, it is important
ing on the type of work envisaged, and to not only consider the impact that any in-
could potentially involve neighbouring tervention on the building can have on the
constructions. surroundings, but also the opportunities
that the neighbourhood context may pro-
In general, factual surveys of historic build- vide for the building rehabilitation. The as-
ings should focus mainly on identifying the sessment of social, cultural, political and fi-
history of the property, the geometry of nancial contexts is useful to identify

8
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process

potential conflicts and existing opportuni- ment, which provide important data for the
ties. Neighbouring interventions can pro- analysis of the passive behaviour of the
vide learning opportunities and reveal un- building.
written restrictions; highlight potential
trade-offs required to overcome specific 2.3.3 Anamnesis
difficulties; and provide scaling opportuni- The anamnesis includes reading the historic
ties to reduce assessment, investment, sources and the interpretation of the con-
maintenance and optimisation costs by struction style and technique to chronolog-
sharing these on a larger scale. In view of ically separate the different historical stages
this, example actions that can influence the of the building’s construction.
scope of the assessment by identifying local
stakeholders and favourable contexts to en- Historic building assessment cannot ignore
able resource-sharing opportunities to be- the historical analysis of the functional evo-
come visible and make new intervention lution of the building and its utilisation,
scales possible, are reported below: with the purpose of gaining knowledge on
modifications implemented to the construc-
• identification of context and stakehold- tion and the final use of each room over the
ers; years. The result of this analysis makes in-
• gather all available information on dif- formation available, which assists in under-
ferent scales; standing the causes of deterioration of ma-
• participation in mid/long term publicly terials and structures and in planning possi-
financed projects; ble future uses that are compatible with the
• investigation of other funding opportu- characteristics of the building and the im-
nities. provement of energy performance.

The area survey aims to provide a view of Each building is designed (or retrofitted) to
the neighbourhood context, initial contacts meet an anticipated use. In historic build-
with potential stakeholders and information ings, the original intent guided craftsmen
for subsequent analysis. In this context, a on the choice of appropriate construction
schematic survey of the building should also strategies that, based on centuries of Tradi-
be performed so as to gather information on tional Knowledge [8] (Brito et al., 2014)
its arrangement and composition and to spe- trial and error optimisation practices, if
cifically locate any valuable elements and properly applied and used, would result in
pinpoint areas where the installations could some expected behaviour. In time, these de-
be located as well as sacrificial areas for per- sign intents become blurred or outdated by
forming destructive investigations, without newly imposed uses - the resilience of his-
affecting the building in question. toric buildings derives from their versatility
to undergo successive contemporary ac-
2.3.2 Environmental conditions tions to match users’ evolving needs and
assessment expectations. The Montarroio case study
This essentially consists of the collection of (Ch. 8.6) illustrates such resilience:
data relating to the external environmental changes across its timeline were performed
conditions, with particular reference to the with a genuine belief in the advantage of
sun path and prevailing winds and to the re- the improvements, and with a lack of
lationship of the construction with the sur- awareness of the full repercussions, and so
rounding artificial and/or natural environ- leading to establishment of building patho-

9
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

logies. All these “improvements” are now radation and a study of the requirements to
important issues to solve. comply with regulatory requirements, such
as those relating to fire protection, safety
Careful investigation of the imposed and systems.
changes and their results provides an op-
portunity to evaluate whether, or not, they The three-dimensional description of the
should be preserved, and attempt to con- building involves identifying the plan and
sider any unanticipated impacts of our own elevation of the constituent elements. There-
plans. Acknowledging that adaptations are fore, the types of foundations are identified
often necessary, the awareness of previous at each level, and the geometry is ascertained
uses and limitations allows for palliative for all masonry elements, vaults (thickness
solutions: for instance, basements can be and profile), lofts and roofs (type and shape)
adapted to accommodate spaces that re- and stairs (structural type). Also recorded
quire high ventilation rates such as garages, are the location of any recesses, cavities,
plant rooms and ventilation air systems, re- closed apertures (identifying the type of clo-
ducing risk of rising humidity, and inherent sure), chimneys and all other associated ele-
risks to air quality. ments, both in elevation and plan view. It is
advisable to check that the significant points
Thus, understanding historic buildings us- have been surveyed, such as horizontal ele-
age within their timeline and context – from ments, the mouldings and surface finishes,
original design to intended future uses – and their connection to the outer brickwork.
should precede every retrofit intervention.
The results of the survey must be shown in
2.3.4 Building survey plans, elevations and sections as well as in-
A building survey is the first step of the pro- cluding construction details.
cess in which the materials and any signs of
degradation are examined, so it is essential Architectural survey
for a correct diagnosis to be made. The cre- At this stage, data relating to materials are
ation of appropriate records of the geome- collected, particularly with reference to the
try of the building is essential as a basis to thermophysical characteristics and those
synthesise information recorded during the relating to services systems, identifying
investigative process and for subsequent crossings, location and the possible interac-
analysis relating to the different aspects tion of the building with various parts of the
considered. technical systems.

Geometrical survey Great attention should be paid to the his-

Knowledge of the building’s form comes toric installations, whether they are still in
from the geometrical survey of the con- use or not.
struction in its present state, consisting of a
full three-dimensional description of the Surveying unused areas, which could be
building including the overall dimensions, hidden, is particularly important and can
the individual construction elements and its carried out through direct and indirect
relationships with adjacent buildings. The measurements along with suitable investi-
survey also includes an analysis of the deg- gative tests (when necessary and possible).

10
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process

Structural survey direct inspections that are moderately de-

The structural survey is also fundamental structive, such as endoscopy, removal of
and is aimed at identifying specific support- plaster, and small notches. From the theo-
ing elements including those that may con- retical point of view, inspections are the
tribute, in any possible way, to the static best way to gain precise knowledge of the
equilibrium of the building so as to avoid building. However, due to economic rea-
altering parts of the building, that could sons or other constraints direct inspections
compromise its stability. are not always feasible; therefore, they
must be planned very carefully, trying to
Elements survey limit them to where they are most effec-
The elements survey will take into account tively useful in the assessment of the work
of the quality and condition of the materials in the particular project. Where it is neces-
and the elements making up the buildings. sary to resort to indirect investigations, it is
It will inform the building energy model- essential to have a thorough knowledge of
ling and so should be suitably accurate. So, the construction characteristics of other
particular attention must be paid to the con- buildings in the area local to that building,
struction techniques, details and connec- so that the characteristics can be inferred by
tions between the various elements of the inspection, or by destructive sampling on
construction, particular with reference to: similar local materials.

• type of masonry and construction fea- The results of the elements survey can be
tures; communicated with data sheets that are de-
• type of connection between horizontal signed to describe the individual elements
and vertical walls, with the possible and the associated state of conservation.
presence of string courses or other con- These may be enhanced with information
necting devices; on relationships among elements and, in the
• voids, such as those caused by differ- case of a collection of buildings, on the re-
ences in height, space between floors lationship with neighbouring buildings.
and vaults, shafts and chimneys.
Material survey
The last point is crucial to identify the parts Energy performance modelling requires la-
of a building where services systems ele- boratory tests of the physical and technical
ments can be inserted without unduly dis- characteristics of the materials. However,
turbing the building (zones of structural sta- in many cases it is possible to source the
bility) and those that are more difficult to characteristic thermophysical values with a
adapt to new technological requirements sufficient degree of accuracy using
(unchangeable zones). knowledge of the historical construction
techniques. Where possible, this can be ac-
This survey requires the accessing and col- companied by a series of exploratory tests
lecting information that is often hidden. For (destructive if appropriate) or field meas-
example, considering plasterwork and sus- urements (non-destructive, but often too
pended ceilings, details can be obtained by expensive, not sufficiently accurate or too
indirect non-destructive investigation tech- long to carry out).
niques, using plans and sections, or by

11
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

2.3.5 Evolutionary analysis of the It is clear that elements of technical instal-

building, equipment and lations in historic buildings would normally
services systems have less importance than those applied in
A survey of the existing plant should be industrial buildings. The study of an indus-
carried out at this preliminary stage by trial system may produce unsatisfactory re-
identifying the placement, the possible in- sults if it does not start from an analysis of
teraction and the intersections of the exist- the machines and technologies at the partic-
ing technical systems. ular site. However, it is not to be over-
looked, particular when considering very
During this phase, the evolution of the ser- ancient technical systems such as the Hy-
vices systems and associated systems is an- pocaustum in Roman thermae. In this case,
alysed in the historic building. This can be the technical element plays a very im-
divided into the following categories: portant role not only from the energy point
of view as it is intrinsically linked to the as-
• malfunctioning or non-functioning sys- sessment of consumption, but also from its
tems, which could be replaced or elim- impact on the building as a whole.
inated;
• outdated installations that could be ef- It goes without saying that an assessment to
fectively retrofitted; possibly reutilise HVAC systems that have
• obsolete installations that are still of an historical value involves problems of
historical interest and for this reason protection and will often include enhance-
should be kept and, in some cases, inte- ment. The designer has to manage an inter-
grated into the newly installed systems disciplinary process in terms of thermal en-
gineering and typically requires the skills of
The presence of historic installations requires experts in cultural heritage. The analysis of
careful reflection on the assessment of their historical works so as to assess the possibil-
effective testimonial value, which cannot ig- ities for protection, enhancement and reali-
nore examining the impact of the equipment sation is therefore an integrated process in
and systems on the history of technical appli- which the designer plays a particularly im-
cations and architecture. Therefore, they portant role.
should be carefully recovered, valued and, if
possible, made usable. In some cases, conser- 2.3.6 Monitoring and data collection
vation is more important than reuse. It should The collection of data describing the actual
be assumed that an historical services system, building performance is an important pre-
that is an example of a forerunner of subse- liminary step in improving the energy per-
quent applications, deserves to be preserved formance of historic buildings. The surveys
in the same way as the historic building, not previously described are fundamental to
only for the understanding effected by this, gather the right knowledge before under-
but also for its testimonial value in the context taking any action on the building. They
of technological history. In this respect, even should be complemented by a more com-
historical installations of technical systems prehensive monitoring campaign, which
can be included in the World Heritage List3, aims to identify the actual building status in
as was done for the “Bathroom of Marie-Car- relation to normal indoor temperature and
oline” in the Bourbon complex of San Leu- relative humidity levels as well as air infil-
cio, which can be traced back to the ancient tration levels and pollutant concentrations
Roman baths. for both heath and conservation purposes.

12
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process

All this information is important to help un- • analysing the results from the surveys
derstand what degree of change a new or of the building envelope and any ser-
updated HVAC system is likely to impose vices systems and plant installed in the
on the building materials, components and building;
affected artefacts. The attempt to meet, and • creating an energy model of the build-
maintain, modern climate control standards ing;
may be damaging to historic resources. The • performing an energy assessment on
greater the differential between the interior the building in its current state;
and exterior temperature and absolute hu- • evaluating what kind of potential retro-
midity levels, the greater the potential for fit actions can be applied to improve
damage. Vapour pressure moves moisture the energy performance that are com-
from a warm humid area to a cooler, dryer patible with the historical character of
area, condensation will occur on, or in, the building and of the surrounding
building materials in the cooler area. In an landscape.
unheated or partially heated, highly venti-
lated building, the inside-to-outside tem- 2.3.8 Building Prognosis and
perature differences and moisture gradients Standard Energy Audit
are usually very low and condensation After the building diagnosis has been un-
problems do not normally arise. When heat- dertaken, appropriate solutions have to be
ing the interior, together with low thermal identified from potential options so as to es-
resistance walls, as well as air humidifica- tablish the chances to recover from the cur-
tion (as provided for health and comfort rent degraded state of the building. At this
purposes), condensation can occur giving stage, the objective of the improvement
rise to material deterioration and rot. To process has to be matched with the results
avoid this type of damage to an historic of building diagnosis to select practically
building is important to understand how compatible options, taking account of spe-
building components work together as a cific local constraints and potential costs.
system. The objective can vary widely; deep retro-
fit; rehabilitation to the original condition
At this stage, it is necessary to consider, and or to a new specification; or restoration to
record, the behaviour of the building in re- simply preserve the cultural heritage value.
lation to all climatic variable such as air Subsequent actions can be very different: to
temperature, solar radiation, prevailing maintain acceptable indoor climate for
winds and, of course, user behaviour. preservation purposes or to create a com-
fortable working or living indoor environ-
2.3.7 Building Diagnosis ment. Thus, at this stage, the future use of
At the end of the cognitive path, a diagnosis the building has to be clearly and positively
of the degradation and energy behaviour of identified (museum, commercial, residen-
the materials and elements that are part of tial, retail), because it will influence the
the architectural creation, and the overall type of systems that should eventually be
building, should be formulated. During this installed. The number of people and activi-
stage, an energy analysis of the existing ties to be accommodated by a building will
building in its current condition is carried establish the levels of comfort and servic-
out, as described in detail in Chapter 3. This ing that must be provided. Some general in-
consists of: formation on establishing the required in-
door environmental quality is reported in

13
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Appendix A, but in the context of historic The result of the building prognosis can be
preservation, any applications that require positive or negative. If negative then
radical reconfigurations of historic spaces according to a consideration of all local
are inappropriate for such a building. Uses specific constraints it makes no sense trying
of the building that require major new ser- to improve the energy performance of the
vices such as restaurants, laundries, kitch- particular historic building. If instead the
ens, locker rooms, or other areas that gen- result is positive, it makes sense to invest
erate moisture may exacerbate the need for further in improving the energy performance
climate control within the historic space. by commencing a complete standard energy
audit, which enable the discovery of the
The constraints in historic buildings make optimal solution for that specific historic
retrofit intervention more expensive, and building.
thus less likely to happen. Existing incen-
tives may be used to overcome this issue –
including those for building maintenance 2.4 Scaling up the improvement
and energy efficiency, controlled rent initi- process
atives and many others. These must be used
to optimise intervention strategies that best Proper implementation of the methodology
fit the energy efficiency goals and, simulta- highlighted in this guide has significant
neously, the available funding to make costs at individual scale (building scale),
them happen. Some coincident actions that making it only feasible for highly valued
are highly valued by owners, such as reno- situations. These costs may be reduced or
vating services with efficient equipment, diluted by going beyond an individual pro-
can have positive impacts on reducing en- ject by considering the whole neighbour-
ergy consumption and to overcome initial hood that gives it context. Such assess-
obstacles. Nevertheless, not all such inter- ments of historical areas can transform
ventions will result in reduced energy con- these interventions into attractive “win-
sumption: increasing comfort and quality win” environments for external invest-
of life often requires more energy, making ments. The following paragraphs demon-
the case for the need to decouple escalating strate the potential of employing scale to
energy consumption from increased carbon achieve better results.
emissions.
2.4.1 Advantages of scale
Finally, an estimate of the duration of the Historic buildings that were designed, and
rehabilitation work and confirmation of the now protected, as a whole, often share
availability of a suitable construction site structural elements, infrastructures and en-
are also required, before deciding if the pro- ergy conservation strategies in sympathy
ject to improve the energy performance is with the climate they were designed for.
feasible or not.

14
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 2 Historic buildings rehabilitation process

In such contexts individual approaches fail ure, and only rarely by programmed inter-
to harness the full potential of the original vention when designers (who read this
design strategies, missing important opti- Guidebook) are invited and subsequently
misation opportunities and often becoming put strategies into practice.
too expensive to be fully pursued.
By extending the inter-scalar assessment to
As referenced throughout this Guidebook, the neighbouring area, several advantages
any intervention in historical areas must be result (Brito et al, 2014):
preceded by a thorough knowledge of the
existing context. In this process a neigh- • regulatory actors (and supervisors) can
bourhood scale approach can: be engaged to participate, guide inter-
ventions and partially finance investi-
• optimise equipment and team alloca- gations, as better information is essen-
tion for modelling, planning, contract- tial for better public investment;
ing, operation, maintenance and opti- • Universities and Research Centres can
misation; provide human resources and equip-
• reduce or share costs through local ment for a lower cost, progressing the
stakeholders, or get them paid by exter- practical investigation while providing
nal partners; students contact with real world prob-
• identify IEQ issues that may lead to lems;
mandatory higher energy consump- • Energy Service Companies (ESCOs)
tions; can be attracted to invest in collective
• investigate collective renewable en- energy efficiency actions by contract-
ergy-based approaches to decouple en- ing performance-based energy conser-
ergy consumptions from carbon emis- vation, energy efficiency and renewa-
sions; ble energy measures;
• identify attractive “win-win” settings • local homeowners’ participation can be
for the participation of external actors encouraged by providing guidance as
(see Ch. 2.4.2.1). well as reduced site, contracting and
maintenance costs. A neighbourhood
2.4.2 Mutually beneficial potential of strategy can help them plan future in-
neighbourhood scale terventions, or to find adequate replace-
The number of appropriately assessed his- ment options in case of future system
toric buildings is small. This limits the failures – so potentially avoiding bi-
choice of the multidisciplinary team and ased advice.
equipment that, together with unusualness
of the necessary procedures, impact on the The advantages of neighbourhood scale
final price and level of success. interventions and collective actions reach
beyond this as scale is useful in optimising
Additionally, most interventions in historic the intervention learning curve, provides
buildings occur due to chronic issues, such continuity for the varied work teams, safe-
as normal material and equipment ageing guards investments with collective support
and maintenance needs, or acute occur- and even boosts local pride (Brito et al.,
rences, including material or systems fail- 2016).

15
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

2.4.2.1 Inviting ESCOs into historic procurement capacity and maintenance

neighbourhoods needs are solved. By engaging local policy
The potential for ESCOs financing large and culture stakeholders’ problems such as
scale interventions is common across in- infrastructure issues and access to fuel pov-
dustry and large scale serviced buildings, erty mitigation funds are unblocked. By en-
where high energy consumption yields ac- gaging universities assessment costs are re-
ceptable paybacks, so decisions are central- duced, students are introduced to problem-
ised and risks well known. solving strategies and indoor environmen-
tal quality issues can be identified. By en-
In “Residential buildings as extended terri- gaging local associations, the whole pro-
tory for ESCOs” Morck et al. (2015) pro- cess is shared with their members, belong-
pose that “there is a place for ESCOs in Eu- ing shared and pride reinstated.
ropean historic city centres - almost one in
each city - where architectural constraints 2.4.3 New tools for urban scale
limit the installation of energy conservation dynamic simulation
measures like insulation and renewable en- The evolution of Building Energy Model-
ergies. The provision of energy efficiency ling (BEM) software has led to freely avail-
services by ESCOs in the residential build- able software tools such as EnergyPlus [9],
ings is still limited despite the considerable together with visually appealing versions
potential for energy savings: long-term and including OpenStudio [10].
complex contracts disperse ownership,
small consumption and low investment ca- The potential of pooling similar buildings’
pacity compromise the financial viability of energy consumption to plan and optimise
projects. (…). ESCOs' capacity to explore energy efficiency costs, whilst also linking
barriers as challenges, and to perform "deep them with other types of buildings to better
assessments", is then used to demonstrate distribute heating and cooling peaks, has
area based/neighbourhood approaches that led to the development of neighbourhood
can reduce costs, alleviate energy poverty scale dynamic simulation software.
risks and foster engaged communities
through widespread socially inclusive par- The “CitySim Software” webpage proposes
ticipation in the energy efficiency goals”. a tool that is able [11] “to provide a decision
support for urban energy planners and
2.4.2.2 “Common Efficacy” stakeholders to minimise the net use of non-
"Common Efficacy" is the key phrase to renewable energy sources as well as the as-
highlight the possible result when design- sociated emissions of greenhouse gases”.
ing for an inter-scalar approach in historical
areas using the potential of ESCOs to en- “UrbanOpt” (Polly et al., 2016) evolves the
gage local policy and culture stakeholders, graphical environment of OpenStudio to in-
universities and local associations in deep tegrate the neighbourhood scale, employ-
assessment, implementation and optimisa- ing Amazon Cloud based facilities for sce-
tion processes based on "win-win" relation- nario testing.
ships.
With these tools, neighbourhood scale en-
By engaging ESCOs, issues like lack of ergy efficiency can be better planned and
technical knowledge, investment capital, tested.

16
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
3 Building diagnosis
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The diagnosis procedure
In historic buildings, energy improvement
measures4 have to be undertaken with no The procedure involves some actions
changes in the structural and architectural aimed to formulate a judgment on the
conditions of the building, while attempting building condition to establish the actual
to improve the quality of the indoor envi- status and the functionality of the fabric,
ronment and reduce energy consumption. plant and services systems. As discussed in
Thus, a comprehensive description of the the previous chapter the analyses of both
actual building state is needed to under- envelope and services systems have to
stand what kind of actions are compatible, consider aspects other than those usually
or incompatible, with the historic character considered in an energy audit particularly
of the building under investigation. As de- by evaluating the conservation status and
scribed in the previous chapter, a path of the reusability of each building component.
knowledge then has to be followed to gather Furthermore, the compatibility of possible
all necessary information before defining retrofit measures for restoring the building
and analysing potential energy improve- to its historical condition, or to provide new
ment interventions. Unlike a standard en- functionality, has to be investigated and
ergy audit procedure, as covered in Chapter compliance checked with cultural heritage
5, the process for a building survey of an and landscape preservation legislation.
historic building needs complementary in-
formation, that also considers the surround- The following paragraphs detail the
ing urban historical context. Since not all different phases with particular regard to
potential actions can be applied for the the envelope and services systems analysis,
preservation of its cultural heritage, an ac- energy modelling and the evaluation of the
curate analysis of its actual conservation energy performance of the historic
status is required to assess which parts of its building. A list of possible normal
envelope and/or its services systems can be interventions will be analysed in view of
the object of the intervention, and at what their compatibility with the conservation of
level. This activity can be called building cultural heritage, not only for the building
diagnosis and employs some of the steps but also for the surrounding landscape.
usually included in the energy audit proce-
dure, but with the addition of specific ac- Figure 3.1 shows the flow chart of the
tions devoted to the preservation of original building diagnosis and prognosis procedure
materials and components. The work team for the energy improvement of historic
is also different to that usually employed in buildings adapted and expanded from
a standard energy audit, as noted in Ch. 2.2, (AA.VV. 2014b), regarding how to im-
due to the historic character of the building prove energy efficiency while retaining the
under investigation. building historic value.

17
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

BUILDING DIAGNOSIS winter conditions. The first, which occurs

in the external walls between indoor and
Envelope Analysis outdoor environments, is due to the diffu-
sion of water vapour (present in moist air)
Service Systems Analysis through the wall and depends on the wall
construction. The second is due to low sur-
Energy Modelling face temperature in the cold season that re-
sults from a wall’s low thermal resistance.
Energy Assessment Both of them can drive material deteriora-
tion and mould growth as well as chemical
BUILDING PROGNOSIS attack to frescoes due to the possible con-
densation of acids on them. The risk of in-
C.H. Compatible Envelope
Interventions terstitial and surface condensation for-
mation can be checked in accordance with
C.H. Compatible service
systems Standard EN ISO 13788 (CEN, 2012b).
The properties related to heat and the water
C.H. Compatible Landscape
Interventions vapour transfer in materials are available in
Standard EN ISO 10456 (CEN, 2007a).
C.H. – Cultural Heritage Common to Energy Audit

Some factors that influence the hygrother-

Figure 3.1. Flow chart of building diagnosis mal behaviour of the materials are dis-
ad prognosis. From (AA.VV., 2014b). cussed below.

3.3.1 Geometrical and functional

3.3 Envelope Analysis characteristics of the building
To perform an energy audit and assess the
Knowledge of the geometrical, functional, building energy performance, the first step
physical and technical characteristics of is to define the boundaries of the reference
each building is of fundamental importance system (building and/or building site). The
and requires surveys to be carried out to second step is to quantify the building lay-
collect all the information necessary not out through data such as surface areas, ar-
only to perform a correct energy audit but eas of opaque and transparent envelope,
also to define its conservation status for building spaces (volumes and geometry),
preservation purposes. These quantities are fabric components construction detail, and
necessary for calculating the energy param- not least the functional characteristics of
eters required by law, as set out in the Inter- each space (referred to as a “zone”). At this
national and European standards (CEN, stage, the historic character of the zone has
2017a; 2017b). Also, hygrothermal assess- to be recorded on the building layout mak-
ment has to be carried out to verify if spe- ing note, whenever it is possible, of what
cific interventions are needed to preserve areas and/or artefacts, like fireplaces or
the original building envelope and plasters, stoves, might be reusable or restorable.
particularly if frescoes are present on the in-
side of the envelope walls. The hygrother- 3.3.2 Envelope thermophysical
mal assessment evaluates the possibility of characteristics
interstitial and surface condensation occur- To define the energy required by a building,
ring in the envelope components during or a single heated and/or cooled zone, an

18
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

evaluation of opaque and transparent ele- building, its air permeability, which can
ments thermophysical properties of the of strongly affect advective heat transfer and
the building fabric is required. Definitions thus thermal losses or gains through the
and calculation methods of some of the envelope.
most common parameters in building ther-
mophysical analyses are provided in Ap- 3.3.2.1 Thermal transmittance
pendix B. Applying correct values for such The value of thermal transmittance may be
parameters is fundamental for determining determined in different ways. The first re-
parameters such as the thermal transmit- quires the knowledge of the construction
tance of the opaque and transparent ele- and the values of thermal conductivity and
ments, the vapour permeability of the ma- thickness of the individual layers or
terials, the periodic thermal capacity (im- knowledge of the type and age of construc-
properly known as thermal inertia) and the tion. The second method involves in-situ
radiative surface characteristics of the measurements of the U-value.
walls.
Thermal transmittance evaluation
As mentioned in Ch. 2.3.4, especially in the The thermal transmittance of opaque ele-
case of historic buildings, it is generally ments can be evaluated through a descrip-
very difficult to acquire the real construc- tion of the construction (if known or dis-
tion details of the envelope elements, espe- coverable), or reference made to docu-
cially the masonry, and quite impossible to mented information on the materials and
obtain the materials thermophysical charac- the thicknesses used for buildings of the
teristics without destructive testing. Obvi- same era or type, or by using databases pro-
ously, this has an impact on the calculation vided by research centres. To know the
of thermal transmittances and heat losses, construction detail, the original project in-
which are crucial steps in assessing the en- formation is required. Such data on an his-
ergy performance for the buildings referred toric building may be difficult to obtain. In
to in Ch. 3.6. the absence of this information, the investi-
gator will have to make measurements us-
Generally, the problem of thermal bridging ing invasive coring or endoscopes.
does not arise in historic buildings with ma-
sonry walls, which are characterised by a In any case, a survey form is useful, in
fairly uniform construction fabric. How- which the following is recorded:
ever, the problem arises in buildings
touched by structural restoration work car- • surface area, in m², of opaque elements
ried out with modern materials and technol- (floors and ceilings, included);
ogies that do not respect the original con- • definition of the possible construction
struction design of the building and so alter details of these elements;
its state (Bellia et al., 2014). In any case, • surface area, in m², of glazed elements
thermal bridges are dealt with in Chapter. (windows);
3.5.2.2, as part of the discussion on building • thermal transmittance of each glazed
energy modelling. element, in W/(m²·K);
• thermal transmittance of each opaque
Furthermore, another envelope physical element in W/(m²·K);
parameter is required to be able to assess • presence of thermal bridges, their
the energy performance of an existing length if the bridges are linear, as

19
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

defined in Ch. 3.5.2.2 , and definition of being more accurate and, at times, they
of the corresponding linear coefficient; have a shorter acquisition time.

For each wall layer, the following should ISO 9869-1 (ISO, 2014) defines some
then be indicated (if known): important requirements on measurement
conditions:
• thickness s, in m;
• thermal conductivity λ, in W/(m·K); • the measurement surface must be lo-
• specific heat c, in J/(kg·K); cated far enough away from thermal
• density ρ, in kg/m³. bridges and installed system compo-
nents that could disrupt the measure-
These quantities can be summarised and ment conditions so that it is representa-
recorded using the technical sheets pro- tive of the specimen. Additional to the
vided in Appendix C. requirements of the standard, it would
be ideal to be able to carry out a prelim-
Thermal transmittance measurement inary thermographic examination of
Today methods of measuring thermal trans- the wall;
mittance, although theoretically very sim- • the external surface to be measured
ple, actually entail a series of measurement must be protected from atmospheric
and practical problems that can lead to er- agents, such as direct sunlight, rain and
rors or estimates with high degree of uncer- snow;
tainty (Ficco et. al, 2015). • the plate of the thermal flowmeter
should be fitted to a surface with the
To measure on-site thermal conductance highest thermal stability (generally in-
and thus the U-value, the dynamic condi- ternally), thus guaranteeing a good
tions of actual weather require that thermal thermal contact with the wall (e.g. us-
flow and temperature measurements are ing conductive pastes);
recorded over a sufficiently long period. • the test should be conducted for at least
Many methods of processing the measured 72 hours, or 96 hours in the case of
data can be found in standards and litera- highly resistant walls and those with
ture, including: high ‘thermal inertia’;
• in the case of hollow walls, character-
• simple averaging method; ised by an area related thermal capacity
• progressive averaging method; of less than 20 kJ/m²·K, the process
• dynamic mass factor method; should be limited to night hours,
• dynamic analysis method; whereas in the case of heavy walls, the
• “black box” identification method; process should be further limited by:
• dynamic flow and temperature method. • the last daily value of R=1/U must not
deviate from the average value of the
If measuring conditions are likely to be un- previous 24 hours by more than ±5%;
stable, as well as in other conditions where • value R in the first 2/3 of the test period
the average or progressive average methods must not deviate by ±5% from the re-
cannot be applied, one of the other methods maining 1/3;
should be used, since, when working with • the storage of energy in the wall must
greater complexity, they provide the benefit not deviate more than ±5% in relation

20
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

to the energy flow through the wall dur- is related to the ventilation of the buildings,
ing the entire test period; which depends on both air infiltration
• the measured conductance must be ap- through the building envelope and air
propriately corrected if the resistance change through installed systems (if pre-
of the plate cannot be considered negli- sent and active). (d'Ambrosio Alfano et al.,
gible compared to that of the wall being 2012).
tested or if the surface temperature sen-
sor has not been placed beneath the The evaluation of air infiltration flow rates
plate. in a room can be defined through calcula-
tions (an approximation) as well as through
From the above, it is clear that the heat flow measurements. An accurate estimate of
measurements are not trivial and the simple ventilation airflow rates in buildings is not
use of an instrument declared as able to always simple. The flow rate of air supplied
measure transmittance values is not suffi- to the room through mechanical ventilation
cient. Furthermore, considering that, even systems can be easily measured and con-
under the best testing conditions, the esti- trolled. Air flow relating to infiltration
mated measurement uncertainties are high changes randomly as a function of weather
(Ficco et al., 2015) and incompatible with parameters, such as wind speed and indoor-
the tolerances within which the designer is outdoor temperature differences, and inter-
required to evidence the energy certifica- actions of the building with the external en-
tion. The conclusion being that prior to ap- vironment, such as wind direction, expo-
plying a heat flow measurement method, a sure and thermal gradients.
cost benefit analysis is more necessary than
ever. Two methods can be applied to measure air
infiltration through the building envelope;
3.3.2.2 Vapour permeability evaluation both are standardised:
This type of evaluation is performed in the
lab, which means that a sample of the • The pressurisation method, also known
building has to be taken to a testing lab. as Blower Door Test or simply BDT
There are several problems with this, (ISO, 2006; ASTM, 2010), which is
namely in the transport as great care must based on the pressurisation/ depressur-
be taken to ensure that the sample is per- isation of the building or part thereof in
fectly sealed (otherwise its hygrometric order to measure the flow rate of infil-
condition could change while it is being trated air under different values of in-
transferred), in the costs, and last, but not door-outdoor pressure difference. The
least, in finding a laboratory that performs method can be applied following three
this kind of test. different test procedures (ISO, 2006)
that differ depending on the type of
3.3.2.3 Evaluation of the infiltration air evaluation required (building with an
flow rate HVAC system and building without)
The air permeability of buildings plays an and of the testing conditions.
important role in energy saving and in im- • The tracer gas method (CEN, 2012c),
proving the quality of indoor environments, which is based on three different tech-
both in terms of energy and air quality. One niques: concentration decay, constant
of the principal aspects linking energy con- injection and constant concentration.
sumption and indoor environmental quality

21
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

3.4 Building Service Systems system driven by a circulating device. Usu-

Analysis ally in historic buildings, if the original
plant still exists, the distribution system
Knowledge of building services systems is does not make use of any circulating device
essential to assess their performance and to but takes advantage the so-called thermosi-
define the measures to be taken to improve phon effect (i.e. large enough temperature
energy saving. difference between the delivery and return
pipe branches, which cause a natural driv-
For this purpose, surveys should be carried ing force due to the difference in weight be-
out to collect all the information necessary tween the hot and cold fluid columns). The
to perform a correct energy audit and calcu- system can use water as a heat transfer me-
late the parameters according to law, as set dium, i.e. a water system; the circulating
out in the International and European stand- device being a pump and the distribution
ards (CEN, 2017f to ad). When dealing with system being a set of pipes. If the transfer
historic buildings that have not been influ- medium is air, this is referred to as an air
enced by recent maintenance work, as noted system; the circulating device being a fan
in Ch. 2.3.5, they are likely to have HVAC and the distribution system being a set of
systems that, from an engineering point of conduits or ducts. Often in historic build-
view, comprise of obsolete equipment, ings, the heating is provided not by a unique
whether ordinary, extraordinary or preven- system but by many “decentralised” con-
tive systems. HVAC systems, in principle, vective-radiative systems: fireplaces and/or
could be replaced, but can actually be evi- stoves. It is evident that if they exist their
dence of the past and, as such, can have an conservation is of primary importance and
historical interest. Therefore, they should be their adaptation in combination with new
carefully recovered, valued and, if possible, heating systems has to be dealt with great
made usable. In some cases, conservation is care (see Ch. 6.12) or just restored and left
more important than reuse and they may just unused as cultural heritage artefacts. Fi-
be restored and preserved. nally, an old central thermal power genera-
tor, if it exists and is potentially reused,
3.4.1 Typologies must be equipped with adequate ventilation
The building services that use energy are in order to allow proper combustion to-
essentially HVAC systems and electrical gether with a suitable evacuation system for
systems. The former, in turn, can be classi- the combustion products (exhaust gas).
fied: heating, cooling, ventilation, air con-
ditioning; but domestic hot water produc- Cooling systems are usually not present in
tion systems should also be considered. The historic buildings, which have not been af-
characteristics of the most common sys- fected by recent refurbishment, and are
tems – heating and air-conditioning sys- mainly included as the functional part of air
tems – are summarised below. conditioning systems. Sometimes it is pos-
sible to find later installations of stand-
The heating system may consist of one or alone cooling devices such as window air
more heat generators: by recovering the conditioners or split-units, that generally
heat released by combustion (generally me- have had a disastrous effect on building ar-
thane ‘natural’ gas or diesel fuel), a heat chitecture and historic value and thus must
transfer medium is heated, which is then be eliminated or, if really required, by using
delivered to heated spaces via a distribution less invasive cooling systems.

22
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

Generally, air conditioning systems use air should be identified and evaluated to ensure
as a transfer medium; this air is then treated their preservation.
in a heat exchange unit (Air Handling
Units, AHU) and distributed to the condi- To collect and organise data, data sheets
tioned spaces through air distribution ducts. and protocols may be very useful for the au-
This system can operate during both winter ditor as a guide to carrying out the task.
and summer; in the latter case, it is con- These data sheets must contain at least the
nected with one or more refrigeration units. type and the technical characteristics of the
The goal of such a system is not only to pro- system and its components. However, they
vide heating and/or cooling, but also to con- can include any type of information, from
trol the indoor humidity, if required, and the the building internal layout to the terminal
air quality through ventilation. It is of arrangements. Appendix C includes several
course unusual to discover air conditioning examples of data sheets that could be useful
systems in historic building that have not as a guide for data collection and for data
been subject to refurbishment work. recording.

Instead, ventilation systems, notably natural

ventilation and not mechanical ventilation 3.5 Building Energy Modelling
systems, can be found in many cases, mak-
ing use of natural convection (induced by Usually, building envelopes and HVAC
wind and indoor-outdoor temperature dif- systems are sized using steady state thermal
ference) through internal shafts, open models for winter conditions (heating
vaults and chimneys. mode) and simplified transient models for
summer conditions (cooling mode). The
Finally, domestic hot water production sys- design heat load model uses conventional
tems are practically non-existent in very an- outdoor design temperatures (the daily av-
cient historic building and when present are erage value of the coldest day); while the
mainly directly connected to the heat gen- design cooling load model can be based on
erator. calculations carried out in a periodic regime
or a time series approach. The latter, re-
3.4.2 Service Systems Survey gardless of the chosen method, is based on
To draw up the energy audit and calculate weather and user daily profiles for the most
the energy performance of buildings, a va- critical summer day. The yearly energy per-
riety of information is required about the formance, which is required for the energy
services systems and their associated char- performance assessment (as usually re-
acteristics. First of all, the existing mechan- quired by any energy certification scheme)
ical and electrical systems have to be iden- is instead based on a different model, which
tified, their actual conditions assessed and usually is a quasi-steady state model.
their reusability verified (complete or par-
tial). Secondly, the location of each reusa- These approaches are now outdated and
ble component has to be mapped, as exist- more advanced models have been intro-
ing chillers, boilers, air handlers, or cooling duced, based on an analysis of the building
towers. At the outset of this stage, signifi- response under variable conditions across
cant existing mechanical systems or ele- the whole year. The following paragraphs
ments such as decorative grilles for hot wa- provide the main factors that must be con-
ter radiators and elaborate switch-plates, sidered when performing building energy

23
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

modelling, followed by some basic princi- and services systems, could not ignore the
ples of dynamic building performance sim- climatic factors, especially in extreme envi-
ulation, details of which are given in ronmental conditions. Thus, to maximise
(AA.VV., 2012). the envelope’s ability to intervene and
moderate between indoor and outdoor cli-
3.5.1 Site dependent parameters mate, a preliminary study is required of the
Building energy modelling strongly de- local climate features for where the build-
pends on data describing the external envi- ing is located. Other than the usual site
ronmental conditions, which not only in- weather data, the main drivers of a build-
cludes the local climatic weather condi- ing’s passive energy behaviour under vari-
tions, but also the geometrical relationships able outdoor climatic conditions are:
between the building and its surroundings.
When dealing with historic buildings, it has • façades orientation in respect to any
to be noted that the relationship between other building or construction, which
climate and the components of the building can shield them from exposure to wind
fabric is much more important than in mod- and rain or can shade them;
ern buildings. The technological evolution • presence of green courtyards or cloisters;
of the last two centuries has considerably • roof slope exposure;
changed building design, that has shifted • any other element that can locally alter
from designing the envelope simply as a the weather condition imposed on the
passive system to mitigate outdoor climatic building.
conditions, to one that is an active system
that allows indoor climatic conditions to be For the reasons above, it would be prefera-
independent of the outdoor climate. This ble to use detailed hourly weather data of
has led to a design approach that does not temperature, relative humidity, precipita-
properly consider the building’s passive tion level, wind speed and direction and so-
characteristics in smoothing to the effects lar radiation intensity. Usually, given the
of outdoor climatic conditions, which, in variability of weather conditions, values
some cases, lead to the introduction of in- averaged over a period of about 20 to 30
adequate, oversized or excessively intru- years are used for the different variables to
sive systems, particularly in the case of his- obtain a representative description of the
toric buildings. climate, which results in the so-called “typ-
ical meteorological year” (TMY).
For these reasons, especially in historic
buildings that originally had no services The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
systems, it is necessary to understand the Changes [5], has shown that there has been
passive behaviour of the building, i.e., the a significant warming over the past 50 years
ability to minimise the energy requirement on each continent except Antarctica. Due to
to maintain the indoor climate through the expected longevity of buildings follow-
clever design of envelope and fabric, which ing preservation, it is recommended to take
is strongly connected to the location and in account expected climate change in his-
climate. This approach was often used in toric building performance modelling and
historic buildings, whose designers, with- simulation. (Climate for Culture EU 7FP
out the help of the today’s technical tools Grant Agreement no. 226973) [4]

24
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

3.5.2 Parameters of interest for surfaces. For opaque components with poor
modelling the building envelope thermal resistance external shading system
Energy modelling of the envelope makes can be considered to reduce the indirect so-
use of those geometrical and thermophysi- lar gains by reducing the incident solar irra-
cal parameters, already described in Ch. 3.3 diation.
and referred to as the envelope analysis,
plus some others that are listed in the fol- To reduce indirect solar gains, a traditional
lowing. passive technique can be used (as present in
historic south Mediterranean buildings) –
3.5.2.1 Solar gains applying white paint to walls and masonry
A proper knowledge of solar gains is essen- roofs. In this case, the combination of rough
tial to assess the energy performance of a surfaces (high infrared emissivity) with
building. These gains can be split in two enough low solar absorptivity (white paint)
components: reduces the external solar energy gains by
lower absorption and high infrared emis-
• solar radiation absorbed by external sion to the sky and the surroundings. Today
opaque structures and then transmitted special paints are available in different col-
as heat flow to the inside with attenua- ours that exhibit such performances and can
tion and time delay (indirect solar be used also on existing individual tiles. So,
gains); two other main parameters are needed:
• solar radiation transmitted to the inte-
rior through windows and other semi- • infrared total hemispherical emissivity
transparent components converted into of all envelope opaque surfaces;
a heat load with a certain time delay af- • solar total hemispherical absorptivity
ter absorption by internal surfaces (di- of all envelope opaque surfaces.
rect solar gains).
3.5.2.2 Thermal bridges
The modelled value of the direct solar gain Thermal bridges are those parts of the
is controlled by appropriately selecting val- building envelope where heat flow is typi-
ues of the following parameters: cally higher than what would normally re-
sult assuming one dimensional heat trans-
• total Solar Transmittance i.e. a property fer, or when compared to nearby similar
of transparent materials, like glass, fabric. In the first case, the heat flow is two-
which affects the solar energy entering or three-dimensional due to changes in the
through a glazing system; envelope thickness and/or the difference
• presence and effectiveness of fixed or between the internal and the external sur-
movable shading systems (internal, ex- face areas (for example, corners). In the
ternal or inter-panels) to control the en- second case it is mainly due to the presence
tering solar radiation; of materials with different thermal conduc-
• presence and effectiveness of external tivity, like a concrete pillar between two
shading systems that reduce the amount highly insulated wall sections (CEN,
of sunshine on a façade or on envelope 2017c; 2017d). Considering the contents of
components. Ch. 3.3.2, in historic buildings that are not
subject to structural refurbishment, thermal
The assessment is usually performed for all bridges are generally limited to doors and
vertical and horizontal transparent building windows. In any case, these can be high-

25
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

lighted by an architectural survey of the o generation system installed

building or by infrared thermography. power and efficiency;
o control system typology;
Thermal bridges are classified by linear and
punctual bridges. The first are generated by • air conditioning heating system, if
the intersection of two walls or wall and any:
floor or window perimeter etc., the second o air supply system typology and
ones by the intersection of three walls. efficiency;
o distribution system typology, de-
The assessment of thermal losses associ- livery temperature, nominal air
ated with thermal bridging can be per- flow rate, and pressure drop and
formed at different levels, in accordance thermal losses or gains;
with the EN ISO 10211 (CEN, 2017c) and o Air Handling Unit typology,
CEN 14683 (CEN, 2017d) standards. functional and operational char-
acteristics (coil efficiencies, hu-
3.5.3 Parameters of interest for the midifier efficiency, etc.);
services systems o generation systems installed
Building energy modelling must take ac- power and efficiency (both heat-
count of the characteristics of the services ing and cooling);
systems if they are in use or reusable; or if o control system typology;
not, the energy assessment will be limited
to those services systems effectively in use • mechanical ventilation system, if
or usable. Usually the minimum required any:
information is that listed below: o air supply system typology and
efficiency;
• heating system, if any:
o emission system installed power • domestic hot water production sys-
and efficiency; tem, if any:
o distribution system typology, de- o distribution system typology; if
livery and return heat distribu- recirculation system delivery, its
tion fluid temperature, nominal average temperature, recircula-
flow rate, and efficiency (or de- tion mass flow rate, pumping
gree of insulation); power, and insulation efficiency;
o generation system installed o generation systems installed
power and efficiency; power and efficiency;
o control system typology;
• artificial lighting system, if any:
• cooling system, if any: o installed lamp technology, effi-
o emission system installed power ciency and absorbed electric
and efficiency; power;
o distribution system typology, de-
livery and return heat distribu- • Internal transportation system (lift,
tion fluid temperature, nominal elevator, etc.), if any:
flow rate, and efficiency (or de- o absorbed electric power and uti-
gree of insulation); lisation time schedule.

26
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

The main problem encountered at this stage building as close as possible to a nearly
is usually the lack of technical data for old zero energy building (NZEB), as required
system components. There are few possi- by EC regulation. It is also useful to evalu-
bilities to gather this information, if old ate opportunities to increase the production
data sheets have not been conserved and of on-site renewable energy so that, in ad-
made available: dition to satisfying the building demand,
electrical energy overproduction can be de-
• searching archives for equal or similar livered to a local smart grid. Simulation can
components or equipment; be also useful to drive post-construction ac-
• on-site performance testing (not always tivities in the context of continuous com-
possible); missioning5 and energy retrofit activities
• off-site performance testing (dismount- during the building life cycle.
ing, testing in lab and remounting);
• use of conventional performance data In particular, dynamic energy simulation
provided by reliable historical statisti- makes it possible to study:
cal analysis (such values are often re-
ferred in technical standards as histori- • the hourly temperature and relative hu-
cal reference values, but they should be midity profile of the indoor air in the
used as a last resort and only to get an absence of climate control;
order of magnitude of achievable per- • internal environmental conditions that
formances). can be obtained with different design
solutions for the building envelope and
3.5.4 Dynamic energy performance HVAC systems;
simulation • the building heating and cooling loads,
Dynamic energy performance simulation as hourly profiles or cumulative fre-
software not only make it possible to calcu- quency curves, the knowledge of which
late the heating and cooling loads occurring allows to evaluate, the relative perfor-
in a reference year, thus identifying the ref- mance of energy systems serving the
erence values for sizing the HVAC and en- building, such as boilers, heat pumps
ergy systems, but also to assess the energy and integrated energy systems;
systems performance under operating con- • the hourly profile of operating condi-
ditions, and to check the performance of tions for HVAC systems and associated
thermal and visual comfort in indoor envi- energy systems;
ronments. This integrated approach (sizing
and evaluation of energy performance) al- and consequently, to determine the follow-
lows the introduction of the energy opti- ing:
mised design concept, i.e. the energy sys-
tem is designed and sized not only on the • heating and cooling loads for the
peak load but on energy consumption to- HVAC systems design (power design);
gether with the achievement of required • energy need for building heating and
IEQ conditions. cooling (energy design), and their com-
pliance with the minimum performance
Simulation exercises are useful to identify requirements imposed by legislation;
innovative envelope solutions and to cor- • thermal comfort and indoor air quality
rectly associate energy demand and supply related to the required energy con-
so as to produce a design for an historic sumption;

27
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• electricity consumption for artificial 3.6 Energy Performance

lighting as a supplement to natural Assessment
lighting;
• emissions of pollutants into the atmos- The energy performance of a building is the
phere resulting from the operation of annual amount of energy actually used or
energy systems installed in the build- expected to be needed to meet the different
ing; requirements associated with a standard-
• share of renewable energy compared to ised use of the building, including winter
the total primary energy need. and summer air conditioning, domestic hot
water production, ventilation and lighting.
The calculation model, which is the basis of To be able to compare different technolog-
current simulation software, is of a deter- ical solutions, which can make use of dif-
ministic type, i.e. based on physical laws ferent energy sources (renewable and non-
governing the system being examined and renewable) and energy suppliers with dif-
by entering the appropriate input data and ferent costs and environmental impact, pri-
boundary conditions, the required results mary energy is utilised to assess the perfor-
are obtained. Over time, progressively mance instead of the energy use.
more complex models have been built,
gradually increasing the level of detail in 3.6.1 Primary Energy
the representation of the described physical According to the EU-EPBD on buildings
phenomena. energy performance (European Parliament,
2010) and the related CEN Standard EN–
When considering dynamic thermal simu- ISO 52003-1 (CEN-ISO, 2017ae), primary
lation of historic buildings, special care has energy is defined as:
to be taken in specifying the way the uti-
lised computer code calculates the dynamic “energy that has not been subjected to any
heat transfer through their very large and conversion or transformation process”
massive external walls. It has been demon-
strated (Mazzarella, 2017) that, if not cor- Note 1 to entry: Primary energy includes
rectly specified, calculation errors may be non-renewable energy and renewable en-
introduced, or simply the code does not run, ergy. If both are taken into account, it can
or never converges to a stable solution. This be called total primary energy.
has been observed in at least two of the
most popular computer simulation pro- Primary energy use is then utilised to assess
grams. the energy performance calculated as the
sum of all energy carriers crossing the as-
To determine dynamic building heat trans- sessment system boundaries weighted with
fer processes computational models nor- their specific primary energy conversion
mally apply algorithms based on transfer factors.
functions and finite volume models. These
and other aspects on the selection and use Standard EN–ISO 52000-1 defines them
of such computer simulation programs re- respectively as:
ferred to as Building Simulation Perfor-
mance tools (BSPts) are detailed in Appen- • energy carrier: substance or phenome-
dix D. non that can be used to produce me-
chanical work or heat or to operate

28
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 3 Building diagnosis

chemical or physical processes; or, in a which measures the primary energy use re-
simpler way, any form of tradable en- ferred to the net area per heating, cooling,
ergy as electricity provided by the grid, ventilation, domestic hot water production,
mass of fuels, hot or cold water provide lighting, humidification and dehumidifica-
by heating or cooling systems, etc.; tion services, (as included):
• non-renewable primary energy factor:
for a given energy carrier, the non-re- Ewe = Ewe;H + Ewe;C + Ewe;V + Ewe;WL
newable primary energy, including the (3.1)
+ Ewe;L + Ewe;HU + Ewe;DHU
delivered energy and the considered
energy overheads of delivery to the where
points of use, divided by the delivered Ewe;H is the heating service weighted
energy; energy performance indicator;
• renewable primary energy factor: for a Ewe;C is the cooling service weighted
given distant or nearby energy carrier, energy performance indicator;
the renewable primary energy, includ- Ewe;V is the ventilation service weighted
ing the delivered energy and the con- energy performance indicator;
sidered energy overheads of delivery to Ewe;W is the domestic hot water service
the points of use, divided by the deliv- weighted energy performance
ered energy. indicator;
Ewe;L is the artificial lighting service
The standard gives a certain degree of free- weighted energy performance
dom in applying such definitions, while the indicator;
EU-EPBD is more precise (even if it is ap- Ewe;HU is the humidification service
plied differently in different countries). A weighted energy performance
discussion on what should be the correct indicator;
way of calculating the amount of primary Ewe;DHU is the dehumidification service
energy and of what kind (non-renewable) in weighted energy performance
spite of the directive can be found in (Maz- indicator.
zarella, 2016).
The subscript we represents a generic weigh-
3.6.2 Energy performance indicator ing criteria, and then, according to national
As mentioned in previous chapters, the en- rules, it must read as total primary energy
ergy performance assessment must take into (Ptot) or non-renewable primary energy
account a number of parameters, such as: (Pnren).

• site climate conditions; The performance indicators are expressed

• thermophysical properties of the enve- in kWh/m²│year6, or in any other compa-
lope; rable units according to the information
• services systems features and perfor- provided by the current European and na-
mances; tional standards and regulations.
• user required indoor microclimate con-
ditions. The calculated value is a performance indi-
cator that can be compared with other build-
The overall energy performance of the ings’ energy performance indicators only if
building is expressed through the weighted they have been calculated under congruent
overall energy performance indicator (Ewe), assumptions. In this regard, it should be

29
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

pointed out that a calculated building energy As mentioned above, the EPBD considers
use assessment cannot be affected by de- the building as a whole and requires that at
signer assumptions on the calculation Member State level the minimum perfor-
method itself. The results should only de- mance is set in terms of an overall perfor-
pend on the adoption of different solutions, mance indicator. During an energy perfor-
such as improvements in the energy produc- mance assessment, it is advisable to sepa-
tion system or in the performance of the en- rately calculate the energy needs and the
velope elements, which make it possible to primary energy uses for each building ser-
assess the feasibility of a given operation vices. This method allows energy audits to
from an energy point of view. be performed in a more effective way.

30
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
4 Building prognosis
4.1 Introduction know what these constraints are before the
design phase begins.
After the building diagnosis has been formu-
lated, applicable solutions have to be identi- A matrix, or feasibility studies should then
fied from among the potential options to be developed to balance the benefits and
evaluate the opportunity to recover from the drawbacks of various possible updates and
degraded building state. Significant archi- improvements to existing systems as an al-
tectural spaces, finishes and features should ternative to new compatible systems. Fac-
be identified and evaluated at the outset to tors to consider include heating and/or
ensure their preservation. This includes sig- cooling requirements, fuel type, distribu-
nificant existing mechanical systems or ele- tion system, control devices, generating
ments such as hot water radiators decorative equipment and accessories such as filtra-
grilles, elaborate switch-plates, and non-me- tion, and humidification, if required. The
chanical architectural features such as cupo- restoration and reuse of existing compo-
las, transoms, and porches. Significant nents has to be evaluated in comparison
spaces where mechanical equipment can be with new possible systems, in terms of re-
placed should be identified and secondary furbishment and installation costs, pro-
spaces where equipment and distribution jected fuel costs, exploitation of on-site re-
runs, both horizontal and vertical, can be lo- newable energy sources, long-term mainte-
cated. Appropriate secondary spaces for nance, and life-cycle. The benefits of added
housing equipment might include attics, ventilation should not be overlooked.
basements, penthouses, mezzanines, false Trade-offs between one large central sys-
ceilings or floor cavities, vertical chases, tem and multiple smaller systems should be
stair towers, closets, or external under- evaluated as different system typologies
ground vaults. Owners or their representa- such as a ducted forced air system com-
tives should meet early and often with local pared to a two-pipe fan coil system, or a
officials, since the level on intervention de- combined water and air system. As well as
pends on their needs and on legal con- assessing space availability for equipment
straints. Legal requirements should be and the distribution systems, the fire risk
checked, verifying, for instance, how the levels of various fuels must be considered.
historic character of the building can be Understanding the advantages and disad-
maintained while respecting energy, fire, vantages of the various types of the availa-
and safety codes and standards in place. For ble mechanical systems and evaluating
example, existing ductwork could be reused each of these systems in light of the preser-
as it is or, may need to comply with new vation objectives established during the de-
standards and laws and must be modified sign phase of planning is the principal goal
with the use of dampers. If there is a require- of the prognosis process.
ment for stairwell ventilation, that can affect
the exterior appearance of the building. The tool to enable the correct analysis of all
Many of the health, energy, and safety code the available options together with the con-
requirements will influence decisions made straints of conservation so as to select the
for mechanical equipment being applied for best solution is provided in next Chapter
climate control. Thus, it is important to alongside the energy audit procedure.

31
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

4.2 Cultural Heritage Compatible • little attention paid by some operators

Envelope Interventions to the building’s supporting structure.

The implementation of strategies to im- The differences in approach and language

prove energy efficiency in historic build- can only be overcome if each professional
ings requires particular care and attention, involved is capable of listening to the needs
because of the conservation requirements. of the others and together consider the
Energy efficiency must be accepted not as improvement of energy efficiency as an
something to be deplored but as a necessary integral part of the conservation project and
tool to protect the building. Probably, these reuse of the historic building.
two positions derive from the difference be-
tween two cultures, “natural sciences & It is fundamental that all operations are co-
technologies” (NS&T) and ”humanities & ordinated and consistent, and that the vari-
social sciences” (H&SS) which still too ous professionals have a chance to compare
rarely manage to integrate and work to- and cooperate with each other around a
gether. The issue may be related to some common table. Since, as repeatedly stated
essential points, namely: in this Guidebook, any work must be done
in accordance with the conservation criteria
• diversity of language among installers and to this end, the conservator should co-
and conservators, which often leads to ordinate with the design team. Each profes-
misunderstandings, even when the po- sional can work with autonomy in pursuing
sitions substantially coincide; the overall objective; while remaining
• different approach: the NS&T ap- within the constraints allowed under the
proach is based on scientific laws and conservation criteria.
robust models that allow to predict sys-
tems performances enough carefully, To improve the energy efficiency of the
whereas the H&SS approach is based building envelope it has to be insulated,
on a sound scientific preparation and which is not always possible in historic
knowledge, but more on specific cases buildings and in buildings that have signif-
than “universal” rules, that do not allow icant historical, architectural and documen-
good enough performance forecasting; tary value. The thermal insulation tech-
only the first can be effectively regu- niques that can be adopted are outlined be-
lated by standards; low, the application of which must be eval-
• extreme speed with which new technol- uated case by case.
ogies come onto the market, replacing
the previous ones, meaning that the in- 4.2.1 Measures to improve envelope
staller has to constantly keep updated insulation
while the conservator is not always able As mentioned several times, to enhance the
to follow them; performance of a building envelope,
• frequent practice of considering the measures are generally taken on the thermal
technical equipment completely inde- insulation of opaque and transparent, hori-
pendently from any conservation work zontal and vertical components by applying
and the restoration project, considering materials and/or technologies that increase
the possible aesthetic impact of central the thermal resistance and reduce the inter-
units, cables, ducts and technical nal/external heat transfer. Improvement on
rooms; thermal insulation may not always be

32
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

practicable in an historic building, whose chemical-biological properties (De Leo and

facades and/or interior elements are of a d'Ambrosio Alfano, 2014).
historical or architectural value, whereas
such work can be done to an existing build- There are many classifications of insulating
ing, which in itself has no historical value materials; the one based on their origin is as
but hosts a cultural heritage within its walls; follows:
for example, a new museum installation.
• mineral fibres;
The performance of an envelope opaque el- • foams;
ement, whether horizontal or vertical, is • inorganic foams;
then generally improved by increasing the • others.
thermal resistance with the installation of a
layer of thermal insulation outside, inside In the last few years, new insulating ma-
or within a cavity, if any. terials, such as multi-layer heat-reflecting
insulating materials, are becoming more
However, when considering transparent common and phase-change materials are
items, windows and doors as well as glass also used as “dynamic” insulation. The
panes can be replaced with new compo- latter, also called PCM (acronym of
nents that have improved energy and func- Phase-Change Material), when turning
tional performances. In this chapter, we from a solid to a liquid state and vice
would like to emphasise that each situation versa accumulate and release heat, thus
is unique and should be carefully assessed. helping to control heat transfer through
In general, improvements on the transpar- the envelope components; the former, tra-
ent elements of listed buildings can often be ditionally used in the aircraft industry,
undertaken however, at times only partly. have the great advantage of a high perfor-
mance/volume ratio.
The following sections briefly describe the
characteristics of insulating materials and 4.2.1.2 Outside thermal insulation
the main thermal requirements of doors and This system, which is also called “a jacket”,
windows. consists of what is more appropriately
known as the insulating panel and addi-
4.2.1.1 Thermal insulation materials tional layers of adhesive and finish applied
The fundamental characteristics of thermal to the outer surface of the building enve-
insulation materials are their thermal con- lope; the reason why this is called a system
ductivity, thermal capacity and permeabil- is that all the materials used must be com-
ity to water vapour, which contribute to de- patible with each other.
termining the hygrothermal behaviour of
the wall. These materials are usually placed For its implementation, generally thermal
on the outside or the inside of external insulation is glued and anchored to the ex-
walls, less frequently embedded inside the ternal wall of the building, covered with
wall. Other important features that influ- two layers of plaster, with a reinforcing
ence the performance of a thermal insulator mesh in between, and then the finish.
are density, resistance to compression and
creep, which in turn determine the mechan- The advantages that can be obtained from
ical properties, behaviour to fire, dimen- this system - provided it has been designed
sional stability, water absorption and its and applied correctly – are the following:

33
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• elimination of the risk of interstitial and heated rooms, have frescos or valuable ele-
surface condensation; ments such as stuccos.
• elimination of thermal bridges;
• protection of the structures from ther- 4.2.1.4 Cavity thermal insulation
mal shocks; This technique involves the injection of
• exploitation of the thermal capacity of foam in the cavity or filling with a bulk ma-
the building; terial such as expanded clay or vermiculite.
• attenuation of the effects of solar irra- In any case, assuming that there is a cavity
diation inside the rooms. and that it can be evenly filled, thermal
bridges are created at the connection of the
In the application of the jacket, care must floors to the vertical walls and, as in the
be taken at the openings in the envelope, case of the inside insulation, the formation
like windows and balconies, so that no ther- of interstitial condensation is likely to oc-
mal bridges are created that would promote cur. Thus, this is not a suitable procedure,
the formation of surface condensation on even if such cavities exist since they are not
the interior surfaces of the walls. common in historic building with masonry
walls. Such an opportunity may exist in
This kind of intervention is almost always timber- frame houses, where the insulating
incompatible with the historic characteris- material may be placed in between the in-
tic of a building that significantly depend ternal wooden board (or plaster board) and
on the architectural façades, which would the external brick wall, if any, or a new
be covered by anonymous insulating mate- high-performance insulating material can
rial. Some experiments have been carried replace an old damaged one under the outer
out trying to artificially rebuild the signifi- cladding. In this case floors are likely to
cant architectural features of the original fa- also be timber and thus the thermal bridge
çade over the outside thermal insulation. problem is naturally minimised.
This is a deprecated procedure, because it
is both very costly and has poor durability 4.2.1.5 Thermal insulation of retaining
and simply, it is just false. The only possi- walls
bility of applying this is in relation of inter- Historic buildings generally have base-
nal shafts with simple architecture and ments whose retaining walls are often wet
highly damaged plaster without any signif- and cold and may be set against earthworks.
icant frescos. (In this case, moisture must first be elimi-
nated with the techniques outlined in Chap-
4.2.1.3 Internal thermal insulation ter 4.2.2). Considering thermal insulation,
Internal insulation is implemented by glu- since the outside retaining walls are not of
ing the thermal insulation on the wall, any aesthetic value, if technically possible
which is then covered by a sheet of plaster- thermal insulation can be installed on the
board or brickwork. In this way, not only outside walls via ground excavation. If such
does this reduce the useful space volume an option is realised, it is useful and con-
but can also create or increase thermal venient to apply a water-proof barrier over
bridges and there is a risk of forming inter- the thermal insulation to reduce or avoid
stitial condensation. water suction by both the thermal insulation
material and the wall. This will avoid per-
Such work is impractical when the walls, formance reduction and possible degrada-
bordering the outside environment or un- tion over time, and also avoid, or reduce,

34
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

rising dump and related risks (see Ch. • vapour barrier (prevents the possible
4.4.2). Otherwise, if the insulation is ap- formation of interstitial condensation);
plied inside, to assure that no interstitial • thermal insulation;
condensation forms, a vapour-proof barrier • ‘trampling’ layer (final layer of the
has to be inserted in between the insulation package that allows climbing onto the
and the wall. roof).

The insulation must have low water absor- Warm roof

bency and, if necessary, have a high me- In a warm roof, the water-proofing system
chanical resistance. is the outermost layer. In such a situation
and in the presence of the sun, radiant ther-
4.2.1.6 Thermal insulation of roofs mal energy cannot be transferred to the un-
It is well known that roofs represent one of derlying layers due to the presence of the
the most critical components of the build- thermal insulation and there is a high ther-
ing envelope from the energy transfer point mal expansion of the water-proofing mem-
of view (high losses in cold season, high so- brane. Since thermal expansion is pre-
lar and heat gain in hot season). Unfortu- vented by the fact that the water-proofing
nately, due to existing constraints, it is not layer is bound to the structure, cracks start
always possible to intervene on the roof of to appear after about ten years.
an historic building. If possible, the distinc-
tion between a flat roof and pitched roof Inverted roof
should be made. In an inverted roof, the thermal insulation
is placed above the water-proofing mem-
Flat roof brane so that the membrane and the whole
A flat roof is distinguished as a warm roof roof structure has a temperature that is
(with insulation and water-proof placed un- closer to the inside temperature of the
der the structural deck) or an inverted roof building rather than the outside. It must be
(with the insulation placed above the struc- provided with a suitable gravel7 ballast and
tural deck and beneath the water-proofing). a filtering layer, whose function is to retain
In any case, the essential elements, distrib- solid particles while letting the water pass
uted in various ways - depending on the through.
type of implementation are:
There are also prefabricated ballast sys-
• support (load bearing element of a tems: the sheet is produced on the premises
building); with a layer of concrete that functions as a
• screed slope (layer that allows the wa- ballast floor.
ter to flow);
• primer (adhesion of the water-proof Although this insulation technique is ad-
layer); vantageous because it is long-lasting, it is
• creep element (prevents undesired ad- not generally usable due to the type of sur-
hesion of layers or continuous ele- face finish.
ments);
• adjustment element (adjusts the sub- Pitched roof
layer for water-proofing); Three types of insulating systems can be
• water-proofing; considered for pitched roofs:

35
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• systems with tile ventilation; high performance optical glasses. In the case
• systems without ventilation; of doors and windows, the thermal transmit-
• insulation systems of roof slabs that are tance, as defined in Appendix B, is a
impractical. weighted average of that of the frame and
the glass unit accounting also for frame-
Each of these systems offers several con- glass unit thermal bridge, where the greatest
struction types, which must be considered weight (area) is that of the glass unit. For this
case by case. reason, when assessing the heat losses
through doors and windows, these three fac-
4.2.1.7 Thermal insulation of flooring tors are always taken into account. Moreo-
Thermal insulation of floors, especially ver, the way the installation of doors and
those at ground level, should be installed to windows has been performed should also be
reduce the energy consumption as well as considered. If the installation work has not
to avoid risks of condensation and, not been performed correctly, thermal bridges
least, to avoid the occupant discomfort by between the wall and the window or door
exposure to cold floors (as required by can exist, which, although it may be a negli-
Standard EN ISO 7730). gible factor in terms of energy, it is not so
from a hygienic-sanitary viewpoint as it can
The possibility of positioning the insulation cause the formation of surface condensation
by raising the existing flooring should be due their low surface temperatures. An in-
explored and if that is possible, care should correct mounting can also result in air leak-
be taken to avoid the risk of interstitial con- ages around the frame, which can dramati-
densation and, where possible, a water- cally increase the envelope air permeability
proofing membrane should be included. allowing uncontrolled high air infiltration
rates (d’Ambrosio Alfano et al., 2016).
It is evident that work of this kind involves However, well fitted, airtight windows
the creation of thermal bridges and thus the might cause a decrease in the indoor air qual-
risk of surface condensation. Furthermore, ity if properly designed mechanical ventila-
it is also evident that it could only be ap- tion systems are not employed.
plied in historic buildings which do not
have valuable historic flooring of any type The design of the letter box, where one is
or that can be removed without any risk, installed, can also contribute to the heat
and then be replaced in the same fashion. losses.

4.2.1.8 Thermal insulation of doors When designing a glazed element, special

and windows and solar gains attention should be paid not only to thermal
Since the early ‘80s, windows and doors, transmittance (i.e. its degree of insulation),
generally referred to as the transparent part but also to the potential to transmit solar ra-
of a building envelope, have changed signif- diation to the interior of the building. This
icantly. Their market has undergone a kind is quantified by the following coefficients:
of revolution that has seen a transition from
traditional wooden frames, with at the most • Solar factor, g: also known as the total
double-glazing, through which the infiltra- solar transmittance. This is the relation-
tion of external air and the transmission of ship between the total solar energy
external noise were not controlled, to new transmitted by the glass and the inci-
high thermal-acoustic performing units with dent flow;

36
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

• Luminous Transmission Factor, LTF:

this expresses the percentage of radia-
tion that is visible, which is directly
transmitted through the glass.

Table 4.1 shows the transmittance values,

solar factor and luminous transmission fac-
tor of some types of glass.

In historic buildings, action on transparent

surfaces is certainly simpler than that on
opaque walls, as only the glazing needs to be
replaced, leaving the frame unchanged and Figure 4.1. The Reichstag dome in Berlin.
therefore not altering the appearance of the
building. In reality, the task is not trivial as
problems related to the installation of new
glazing in the existing frame may arise.
In warm or hot climates, solar heat gains
4.2.1.9 Protection from solar irradiation can be significant. For massive historic
To reduce the heat loads in summer, action buildings shielding to reduce solar radia-
can be taken on the outside of the envelope, tion striking opaque surfaces can give ben-
by shielding transparent surfaces and there- efits to the indoor climate as well as reduc-
fore reducing the radiant flux entering the en- ing the cooling load, (if there was any cool-
vironment. In general, systems can be used to ing system in place). This protection can be
modulate the flow, so as to control the energy achieved through external shading devices,
and light transmission in response to the ex- which must be sympathetic to the surround-
ternal conditions. A notable case of sunscreen ing landscape and the historic architecture,
integrated in an historic building is the or by altering the thermophysical properties
Reichstag dome, as shown in Figure 4.1. of the external surfaces.

Table 4.1. Thermal transmittance values, total solar transmittance and luminous transmission fac-
tor of some types of glass.

Thickness U g TL
Type Glass Gas
(mm) W/(m²K) (%) (%)
Single Untreated 2 – 19 – 5.9 – 5.3 0.88 – 0.70 91 - 83
4 – (6/12/16) – 4 Air 3.3 – 2.7 0.75 – 0.76 81
Untreated
6 – (12/16) – 6 Air 2.8 – 2.7 0.72 79
4 – (6/12/16) – 4 Air 3.3 – 1.4 0.42 – 0.74 71 – 80
Double 6 – (12/16) – 6 Air 2.8 – 1.4 0.41 – 0.71 69 – 78
Low emitting Argon
4 – (12/16) – 4 1.4 – 1.1 0.42 – 0.63 71 – 80
90%
Argon
6 – (12/16) – 6 1.1 – 1.2 0.41 – 0.61 69 – 78
90%

37
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

To reduce these indirect solar gains, a tra- Total hemispherical solar absorptivity may
ditional passive technique can be used (al- vary from 0.1 for white products up to 0.5
ready used in historic south Mediterranean for coloured ones; while total hemispheri-
buildings as shown in Figure 4.2) by paint- cal emissivity is always greater than 0.8.
ing of walls and masonry roofs white. In
this case the combination of rough surfaces 4.2.2 Damp proofing in walls
(high infrared emissivity) with enough low Very often historic buildings suffer from
solar absorptivity (white paint) reduces the moisture, typically by infiltration, rising
external solar energy gains by lower ab- damp and backfill, which, in addition to
sorption and high infrared emission to the causing deterioration of the structure, may
sky and the surroundings. Special coatings also affect the hygrothermal conditions of
are available that exhibit such perfor- the environments in contact with the damp
mances and can also be used on existing in- walls.
dividual tiles or original tiles can be substi-
tuted with similar coloured reflective tiles. Wall moisture is also closely related to en-
“Cool” coatings that are white or those with ergy saving because, to reduce the relative
special coloured reflective pigments that re- humidity in the environment, it is necessary
flect sunlight (Cool Colour) have a slightly to install a ventilation or air conditioning
lower performance. Coatings are similar to system designed to improve indoor air
very thick paints that can protect the roof or quality and prevent condensation on the
arcade facade surfaces from ultra-violet surface resulting from the high amount of
(UV) light and chemical damage, and some vapour in the air.
offer water protection and restorative fea-
tures. The most advanced products availa- The causes, which determine the presence
ble are a combination of polyacrylic emul- of water in the building fabric, can be clas-
sion, metal oxides, kaolin, calcium car- sified as follows:
bonate, silicate, water, glycol ether, cellu-
lose, preservatives and contain hollow ce- • moisture from condensation, which is
ramic microbeads. distinguished by surface and interstitial
condensation;
• rising dampness, due to the capillary
rise of groundwater in the walls or to
the presence of an aquifer;
• accidental moisture, caused by the
presence of infiltration or leaks in rela-
tion to the parts of the construction in
direct contact with water, such as water
tanks, sanitary systems, drains, down-
spouts, roofs;
• moisture from backfill, due to the fact
that the level of the floor of the internal
wall is lower than the floor level of the
external environment, and therefore the
water which is located in the soil tends
Figure 4.2. Vernacular architecture in Medi- to pass into the wall;
terranean area.

38
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

• atmospheric moisture present on the • masonry, sewage channels, outer cavi-

outer surfaces of the walls, directly as a ties and sumps. In the presence of
consequence of rainfall. It can occur ground water, it is not a permanent solu-
both in limited areas or widespread tion because it does not prevent the ca-
across the external surfaces of the pillary action through the foundations. It
building; is therefore appropriate to provide other
• building moisture, which occurs in a systems, such as a sump that lowers the
structure during and immediately after aquifer levels, thus reducing the quan-
construction or renovation. This is due tity of water that reaches the founda-
to the presence of water in the wet prep- tions. But the removal systems can be
aration of the construction materials. used only for a building’s perimeter
walls, therefore for the internal parti-
4.2.2.1 Remedies tions other techniques should be used;
After the audit - which must be done with • barriers against capillary action. These
great care and which often requires inva- are horizontal barriers located in the
sive and destructive survey methods - the masonry, immediately above floor
choice of a restoration action should be level. The barrier can be obtained by a
made according to the identified cause mechanical cut, inserting a layer of im-
(Alfano et al., 1998). permeable material, or with a chemical
cut, that consists of impregnating the
Given that the techniques to solve problems walls with chemical products that cre-
related to infiltration are well known, that ate a water barrier. A mechanical cut is
construction humidity can be easily avoided not always compatible with the struc-
by making sure that there was no pre-exist- tural nature of the building; A widely
ing condensation remaining and that the used water migration system is macro-
walls were dry after reconstruction. Humid- porous plaster, also known as dehumid-
ity can be introduced by incorrect structural ifying plaster. This is obtained by mix-
actions, such as the insertion of a concrete ing conventional components with
floor in a brick wall, which can be added at foaming additives that create a struc-
the time, or prior to, the refurbishment. ture with pores of greater dimensions
than those of the simple plaster. Thanks
Rising damp and embankment restoration to its structure, this plaster presents a
techniques are discussed below. lower resistance to water movement
from the masonry to the room. In addi-
Rising damp tion, the evaporation of water and the
Techniques employed against the rising crystallisation of salts occur in the inner
damp are carried out according to the spe- layers of the walls; therefore, there is
cific application. Based on the particular no efflorescence and mould (the most
situation, the systems are distinguished by: evident symptoms of moisture).

• systems for water removal from the The choice of one system does not exclude
wall. These limit the contact between another, but it may be possible to combine
the wall and the groundwater by water- the two or even all the systems to obtain
proofing the surface of the basement more effective results.

39
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Humidity from earthworks system, but just separated standalone

The techniques relating to measures against equipment. Only at the beginning of the
water from earthworks are currently limited nineteenth century, early central heating
to the removal of water from the wall, systems with distribution of heated air or
which are the same as those mentioned steam using metal ducts or pipes appeared
above relating to rising damp. Alterna- on the scene. Improvements were made to
tively, measures related to the internal side early wrought iron boilers and by the late
of the masonry can be taken, which do not nineteenth century, steam and low pressure
block the phenomenon, and are limited to hot water radiator systems were in common
making the internal surface of the wall aes- use, both in offices and in residences. Some
thetically acceptable and reducing the large institutional buildings heated air in
quantity of water vapour emitted into the furnaces and distributed it throughout the
environment. A classical measure is the ap- building in brick flues with a network of
plication of osmotic cements, which con- metal pipes delivering heated air to individ-
tain special additives that penetrate deep ual rooms. Residential designs of the period
into the masonry, resisting the force of the often used gravity hot air systems utilising
water that comes from the embankment. decorative floor and ceiling grilles. Venti-
lation became more scientific and the intro-
duction of fresh air into buildings became
4.3 Cultural Heritage Compatible an important component of heating and
Equipment Interventions cooling. Improved forced air ventilation be-
came possible in mid-century with the in-
It is clear that a building energy perfor- troduction of power-driven fans. The twen-
mance improvement cannot exclude inter- tieth century saw intensive development of
ventions to the services systems, unless par- new technologies and the notion of fully in-
ticular historic, architectural or functional tegrated mechanical systems. Oil and gas
restrictions make them inadvisable or im- furnaces developed in the nineteenth cen-
possible to carry out. But the introduction tury were improved and made more effi-
of new technologies and services systems cient, with electricity becoming the critical
to make the historic building compatible source of power for building systems in the
with today's energy conservation laws and latter half of the century. Forced air heating
life quality requirements must be treated systems with ducts and registers became
with care. Interventions should be mini- popular for all types of buildings. In the
mised and renewable energy should be 1920s large-scale theatres and auditoriums
used, whenever possible. Specifically, re- introduced central air conditioning, and by
gardless of the type of envisaged interven- mid-century forced air systems which com-
tion, the historic appearance of the building bined heating and air conditioning in the
should remain unaltered. same ductwork set a new standard for com-
fort and convenience. The combination and
The type of services plant usually installed coordination of a variety of systems came
in historic buildings will be dependent on together in the post-World War II high-rise
the age of the building. Typically, in the buildings; complex heating and air condi-
eighteenth century and earlier ancient tioning plants, electric elevators, mechani-
buildings the heating was at the source of cal towers, ventilation fans, and full service
delivery and was primarily from fireplaces electric lighting were integrated into the
or stoves and, therefore; it was not really a building's design [7].

40
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

Consequently, the services systems and Reference values of emission efficiency are
their plants installed in most of ancient his- given in national and European standards
toric buildings are just lighting systems like EN Standard 15316-2 (CEN, 2017d).
and, in general, conventional heating sys-
tems, whose energy efficiency can be im- 4.3.1.2 Work on the control system
proved by the measures as described below. To improve the control efficiency means
avoiding overheating by keeping the internal
4.3.1 Heating plant refurbishment air temperature as close as possible to the
and improvement comfort temperature. In a radiator system
Keeping in mind that to comply with con- the air temperature needs to be separately
servation requirements the existing me- controlled in each room. If the heat distribu-
chanical systems have to be retained when- tion fluid in the heating system is mechani-
ever possible, upgrading should be per- cally driven, i.e., there is a pump, this feature
formed reusing all historically relevant can be achieved by installing 2-way thermo-
components and equipment. static valves directly on each heating device.
Thermostatic valves cannot be applied to
Regardless the heating plant technology thermosiphon radiator systems (i.e. heat dis-
(water or air based), to achieve energy im- tribution fluid driven by natural convection)
provement work must be carried out to in- due to the high pressure drop they cause in
crease the average seasonal efficiency, ηg, the hydronic circuit. In such case, to be able
which is a function of the following: to apply thermostatic valves, a pump must
be installed. This is normally a most effec-
ηe is the emission efficiency; tive energy conservation measure and one
that can give high returns in terms of
ηc is the control efficiency; cost/benefit ratio, to the point that national
legislations have considered it mandatory in
ηd is the distribution efficiency; many cases. From the conservation view-
point the significant drawback is the inva-
ηgn is the generation efficiency. sive appearance of thermostatic valves when
connected to the radiators. To minimise such
The possible efficiency improvement work impact, an obscuring grille can be used
to emissions systems, i.e. radiators, control whenever appropriate.
and distribution system and generation sys-
tems is analysed in the following. From the point of view of heating plant, the
installation of thermostatic valves on
4.3.1.1 Work on the emission system existing systems mean that at least three
The emission efficiency depends on the design aspects have to be considered:
heating devices, usually radiators, and the
characteristics of the rooms, (particularly • thermostatic valve selection and sizing;
their height) and therefore, any refurbish- • distribution networks balancing;
ment work, which does not affect these as- • replacement of circulation pumps,
pects, cannot improve it. Obviously, the since the system that is typically de-
radiators could be changed only if they signed for constant flow rate is now
have no historical value or are completely transformed into a variable flow rate
unusable. system.

41
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Criteria for selecting and sizing thermo- balancing, the thermostatic valves are sub-
static valves jected to more uniform pressure differences
The characteristic parameter that defines and therefore tend to give the same perfor-
the performance of thermostatic valves is mance in all rooms.
their operational proportional band, which
should range between 0.5 and 2°C. The
working ranges of the various valve sizes
on the market are very wide and most of the
Zones with Zones with
times overlap one another. For example,
too high Δp too low Δp
thermostatic valves are available in differ-
ent diameters, 3/8” and 1/2”, which have
the same hydraulic characteristics. Sizing
should be such that the operating point falls
within the above range, with the foresight
to always choose the smaller size, where
possible, and never exceed the values of a
differential pressure equal to about 20–
22 kPa. Differential pressure outside these
values could cause cavitation in the seat and
plug area causing vibration and noise.

Sizing thermostatic valves with high pres- AutoFlow: automatic

sure drops is important to ensure a control balancing valve
with low values of proportional band. This Δp = the lowest pressure difference
requirement, however, must be carefully between delivery and return
verified in relation to the whole plant. If the branches that is used to control
the mass flow rate
distribution networks are not equipped with
adequate flow calibration devices for the
various branches (for example in relation to Figure 4.3. Installation of auto flow balancing
each riser), the hydronic balancing of the valves. From (Bo, 2011).
plant is necessarily left only to the action of
the thermostatic valves. In this case, those
closer to the electric pumps might be forced Replacement of circulating pumps
to work with a p that is too high and causes The heat distribution fluid pumping system
noise, while those further away would be should be revised to increase the
working with a low p and therefore with a temperature difference between delivery
less advantageous proportional band. and return flows to obtain the following
benefits:
Balancing of the distribution networks
The retrofit must therefore envisage the in- • reduction of the return temperature to
stallation of commissioning valves in the promote condensation in the heat gen-
various main branches of the distribution erator, when this consists of a condens-
network, or better still, auto-flow valves ing boiler;
that are calibrated to the value of the maxi- • reduction in flow rate to reduce para-
mum flow rate of the associated branch, as sitic energy consumption due to pump-
shown in Figure 4.3. Thanks to this initial ing.

42
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

The pump must be selected very carefully, piping system so ηd assumes very low val-
since it is a key aspect for the optimal oper- ues that vary between 0.88 and 0.92.
ation of the retrofitted systems so its sizing
must be preceded by a detailed survey of 4.3.1.3 Work on the generation system
the existing plant for the following reasons: As previously mentioned, historic build-
ings undergoing rehabilitation are generally
• to determine the quantity and size of only heated, and, normally, the heat gener-
the heat emitters and establish their ef- ation system comprises of an old oversized
ficiency relative to their level of over- coal or oil boiler – as they used to be when
sizing. It is possible to calculate the re- energy was cheap. In addition, these boil-
quired design thermal output, and then ers, characterised by high working temper-
apply this to determine the new value atures (greater than 80°C) and by an insuf-
of the flow/return temperature differ- ficient level of thermal insulation, are af-
ence and the pump nominal flow rate; fected by considerably high thermal losses.
• to determine the required pump pres- The boiler oversizing might be due to over-
sure from a network survey (at least for sizing at the time of the original design and
the parts that can be seen). installation, or due to later envelope insula-
tion measures, which reduced its losses and
To evaluate the benefits of installing new so the heating requirements. In addition,
control systems on existing plant, it is nec- generally old plants have very simply con-
essary to estimate the difference between trol systems, which operate without any ac-
the values of the control effectiveness both count of external climatic conditions so are
before and after the intervention. unable to provide any periods of set-back or
occasional programmed switching off of
The energy savings that result from this the heat distribution network. Boilers with
specific action are, however, always very these characteristics reach average seasonal
high, in the order of 10% and even reaching efficiencies of between 60 and 70%. The
20%. most significant energy losses are gener-
ated by the transformation of primary en-
Improvement work on the distribution ergy (fuel energy) into heat in the boiler and
system are due to:
The distribution efficiency takes into ac-
count the heat losses in the distribution net- • energy losses due to energy carried by
work to the external space, as they do not flue gases up the chimney; this is ex-
reduce the building energy requirement. pressed by the so-called exhaust gas
Distribution efficiency will depend on the losses;
thermal insulation of the distribution net- • thermal losses through the external sur-
work, which in historic buildings often has faces of the boiler during burner opera-
low values. Old equipment, installed in pe- tion and when the burner is off; this re-
riods when the cost of energy was negligi- lates to the so-called casing losses.
ble, were not generally insulated and, sig-
nificantly, risers chased into the external It should be noted that operational checks,
walls were not insulated. Hence, plant ret- performed periodically by maintenance op-
rofit must aim at increasing the network’s erators on boilers, will give information
thermal insulation. In general, it is only only on exhaust gas losses.
possible to intervene in a small part of the

43
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

These are normally the main part since in • to allow a correct perception of the
old boilers the flue gas temperature often spaces, highlighting the elements of
exceeds 200°C. In addition to boilers, hot particular importance;
water storage tanks and valves are usually • to select the lighting sources that inte-
also badly insulated, so that the boiler room grate appropriately in the architectural
is heated by their thermal losses, due to context, using, when necessary, exist-
both convective and radiative heat transfer. ing lighting fixtures if they are of par-
With new-generation boilers, these prob- ticular value; alternatively, it is sug-
lems have been successfully solved. gested that modern, minimally invasive
sources with adequate photometric per-
In older boilers, as the heat demand de- formances are employed;
creases - and, consequently, their capacity • to implement energy saving and con-
ratio rises - there is decay in seasonal effi- sumption reduction strategies, pro-
ciency. This problem has also been over- vided that the previous points are ob-
come - particularly in condensing boilers served;
operated at low capacity ratio - due to adop- • to make system choices that allow the
tion of very low return temperatures. The implementation of simple and lowest
heat recovery by condensation is particu- cost maintenance requirement, taking
larly significant and results in a considera- account of the previous points.
ble increase in the seasonal efficiency. The
main drawback in substituting an old high In all cases, the lighting requirements as
temperature boiler with a condensing one is outlined in the regulations must be ob-
that the return temperature of the distribu- served, with particular reference to Stand-
tion system must be reduced to 30°C to ard EN 12464-1 (CEN, 2011a), relating to
35°C otherwise the boiler will not work as lighting at a place of work.
a condensing one, but just as a traditional
one. This is not so simple to achieve in his- In any case, lighting system improvement
toric buildings and it is only possible if moves from the more general concept to
oversized radiators are used instead of the one that should consider two different sce-
original ones, or the losses through the narios:
building envelope are reduced via insula-
tion improvement. • integration of a new lighting system in
a building that was not envisaged when
4.3.2 Improvement work on lighting the building was constructed;
systems • upgrade of an existing lighting system,
The collection of rooms that characterise an installed using technologies then avail-
historic building - including their size, final able but which are now obsolete.
use and whether they include elements of
particular artistic or architectural value - re- When considering the inclusion of new
quire an accurate study of the lighting con- power supply networks in old buildings and
ditions, with the following aims: possibly meeting increased electrical de-
mand, designers should have a clear con-
• to guarantee the visual comfort and cept about the purpose of the lighting sys-
safety in relation to the activities to be tem, which goes beyond concerns of illumi-
carried out; nation and safety regulatory issues. Light-
ing system design also involves aspects of

44
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

architectural integration, visual perception In today’s market, LED sources are availa-
and creating the correct interpretation of ble with direct E27 and E14 fittings, replac-
spaces and environments. The underlying ing incandescent or compact fluorescent
philosophy is that the technologies must lamps, although care should be taken that the
serve these requirements and not vice versa. spatial distribution of the light emitted is
similar to that of conventional light sources.
There are two possible ways to achieve en-
ergy savings: From the energy viewpoint, each source is
• appropriately selecting, or replacing characterised by the luminous efficiency η,
old technology lamps in the existing lu- defined as:
minaires, and if compatible, substitut- v
d  (3.3)
ing power supply units with more effi- e
cient, if any, and performing a light
control with more effective systems Where:
than simple on/off switching; Φv is the luminous flux emitted, lm;
• integrating, as possible, automatic con- Φe is the power required to make the
trol systems based on presence, or light source function, W.
sensors, for proper lighting system
management. As an indication, Table 4.2 shows the main
characteristics of the different sources.
The lamps currently used for interior light- Note that a significant parameter is lamp
ing are halogen incandescent lamps, fluo- life, which varies from 2 000 hours for hal-
rescent lamps, metal halide lamps and ogen bulbs to 50 000 hours for LEDs, and
LEDs. A first constraint may result from that the luminous efficiency of the latter de-
existing lighting having a particular histor- pends on the colour temperature - in general
ical and artistic value, the presence of the higher the colour temperature, the
which gives a particular character to the higher the efficiency. Discharge sources –
rooms and the removal of which would al- such as the fluorescent and metal halide
ter the perception. In most of these cases, lamps - require special devices (called bal-
the fixtures are equipped with lamps that last) to function, which in turn absorb en-
have E27 or E14 fittings. For example, ergy and whose presence should be consid-
crystal chandeliers and sconces which have ered in the energy calculations. The latest
included traditional incandescent lamps generation of electronic ballasts make it
that have now been replaced by halogen possible to obtain energy savings compared
lamps or compact fluorescent lamps. to the previous ones.

Table 4.2. Main characteristics of the sources.

Source Φe Φv η Colour tem- Chromatic Lamp life
perature rendering
[W] [lm] [lm/W] [K] [–] [h]
Halogen 60–1000 820–22000 16 2900 100 2000
Fluorescent 24–58 1750–5200 100 3000–4200 40–90 12–20000
Compact fluorescent 5–55 250–4800 80 2700–6500 80–89 8–12000
Metal halide 20–400 1650–35000 90 2700–6500 80–95 9–12000
LED 0.5–40 4800 80–120 2500–8000 80–89 50000

45
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

In any case, it is proper to make a distinc- This aspect often makes LED systems the
tion between LED sources and conven- preferred solution, and not only from the re-
tional light sources. The latter are usually duction in energy consumption compared
provided in assemblies that have the ap- to traditional ones, but also in cases where
pearance of conventional incandescent or the luminous flux has to be directed to spe-
fluorescent lamps. These are then installed cific locations. LED systems designed spe-
in conventional devices and lighting fix- cifically for particular applications manage
tures which, in addition to providing elec- to implement luminous distributions that
trical and mechanical protection, control are difficult to achieve with traditional
the luminous flux emitted in the different sources due to their inherent reduced di-
directions, i.e. to obtain a suitable distribu- mensions. Conversely, where it is neces-
tion of the light intensity in the surrounding sary to obtain a luminous flux distributed in
space (photometry). Specific photometric all directions, then it may be more conven-
distributions used for different functions – ient to resort to a conventional source or to
such as accent projectors and general direct use LED systems in conventional diffusing
or indirect lighting systems – are achieved luminaires.
using optical systems made of reflective
materials and/or reflectors. Consequently, Another aspect to be carefully considered
the luminous flux emitted by the system when selecting and placing lighting fixtures
(lamp + luminaire) is lower than that emit- – especially in rooms that have high ceil-
ted by a bare lamp. The relationship be- ings and where there are architectural struc-
tween these two flows, expressed as a per- tures (such as arches or vaults) – is to iden-
centage, is called LOR (Light Output Ra- tify the areas to be illuminated. These areas
tio), also known as the optical efficiency of may differ from those usually identified,
the device. Therefore, when assessing the based exclusively on the intended use.
overall luminous efficiency of the system
(lamp + luminaire), the luminous efficiency To assess the energy performance of light-
as well as the LOR should be taken into ac- ing systems in historic buildings and also to
count. implement energy saving strategies, the
provisions of Standard EN 15193-1 (CEN,
As already mentioned, LED lamps, which 2017ad), which describes the procedures
can directly replace traditional sources and for an assessment of energy consumption of
emit light radiation in all, or almost, all di- lighting systems for energy certification,
rections, are available. To assess the overall can be useful. This provision refers to sys-
luminous efficiency, the previous consider- tems under Standard EN 12464-1 (CEN,
ations are applicable. 2011a), and so to the lighting of indoor
workplaces, that sets out the required limits
LED systems on the other hand, as they are relating to the principal lighting technolo-
a compound of very small point sources, gies for visual comfort as well as the pa-
generally integrate in a single module both rameters describing the quality of light. For
light source and luminaire and emit light to residential use however, the definition of
much smaller elements of the space. Very standard parameters is more complex and
often the intensity distribution is imple- the adoption of energy saving strategies,
mented with primary optics located directly both as regards the choice and placement of
on the chip (diode), or with secondary op- the sources, as well as management, is a di-
tics, whose optical efficiency is very high. rect responsibility of the user. In general, it

46
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

is possible to achieve energy savings by • need to have different lighting scenar-

suitably replacing sources or power supply ios as activities and requirements
units and controlling with more efficient change in the same room.
systems.
Applying systems based on the implemen-
The various strategies mainly relate to: tation of lighting sensors makes it possible
to optimise the natural light contribution,
• use of natural light; suitably controlling the artificial lighting
• use of sources with a high luminous ef- output. Consumption can be further re-
ficiency; duced if occupancy sensors are used. It is
• use of lighting fixtures with a high also possible to automatically control the
LOR; position of the natural light shielding de-
• use of high-efficiency ballast; vices.
• use of lighting controllers;
• correct maintenance of the systems; For buildings that contain particularly val-
• use of suitable control systems, central- uable works, the character of the lighting
ised where possible, to manage the scheme and the energy saving strategies
lighting system. must recognise two special requirements,
which are often in contention – the best
To optimise the lighting system manage- conditions for the public to be able to enjoy
ment, if possible, the following control the work of art and the need to preserve it.
techniques should be adopted: Light is a powerful means of communica-
tion and enhancement as it allows master-
• use of local manual switches with pieces to be viewed but can produce struc-
on/off systems, or dimmer; tural and chromatic alterations in the mate-
• use of timers; rial, substrates and pigments. Generally,
• use of passive infrared or ultrasound these processes are very slow, but neverthe-
presence sensors; less, they are not to be underestimated so as
• use of daylight sensors to adjust the ar- not to potentially initiate irreversible dete-
tificial light; either on/off or with grad- rioration. The system choices also depend
ual adjustment; not only on the exhibits, but also the archi-
tecture that houses them, which often has
that can be applied individually or together. its own historical and artistic value.
The choice of lighting control system
depends substantially on:
4.4 Landscape integration analysis
• availability of natural light, therefore,
considering the optical features, direc- Any energy efficiency improvement may
tion, size and location of transparent have an impact on the landscape due, for
surfaces, presence of obstructions and example, to interventions that, although not
overhangs, room size, and reflectance directly interfering with the character of the
factors of the internal surfaces; historic building, can modify its surround-
• room occupation pattern, which can be ings through external equipment installa-
continuous, non-continuous program- tion that is not sympathetic with the sur-
mable or non-programmable, variable, rounding landscape. This is where two dif-
and so on; ferent cultures clash: that of the average

47
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

designer, who generally pays little attention In the case of work to be performed on the
to the considerations of landscape, and that building envelope, a description is suffi-
of one who preserves the landscape and cient, while for external energy systems
tends to avoid any type of work which may equipment, an accurate visual analysis of the
be considered invasive. The frequent result landscape is necessary. This visual analysis
is that projects, which can significantly im- must include photomontages from a number
prove the building energy performance, are of viewpoints and the preparation of a map
rejected by the cultural heritage Conserva- of the area of visual influence that illustrates
tion Body on the basis of generic assess- the locations from which the expected
ments instead of on objective criteria. It is equipment can be seen.
not possible to properly authorise or reject
a project proposal on the basis of a paper The effects caused by the presence of mul-
assessment, especially when the proposal tiple pieces of equipment should not be un-
regards conservation of protected property. derestimated. One system might have a rel-
To overcome these obstacles, it is important atively low impact on its landscape, but
to create a common ground where different several installations could prove to be inva-
needs can be discussed to reach a solution sive. To avoid this, the distance between the
that satisfies everyone. As reiterated sev- outside installations, the relationships be-
eral times it is impossible to set rules that tween the respective areas of visual influ-
apply to all cases and each case is unique ence and the general characteristics of the
and needs to be evaluated carefully, and landscape should be carefully evaluated.
with vast experience, which may give dif-
fering results to previous cases. 4.4.2 Documental analysis
In parallel to the visual analysis, an analysis
So, when an energy improvement project of the property condition should be per-
could impact the landscape, special atten- formed on the basis of existing documents
tion must be paid to landscape integration, that might include:
which must be assessed at different levels
of intervention for each type of element • the reading of historical synchronic and
based on the following criteria: diachronic local mapping;
• the morphological basis that provides
• technology, intended as the degree of context;
replacement of the building and system
components; and this leads to the definition of:
• landscape perception, as morphologi-
cal, formal and colour perception. • a map of mutual visibility, containing a
study of the visibility of the systems in-
Below is a list together with a brief descrip- stallation based on the morphology of
tion of the basic elements of the process re- the terrain;
quired for the accurate analysis of land- • a map indicating the viewpoints and el-
scape integration. ements of the landscape heritage.

4.4.1 Visual analysis 4.4.2.1 Historical reading and

A visual analysis is essential to highlight identification of permanence
the aspects of the work that could have a Knowledge of the processes that led to the
visual impact on the landscape. formation of the current structure of the locale

48
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

must start from an analysis of maps and his- are built-up or not, should be conducted
torical documents obtained from state ar- through the description of the materials and
chives and the historical archives of the prov- construction techniques adopted for any
ince, town, and public or private bodies. This buildings present.
information is processed to highlight the con-
stitutive elements of places, such as land use 4.4.3 A tool to assess integration
and the type of crops, terracing, division of As support for assessing the overall degree
fields and their interdependencies. This eval- of integration for building interventions
uation allows a synchronic and diachronic in- overall degree of integration, a sheet as
terpretation of the territory, with particular shown in Figure 4.4 can be used. This sheet
reference to permanencies that are adequately has to be filled-in by the designer utilising
described and individualised. all available documents, also enclosed
with, and submitted to the body responsible
4.4.2.2 Architecture of a place for the conservation of cultural heritage for
The architecture of a place is the result of its validation. This sheet is also useful for
many complex issues, including morphol- an initial screening on the project accepta-
ogy, hydrography, vegetation, land use, bility, in the sense that interventions, which
historical permanence and the visual qual- are not characterised by at least a partial de-
ity of the place. The morphological organi- gree of integration, cannot be submitted for
sation of the existing spaces, whether they authority approval.

Architec- Typological element Integration level

tural Scale Technological Scenic
Morphologi-
Formal Chromatic
cal
Microscale: Roof Opaque
Building- surfaces
place-con- Transparent
struction surfaces
Façade Opaque
surfaces
Transparent
surfaces
HVAC systems
Mesoscale: Roof
Square- Façade
block-sur-
rounding Installations

Macroscale: Roof
territory Façade
HVAC systems
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

Figure 4.4. Preliminary assessment sheet for integration in the landscape.

49
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

4.5 Fire Safety Issues fire containment and/or extinguishment, and

require human or automatic activation; ex-
When designing possible interventions on amples include fire extinguishers, smoke de-
both envelope and services systems of an tectors, alert systems for occupants and/or
historic building, care should be taken that for the fire department etc. Passive protec-
any intervention is compliant with fire tion systems are all building construction
safety codes. Usually an historic building is and design measures, which consider the
not compliant with fire safety codes be- type of material to choose so as to obstruct,
cause they did not exist at the time of con- and limit the amount of damage of, an even-
struction. Thus, when rehabilitation work tual fire. Examples of passive protection are
aims to reuse these buildings for today’s ac- compartmentation analysis, safety distances,
tivities, a complete analysis on possible fire fire-rated walls, doors and smoke barriers,
safety issues has to be carried out, i.e. a fire safe escape routes, structures’ resistance to
risk assessment (FRA). The essential com- fire, building materials reaction to fire. But,
ponents of a fire risk assessment for an his- when it comes to historic premises, protec-
toric building can be broken down into the tive measures are often controversial be-
four steps: preparation, prevention, protec- cause they can be disruptive to the original
tion and management. fabric of the building, and the physical in-
stallation of the systems can sometimes be
The preparation phase consists of updating difficult. It is possible, however, to take suit-
the building plan with all information on able protective measures that are sympa-
the existing fire safety measures (if there thetic to the historic fabric, but which can
are any), compartmentation requirements, also be designed for individual premises.
exit routes room usage, location of arte-
facts, hidden voids (disused chimneys, The management phase consists of drawing
goods lifts, panel infills etc.), potential ig- up a fire safety management plan, which
nition sources and flammable materials. aims to avoid poor management that can
render the most comprehensive risk assess-
The prevention phase consists of identify- ment and protective measures ineffectual.
ing potential ignition sources and flamma-
ble materials, and either removing them or This development of a fire risk assessment is
introducing alternative methods or systems, out of the scope of this Guidebook and is al-
to reduce the fire risk. Putting in place re- ready described by more specialised guides,
medial measures can be relatively inexpen- like the CFPA-E Guideline No 30:2013 F
sive and involve minimum intervention in “Managing fire safety in historical build-
the fabric of the building. ings” (Confederation of Fire Protection As-
sociations in Europe) [12]. The focus here
The protection phase consists of introduc- will be placed on the materials and compo-
ing protective measures in order to safe- nents selection related to energy saving in-
guard occupants, the property and im- terventions. This will include consideration
portant artefacts. That means to implement, of simple fire prevention actions and on the
as far as practicable, protection systems. structural resistance to fire and the reaction
These systems are classified as active or to fire of the materials for both building en-
passive. Active systems are associated with velope and services systems components.

50
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 4 Building prognosis

4.5.1 Fire prevention resistance to fire and fire reaction. The for-
Most fire risks, which can be identified dur- mer is the ability of a structure, or an indi-
ing the energy audit site reviews, can be vidual compartment (external wall, beams,
dealt with easily and with minimum diffi- doors and fire barriers etc.), to resist fire for
culty or expense. In fact, by identifying ig- a specific amount of time. The main param-
nition sources and flammable materials and eters for the assessment of fire resistance
either removing them or introducing alter- are loadbearing capacity R, integrity E,
native methods of storage, the fire risk will thermal insulation I, and the time the struc-
be greatly reduced. Usually in historic ture is preserving such capacities when ex-
building, unsafe electrical wiring is still a posed to a fire. This results in the REIxx
major fire risk. Any old unsafe wiring marking, where xx is the time in minutes
should be removed and substituted with (15, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240 and
new and approved wiring. Old fashioned, 360). However, the fire reaction of a mate-
but safe wiring, is available to replace old rial, is instead the material’s behaviour
exposed wiring on ancient lighting fixtures, when exposed to a direct flame, i.e. whether
which would not meet current electrical it is going to contribute to the fire. For ma-
codes. terial with a CE marking, the fire reaction
rating is defined by the system Euroclass
Open-flame appliances are also a serious (EN 13501-01), based on the combination
fire risk. Oil lamps, candles, wood stoves, of various harmonised tests (EN 11925-2
and wood-burning fireplaces should not be and EN 13823). The system divides insula-
used, especially if the building is not pro- tion products in 7 classes (A1, A2, B-F);
tected by an automatic fire protection sys- classified A1 materials are non-combus-
tem. Open flames are difficult to make safe, tible and those certified A2, B, C, D, E, F
and can cause unwanted smoke alarms burn in ascending order, i.e. very limited
when lit. If wood-burning appliances are contribution to fire, limited contribution to
used, effective fire prevention methods fire, medium contribution to fire, highly
should be in place to minimise their risks. contribution to fire, easily flammable. Ad-
For example, full-size fireplace screens ditional information is available related to
should be installed to contain flying em- smoke or non-smoke emissions.
bers, and flue screens should be installed to
prevent roof shingle fires. Dry wood (in- Thus, when component substitution is al-
stead of green wood) should be used to re- lowed by the local authority representative
duce the risk of chimney fires. Commis- appointed to protect and preserve cultural
sioning annual chimney cleaning and in- heritage, these new components have to
spections can also ensure safer operations. comply with the fire safety codes with a
Effective closing-down procedures, such as suitable REI class. When new insulating
safe disposal of ashes, along with on-site material is used to increase both the enve-
supervision during the entire wood-burning lope thermal resistance and services sys-
operation, and one hour following close tems distribution insulation, class A1 or A2
down, can reduce fire risks substantially. materials have to be used, because their
higher cost is insignificant compared to
4.5.2 Fire protection safeguarding our heritage from the ravages
When considering passive protection, a of fire and conserving our historical record
clear distinction has to be made between for future generation.

51
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
5 Energy audit procedure
5.1 Introduction When assessing the measures to be taken,
additional constraints imposed by the need
The energy audit is one of the fundamental to respect the historic and architectural
processes for energy improvement of value of the building must be taken into
buildings; thus, it is essential to clearly consideration, as underlined in the previous
define its purpose and the method of chapters.
execution. In fact, CEN has published
Standard EN 16247-1 (CEN, 2012a), which With specific regard to historic buildings,
is the first of a series dedicated to this topic. the improvement of energy performance
This defines the energy audit as a sometimes could require changes to the ar-
"systematic inspection and analysis of chitectural elements, which, if not carefully
energy use and energy consumption of a designed based on a correct energy audit,
site, building, system or organisation with can lead to problems that affect the monu-
the objective of identifying energy flows mental and/or documental value of the
and the potential for energy efficiency building as well as calling into question the
improvements and reporting them." With structural safety of the building. It follows
reference to the building, a specific that the engineer or architect, who has to in-
standard was released in 2014, EN 16247-2 tervene in an historic building - especially
(CEN, 2014), and the energy audit if constrained by national conservation acts
definition can be identified as a systematic - is often required to acquire much more
procedure that aims at: documentation than would be usual. It is
necessary to know about the building, with
• defining the energy balance of the reference to not only the aspects related to
buildings as a whole and identifying the the professional’s technical expertise, but
possible recovery of dissipated energy; also to those related to its role in human his-
• evaluating the required conditions for tory and within the urban context and land-
thermal comfort, IAQ and structural scape in which it is located. For these rea-
safety and identifying appropriate solu- sons, as discussed in Ch. 2.2, a team of ex-
tions for energy saving; perts should be set up to correctly and ef-
• evaluating opportunities for energy fectively meet the complex challenges.
saving from a technical-economic
point of view and optimising the whole There is a direct relationship between the
building energy management, such as cost of the energy audit and the amount of
energy supply contracts and system op- data to be collected and analysed to the
erating methods, so aiming to reduce number of energy-saving opportunities that
management costs. are identified. So, it is necessary to make a
preliminary distinction between the ac-
In the case of historic buildings, the energy cepted, or acceptable, costs of the audit that
audit is geared to identify the energy re- will determine the type of audit that can be
quirements due to the envelope, lighting, performed.
heating and cooling of the environment and
ventilation, required to allow a use of the The theoretical foundation of the energy
spaces and to meet the conservation needs. audit is reported next.

52
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

5.2 The scope of the energy audit applied to reduce such inefficiencies, quan-
tifying both the consequent savings as well
The main purpose of the energy audit is to as the economic return of such work.
evaluate the building’s energy consumption
in order to reduce it, while providing the in- Clearly, the distinction between energy cer-
door environmental quality conditions de- tification and an audit is crucial for historic
scribed in Appendix A. For this purpose, it buildings, being primarily properties of cul-
is first necessary to identify the functions tural value rather than buildings where mar-
that must be fulfilled by the architectural ketability is determined by their energy per-
and services systems. These can range from formance. The energy audit is the precursor
simple air conditioning, if the building is to the adaptation of the building’s technical
intended for residential or commercial use, services, which must take place with mini-
to microclimate control, if the building mal economic costs and maximum energy
hosts art collections, to the control of rising savings, while respecting the architectural
damp due to the presence of water-bearing and historic constraints.
strata or distributed water in the subsoil.
Energy suppliers used by each service and
energy consumption associated with each 5.3 Energy audit requirements
source must then be verified. At this point,
the energy efficiency of each service can be An energy audit must meet five basic re-
assessed and possible energy savings op- quirements:
portunities and cost savings can be identi-
fied, which can latterly be proposed for the • Completeness: the energy system must
analysed building. be defined, in the sense that the bound-
aries of the building are separated by a
5.2.1 The differences between energy standardised process, covering all sig-
certification and audit nificant energy aspects;
The main purpose of the energy certificate • Reliability: actual data are acquired in
is to represent, in the simplest form possi- number and quality, which are needed
ble, the energy quality of the building re- to develop an energy inventory. An on-
lated to conventionally established standard the-spot inspection of the building
conditions in a form that is readily under- should be carried out and instrumented
standable to a layman. The second aim is to measurements taken to verify and de-
provide general information on possible en- fine the essential characteristics of the
ergy saving measures that can be cheaply system. The energy consumption
implemented. So, the energy certificate is should be checked to make sure that it
practically a snapshot of the energy perfor- is consistent with the billing, or with
mance of the building that can be used to the measurements;
allow a more adequate assessment of it on • Traceability: a standardised audit pro-
the housing market, but that does not re- cedure is used. The energy consump-
quire any action by the property owner. tion of the building-system is identi-
fied. To support the results of the audit,
Instead, the purpose of the energy audit is the data source should be documented
to identify any energy inefficiencies of a as well as any processing method, in-
system in its actual operating conditions cluding the hypothesis of any work that
and to suggest improvements that can be has been undertaken;

53
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• Utility: energy efficiency improvement • II Level - Standard audit (Energy Sur-

measures are identified and evaluated vey and Analysis): this consists of quan-
in the audit report. A description of the tifying energy uses and losses, by re-
work must be given for each scenario, viewing and analysing equipment and
together with an analysis of the eco- systems and their operational features,
nomic and environmental energy bene- and in economically analysing the rec-
fits, an analysis of any interference ommended energy saving measures. It
with other work that may be required, can envisage on-site measurements and
the cost factors, the technical, regula- performance testing to quantify the en-
tory and legislative references, the ergy use and energy efficiency of the
measurements and inspections to be various systems and components. The
carried out after the application of the technical tools used to perform this level
proposed work; of audit are the current technical stand-
• Verifiability: the elements that allow ards, such as the verification and calcu-
the client to verify the achievement of lation procedures set out in ISO, CEN or
the efficiencies resulting from the ap- national Standards.
plication of the proposed actions • III Level - Detailed audit (Detailed
should be identified. Analysis of Capital Intensive Modifica-
tions): this consists of a detailed analy-
sis of energy uses, according to func-
5.4 Energy audit levels tion and/or intended use, and in an as-
sessment of energy use profiles by
There are three different basic types of en- means of tools (computer programs)
ergy audit, also known as energy audit lev- able to perform detailed dynamic sim-
els, which, in order of complexity, are: ulation of the building and its services
• Level I - Walk-Through Analysis/ Pre- systems. It is evidently the most expen-
liminary Audit: this consists of a visual sive level in terms of time and cost,
inspection of each system and/or subsys- which can be justified by the high com-
tem exchanging energy in the building. plexity of the building or systems being
Generally, this type of audit also includes examined, and which cannot be cor-
an assessment of the energy consumption rectly audited with the previous levels.
data, in order to analyse energy quantities
and energy use profiles as well as to pro- Table 5.1 shows a comparison between the
vide an element of comparison with the three audit levels. Once the type of audit to
average reference values (benchmarks). be performed has been established, it is
It is the least expensive audit that can necessary to collect information on struc-
nonetheless provide a number of low- tural and mechanical components affecting
cost savings opportunities, which usually energy uses in the building as well as on op-
consist of improvement of energy man- eration and management of the building
agement and maintenance procedures, as services systems. Much of this information
well as a preliminary estimation of the can and should be collected before inspect-
potential savings. It is also useful as a ing the building. A detailed pre-assessment
screening to determine whether it is ap- of systems energy use before the on-site in-
propriate to proceed to the next levels, spection definitely helps to identify the ar-
which are more accurate and therefore eas of potential energy savings by optimiz-
more expensive. ing the inspection.

54
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

5.5 The audit process 1) collection and analysis of information

on previous consumption levels, to be
Once the audit level has been decided, the gathered according to the following:
operational phase follows. This phase in-
cludes a series of activities that are common • collection and analysis of data on
to all levels, although at different depths. energy consumption of the structure
Organising the energy audit process in ac- in question relating to at least the
tivities allows a reduction in the time re- previous two years;
quired to assess the building energy perfor- • tabulation of data relating to con-
mance. To this end, it may be useful to di- sumption and costs, which should
vide the audit process into three steps: pre- also be reported in a graph to un-
audit, audit and post-audit activities so that derstand how each building uses
it is easier to define how much time is ded- energy;
icated to each action and to provide a com- • identification of seasonal consump-
plete energy audit report. tion patterns, highlighting any unu-
sual peaks and checking the reliabil-
5.5.1 Pre-inspection activities ity of the energy consumption bills,
The purpose of this activity is to gain determining basic and seasonal
knowledge of the systems present in the loads and allocation of energy con-
building and the management methods of sumption among the different build-
the building-system, so that the inspection ing systems such as heating, cool-
time can be optimised and any disruption to ing, lighting and production of do-
the personnel or the building services min- mestic hot water, making it easier to
imised. This should help to create a list of identify areas with the highest po-
questions and topics to be discussed with tential for energy savings. As re-
the staff during the inspection. The pre-in- gards the electrical power, it is im-
spection includes the following actions: portant to include energy and peak

Table 5.1. Comparison between the three levels of audit. ESO: Energy Saving Opportunities.
Type Characteristics Results Time

Level I: Visit to the building to Estimation of the potential energy and cost saving Few
Walk-through be audited in order to based on low investment cost ESO. days
visually inspect each Qualitative ranking of intervention scenarios.
energy system and/or Information for subsequent level II or III analysis
subsystem.
Level II: Energy analysis carried Quantitative ranking of ESO and intervention sce- Few
General out with standard tools. narios, based on energy, economic and multi-crite- weeks
Few simple instrumen- ria analysis.
tal measurements.
Level III: Energy analysis trough Evaluation of the primary energy use for each ser- Weeks
Investment- detailed dynamic com- vice, energy carrier and use profiles. or
grade putational models. De- Accurate quantitative ranking of ESO and interven- months
tailed measurements on tion scenarios that could be implemented based on
components. energy, economic and multi-criteria analysis.
Definition of the interactions between the different
scenarios.

55
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

power requirements as well as the as- evaluated at the outset to ensure their
sociated costs. Pie charts relating to preservation;
energy use and costs per type of en- 4) calculation of gross usable areas of the
ergy source can provide convincing building, which are, or have to be,
documentation of overall energy use served by a services system (heating,
and the associated costs; cooling, …), determined by the differ-
ence between the areas (calculated us-
2) collection of drawings and technical ing the external dimensions) and those
specifications relating to: not occupied or not served by any sys-
tem, and the corresponding volumes;
• architecture "as built" plans; 5) partial compilation of the survey
• mechanical systems "as built" plans; sheets, data organisation and docu-
• electrical systems "as built" plans. mentation, using the available draw-
ings and technical specifications. A
Usually for historic building, which have complete collection of data sheets can
not undergone previous restoration or reha- be found in (Mazzarella and Piterà,
bilitation works, such plans are not availa- 2013). An example of a checklist is
ble. In this case, a preliminary archive shown in Figure 5.1;
search with the help of the other team mem- 6) development of a description of the
bers (art historians, restorers, curators) has building profile that includes the con-
to be carried out to reconstruct the history struction era and thus its age, former
of the original project. Then, the historical historical uses and new intended use,
development of subsequent interventions the description and the current condi-
has to be assessed, to have a clear idea on tions of the architectural, mechanical
what is really original and what can be and electrical systems, highlighting
eventually removed as being a later inter- the systems and/or equipment with no-
vention. After that, plans, drawings and table energy consumption. This in-
technical specifications outlined in the con- cludes significant existing mechanical
tract must be created or updated to portray systems or elements such as hot water
the current conditions of the building and radiators decorative grilles, elaborate
its historical development.; switch-plates, and non-mechanical ar-
chitectural features such as cupolas,
3) production of building plans on A4 transoms, or porches. Further, identifi-
size paper for notes to be made regard- cation has to be carried out for spaces
ing the position of all existing services that have little significance, where me-
systems equipment (heating, cooling, chanical equipment can be placed, and
ventilation, etc.), including control of secondary spaces, where equipment
systems (if any), areas served by each and horizontal and vertical distribution
services system (heated, cooled, hu- runs can be located. Appropriate sec-
midity controlled, etc.), levels of illu- ondary spaces for housing equipment
mination and any other source of en- might include attics, basements, pent-
ergy consumption, which is observed houses, mezzanines, false ceilings or
during the inspection. Significant ar- floor cavities, vertical chases, stair
chitectural spaces, finishes and any towers, closets, or external, under-
historically valuable equipment and ground cellars.
features should be identified and

56
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

ENERGY AUDIT CHECKLIST

General building data
Address
Location: City ( ) Postal code
Sheet Parcel Division

Building context: Historic centre Town centre Outskirts Country

Year or period of construction:

Year of the last envelope retrofit

Heating Cooling Ventilation DHW
Year of the last HVAC retrofit

Lighting Plug
Year of the last electric system retrofit

Boarding school,
Residential health-care facility, Hotel, Offices Hospital,
barracks, prison, boarding house clinic
convent
Type of building: Building for
recreational, Building for
association, Commercial activities sports Building for school activities
religious activities
activities
Building operating hours: (h/dd)

Building operating days: (days/week)

Heating system
(h/dd)
operating hours:
Heating system
(days)
ON-period:
Cooling system
(h/dd)
operating hours:
Cooling system
(days)
ON-period:
Ventilation system
(h/dd)
operating hours:
Ventilation system
(days)
ON-period:
Number of floors: Average room internal height:

Number of rooms: (for residential buildings only)

Buildings with supporting masonry made of
Buildings with stone carving masonry
bricks or tuff
Type of construction:
Buildings with hollow bricks or equivalent and wooden structural Buildings with light walls and different type of
frame structural frame (specify)

Notes:

Energy audit 1/11

Figure 5.1. Example of a checklist. From (Daniel, 2009).

57
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

7) calculation of the possible indicators • position and boundaries of the building

of energy use (IE), which should be or buildings;
compared with the reference indica- • name and number of each building;
tors (benchmarks) for similar build- • age and year of construction of each
ings: a generally low index value indi- building and its needs;
cates a low potential for energy sav- • area of each building and its require-
ings; ments;
8) development of a list of energy sav- • position, type of energy carried and se-
ings opportunities (ESO) and manage- rial numbers of the meters of the energy
ment and maintenance procedures supply companies;
(M&MP) that are potentially interest- • areas supplied by each meter;
ing, prioritising architecturally signifi- • position and location of the equipment
cant spaces, finishes, and historic fea- and installations for winter and summer
tures to be preserved. air conditioning;
• arrow indicating North.
During this phase, it is worth noting the
most interesting elements and preparing a 5.5.2 Inspection
list of information to be obtained during the The pre-inspection activities provide basic
inspection; for example, the type of lighting knowledge of the building and its systems.
fixtures and control systems, the method of The purpose of the site visit is to define the
putting systems into operation and any inspection of existing systems in their cur-
maintenance procedures. If there are any rent condition and the retrieval of infor-
questions, ask the energy manager (if there mation that has been identified during the
is one), the user or the operator. pre-inspection stage.

At this stage, the client, who may be more The time required for the inspection de-
than one person or entity (and in this case it pends on the completeness of the infor-
would be better that they nominate a mation that is already available, the size
general contractor to represent their and complexity of the building and its sys-
interests), should decide whether they are tems and the need to check the performance
interested in particular saving measures or of some components by taking in-situ
substantive changes in the building as well measurements. The following steps have to
as the systems. be carried out:

Lastly, the inspection should be scheduled • meet the energy manager (if one exists)
to coincide with the period in which the or the user of the building to examine
specific system that is going to be inspected the energy consumption profiles that
is actually in operation and when the user is have been defined in the preliminary
available. stage and discuss the issues for which
there is no information, such as the oc-
A drawing of the building and of nearby cupation profiles, management and
surroundings (to eventually assess the vis- maintenance procedures and any future
ual impact of any new external equipment plans that could have some impact on
should be prepared, showing the following the energy consumption;
information: • confirm the correctness of the plans on
the drawings prepared and possibly

58
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

record the most significant differences; tion, look for possible energy saving opportu-
on several copies of the plans, mark the nities, draft a comprehensive audit report and
position of equipment such as boilers, make recommendations on the improvements
chillers, heaters of domestic hot water, to the mechanical, electrical, structural and ar-
kitchen appliances and extraction fans, chitectural systems as well as on the manage-
likewise, the type of lighting fixtures, ment and maintenance procedures.
position of photometric sensors and air
temperatures. For an historic building it The post-inspection activities include the
is mandatory to add information on the following points:
conservation status of all significant ar-
chitectural spaces, finishes and any his- • review the information gathered during
torically valuable equipment, such as the inspection, clarifying any doubts that
ancient hot water radiators, decorative have not been answered and completing
grilles, elaborate switch-plates, and non- the information that was not noted during
mechanical architectural features such the visit due to a lack of time; indicate the
as cupolas, frescos, pavements with ar- reviewed notes on new plans, which will
tistic tiles, marbles or ancient parquet; be part of the audit file;
• highlight the missing data in the pre- • review the preliminary list of energy
filled forms during the pre-inspection, saving opportunities and management
organising them so that they can be and maintenance procedures, excluding
used as a guide for the inspection; the measures that are not effective and
• inspect the systems related to the en- noting the reasons for their exclusion,
ergy savings opportunities (ESO) and mainly if they are due to conservation
management and maintenance proce- reasons. Different actions are envis-
dures (M&MP) that have been identi- aged depending on the audit level as
fied during the preliminary inspection outlined in Ch. 5.4:
and add any other energy saving oppor- o if the energy audit is level 1:
tunity that becomes evident from the carry out a preliminary research
in-situ inspection to the list; on the remaining energy saving
• take photographs during the inspection, opportunities and management
including photographs of mechanical and maintenance procedures and
and lighting systems, internal work ar- highlight the situations that re-
eas, common areas, the atria and the ex- quire specialised insights;
ternal part of the building, including the o if the energy audit is level 2:
roof. This documentation is essential to determine the energy saving and
define the actual status, to discuss prob- associated costs for the energy
lems with other parties and remember saving opportunities and man-
what has already been inspected. agement and maintenance proce-
dures using standard instru-
5.5.3 Post-inspection activities ments, ranking the possible
Post-inspection activity is necessary to en- measures in order according to
sure that the energy audit is a useful plan- the cost/benefit relationship and
ning tool. highlighting the situations that
require specialised insights
At this stage, the process operator must assess (even with a second field inspec-
the information gathered during the inspec-

59
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

tion and/or dedicated instru- heating and cooling, and the efficiency is
mented measurements); assessed and the energy and economic sav-
o if the energy audit is level 3: ing opportunities are identified.
determine the energy saving for
the energy saving opportunities The first action is to collect and examine at
and management and mainte- least two years of energy data of the system
nance procedures and the costs relating to all energy carriers. This infor-
associated with dynamic simula- mation is used to analyse the management
tion, ranking the possible meas- methods, calculate the energy benchmarks
ure in order according to the for a comparison with the average values in
cost/benefit relationship, having the sector, estimate the potential savings,
analysed the situations that re- set a savings target and establish a baseline
quire specialised insight (even for monitoring the effectiveness of the
with a second field inspection measures implemented.
and/or dedicated instrumented
measurement); 5.6.1 Collecting information
To be sure that all the information necessary
• process the photographs and import for an accurate and complete assessment of
them into a document that will be part the energy consumption data has been col-
of the final report. Number them and lected, at least the following is necessary:
write which location each photo refers
to; if necessary add notes; • make sure that copies are made of all
• organise all graphs and charts, descrip- the monthly bills and invoices relating
tions of the building, data tables de- to the energy carriers serving the sys-
rived from the inspection, notes and tem;
photographs in a single organised file • put the bills in order according to the
so that any additional documentation building or meter and organise them in
can be added. blocks of 12 months, using the meter-
reading dates;
• locate on the plan of each building, all
5.6 Energy calculation the meters and sub-meters and mark
them with an abbreviation;
As mentioned above, the general purpose of • in the case of several buildings, deter-
the energy audit is to evaluate how the en- mine the relationship between the
ergy efficiency of building can be im- building and the meter;
proved, while ensuring that the internal en- • calculate the conditioned area for each
vironment is comfortable for its occupants building in m².
or suitable for the conservation of artefacts,
such as, for example in the case of museum 5.6.2 Information processing
environments. This assessment generally The information that has been gathered
begins with checking the meters of the en- must be processed in order to:
ergy carriers that serve the system being ex-
amined (if any), to identify the carriers. • calculate the energy performance indi-
Then, the energy flows associated with cator;
each carrier are identified and quantified, • verify the system sizing, for example
according to their final uses, such as with using as energy signature method;

60
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

• assess the energy class in the current by the systems under comparison (both the
certification system; proposed system and the actual system),
• identify the critical issues in the: however, does not contribute to the use of
o building envelope; non-renewable primary energy. In addition
o mechanical and electrical sys- to traditional renewable energy sources, the
tems; extension made by European Commission
o management procedure; (European Parliament, 2009) is also appli-
cable.
• identify the most appropriate energy
saving opportunities (ESO) and man-
agement and maintenance procedures
(M&MP), always verifying that con- Table 5.2. Energy performance indicators per
servation requirements are respected; building and systems.
• calculate the energy savings achievable
for each opportunity or management Sym-
System Description
and maintenance procedure. bol
Specific consumption of
non-renewable primary en-
EPT
ergy for all uses, (kWht/m³)a
5.7 Energy performance indicators or (kWht/m²)a
Specific consumption of
The Energy Performance Indicator is a nu- non-renewable primary en-
merical parameter which, depending on the EPx
ergy for service x,
specific type of the system that has been an- Build- (kWht/m²) or (kWht/m³)
ing
alysed, provides a synthesised representa- Specific thermal energy
tion of the requirement of energy, or pri- ETx need for service x,
(kWht/m²) or (kWht/m³)
mary energy, or power. In the building sec-
tor, to represent the overall energy perfor- Specific electric energy
EEx need for service x,
mance of the building-system, different in- (kWht/m²) or (kWht/m³)
dices have been used over time, normalised
RER Renewable Energy Ratio (-)
in relation to the unit of useful surface area
ηe Emission efficiency, (-)
or conditioned volume. Some indicators are
summarised in Table 5.2. ηc Control efficiency, (-)
System ηd Distribution efficiency, (-)
Another useful indicator is the Primary en- only ηp Production efficiency, (-)
ergy saving, PES that is the annual fossil Seasonal global efficiency,
ηg
energy saving, i.e. the non-renewable pri- (-)
mary energy saving, expressed in [kWh|year]
that the proposed solution allows to achieve The indicators can be calculated either by
compared to the non-renewable primary en- means of “metering” of the fuel or electrical
ergy use of the existing energy system, as energy requirement or estimated according
required to deliver the same services in the to a suitable calculation model. The second
actual building. Of course, the energy pro- approach is essential to be able to estimate
duced from renewable sources should not the increase in performance following the
be considered either in the existing system implementation of energy saving measures
or in the envisaged energy saving measures. and thus quantifying the potential energy
By definition, any renewable energy used savings.

61
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

In this case, it is necessary to distinguish 5.8 Energy savings opportunity

between the various audit levels, which assessment procedure
have been analysed in Ch. 5.4. In particular,
calculation of the energy requirement of the The assessment of the energy savings oppor-
building for winter heating or air tunities is a complex process, which includes
conditioning and for summer cooling or air several evaluations that are analysed below.
conditioning is carried out:
For a correct assessment of the energy sav-
• if the energy audit is level 2: according ings opportunities, various possible scenarios
to the EN standards relating to real for the improvements have to be created and
buildings, installations, occupation and the consequent potential savings calculated
management; with a technical-economic analysis, possibly
• if the energy audit is a level 3: with dy- extended to a multi-criteria analysis.
namic tools that simulate the actual op-
eration of the building and real systems To perform a standard analysis, in particu-
for a whole year, possibly on an hourly lar, the following is required:
basis
• create a baseline;
5.7.1 Definition of benchmark values • evaluate the energy performance indi-
or baseline cators for the baseline;
In order to properly quantify the energy • define the Energy Saving Opportuni-
savings, regardless of the type of energy ef- ties (ESO) and Management and
ficiency indicator adopted, the reference Maintenance Procedures (M&MP) that
values – the so-called benchmarks – need to are considered potentially interesting;
be defined and may have a different defini- • evaluate the same indicators used for
tion and meaning in relation to the audit the baseline for each ESO and M&MP
level. The reference value relates to: considered;
• perform an economic analysis for each
• energy audit is level 1: it is represented of these ESO and M∓
by statistical averages reported in the • select the best solution in relation to the
literature or in normative documents; lowest cost with the highest energy sav-
• energy audit is level 2: it is defined by ing.
calculating the energy requirements of
the building in terms of primary energy To perform an extended analysis, the fol-
starting with the data from the energy lowing is required:
suppliers over the last 2 or 3 years,
which may need to be normalised; • evaluate indicators for each ESO re-
• energy audit is level 3: it is defined with lated to the environmental impact,
reference to a baseline, through a dy- compatibility with the architectural,
namic simulation that has been cali- historical and cultural constraints and
brated with the operating data of the image;
building and systems that have been • select the best solution by performing
measured over the whole year. the multi-criteria analysis outlined in
Ch. 5.9.

62
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

To define the potentially more interesting • non-renewable primary energy use,

ESO and M&MP, proceed as follows: in kWh;
• highlight the critical points that have • on-site production of energy carriers
arisen from the data and energy indicators from renewable energy sources,
and formulate a proposal of the measures in kWh;
to be taken to reduce consumption; • primary energy saving, PES, in kWh
• create improvement scenarios with dif- (note: this is non-renewable primary
ferentiated impact and progressive levels energy).
of application, relating, for example to
the management of mechanical, electri- Table 5.3 shows an example of an energy
cal and building systems or replacement saving assessment relating to three different
of mechanical system components; solutions to replace a central gas boiler for a
• create a matrix of scenarios that then large heating system, where the pumping en-
becomes the basis of the energy and ergy consumption is about 30 MWh in a year
economic or multi-criteria analyses. and the global system efficiency is about 0.7.
Alternative foreseen scenarios are:
5.8.1 Energy assessment • case 1, where the boiler is substituted
For energy assessment the energy indicator with an electric water-to-water heat
should be chosen, which could be one of the pump (assuming that the distribution
ones described herein or just be the non-re- temperature levels are compatible)
newable primary energy use, as reported in with a seasonal COP of 3.5;
Ch. 3.6.1. In any case, the reference sce- • case 2, where an auxiliary solar system
nario, representing baseline or alternative integrates the existing boiler reducing
0, in relation to which the energy saving is the gas consumption by about 25%;
measured, has to be set and then compared • case 3, where the electric energy for
to alternative scenarios resulting from the auxiliaries is completely supplied by a
different possible actions. photovoltaic solar system (usually not
possible or too expensive, if exchange
Close attention must always be paid to the with the electricity grid is not taken into
correct definition and calculation of the fol- consideration).
lowing terms that are often not highly re-
garded and therefore often a source of un- For each case, including the reference
reliable estimate: scenario, the following is determined:
• systems efficiencies; • energy use for each delivered energy
• parasitic consumptions of auxiliary carrier;
systems. • non-renewable primary energy use,
weighting each used energy carrier
Independent of the chosen energy with its specific non-renewable pri-
performance indicator, it is interesting to mary energy factor (1.05 for natural gas
characterise the various cases, by creating a and 1.95 for non-renewable grid elec-
table and recording the following for a tricity);
whole year (i.e. kWh being determined on • on-site production of energy carriers
a one-year basis): from renewable energy sources;
• amount of non-renewable primary en-
• energy use per energy source or energy ergy saved per year respect to the refer-
carrier, in kWh; ence case.

63
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Table 5.3. Example of ESO energy analysis.

Energy carrier Non-renewable primary On-site energy carriers Primary en-

energy production from renew- ergy saving
able energy sources PES
Electric Gas Electric Gas Electric Thermal compared to
baseline
[MWh] [MWh] [MWh] [MWh] [MWh] [MWh] [MWh]
0 30 1200 58.5 1260
1 240+30 0 526.5 0 792
2 20+30 900 95.5 463 210 758
3 0 1200 1200 1260 30 59

5.8.2 Environmental assessment at this stage in analysing the environmental

For an environmental assessment, knowing impact of gaseous pollutants, it is clear that
the primary energy required by the various a multi-criteria analysis, described later, is
solutions, the amount of main polluting gases necessary, since, we are faced with four
emitted per unit of energy of the energy sub-objectives that may not necessarily be
source used can be taken into account, using regarded as equal. For example, it is im-
the values shown in Table 5.4, or simply con- plicit in the choice of Standard EN ISO
sidering just the CO2, as shown later. 52000-1 (CEN, 2017af) to apply a weight 1
for CO2 and 0 for the other pollutants, i.e.
Table 5.4. Main polluting gases per unit of pri- to consider only CO2 as significant from the
mary energy, in g/kWh. atmospheric pollution point of view and to
ignore other polluting gases. In this case the
Electricity Natural gas Biomass only indicator is the avoided carbon diox-
NOx 0.6 0.4 0.38 ide emissions, that represents the difference
CO 0.1 0.08 18 in CO2 emissions that can be achieved be-
cause of systems improvement. With refer-
SOx 1 0.05 0.08
ence to Table 5.5 the avoided carbon diox-
CO2 600 250 3.6
ide emission for the alternative cases with
respect to the base case are respectively
Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider 156 000 kg for case 1, 177 750 kg for case
that in assessing the environmental impact, 2 and 18 000 kg for case 3.
not all solutions are equivalent, even with
the same pollutants produced per unit of en- Table 5.5. Example of ESO environmental
ergy output. In fact, there is a considerable analysis, referred to the example in Table 5.2.
difference between solutions that involve
local emissions and solutions that envisage NOx CO SOx CO2
emissions concentrated in power plants that
[kg] [kg] [kg] [kg]
are located far from housing centres.
0 498 99 90 318 000

Table 5.5 shows an evaluation of the gase- 1 162 27 270 162 000
ous pollutants that are produced in relation 2 390 77 95 255 000
to the primary energy requirement in the 3 480 96 60 300 000
four cases indicated in Table 5.4. Already

64
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

5.8.3 Economic assessment Assuming NPV > 0, the project is accepta-

An energy efficiency measure is considered ble, while if NPV < 0, the return of the pro-
cost-effective for a user when it produces a ject does not pay its cost at the end of its
reduction in costs for the same delivered life.
end services, i.e. if the savings deriving
from lower consumption outweigh the in- • Internal Rate of Return [-]:
vestments made. This is evaluated through
N
an economic analysis, which involves the CFt
NPV   0 (5.2)
calculation of significant economic indica-
1  IRR 
t
t 0
tors of different meanings.

In the financial analysis, the economic indi- that is implicitly defined as discount rate for
cators used are normally as follows: which at the end of the plant service life the
Net Present Value is null.
• net present value (NPV);
• internal rate of return, (IRR); • Profitability Index [–]:
• profitability index, (PI);
• benefit-cost ratio (BCR); NPV  Co
• payback time (PBT). PI  (5.3)
Co
The return of an investment in energy sav-
ing needs to be calculated considering the that is the ratio of payoff to investment of a
cost of money. Therefore, with the dis- proposed project, where C0 is the initial in-
counted cash flow method (DCFM), which vestment cost.
also allows any change in the price of the
different energy sources to be taken into ac- • Benefit-Cost Ratio [-]:
count, as well as any allowances. However,
certain allowances are not always available, N
Bt
such as personal income tax/corporate in- 
1  r 
t
come tax relief related to the adoption of t 0
BCR  N (5.4)
solar thermal systems. Ct

1  r 
t
t 0
Under the discounted cash flow method, the
main economic indicators are defined as
follows: that is the ratio of the amount of discounted
monetary gain realised by performing a
• Net Present Value [€]: project versus the discounted amount it
costs to execute the project.
N
CFt
NPV  
t 0 1  r 
t (5.1) • Payback Time [years]:

PBT
CFt
 0 (5.5)
where: 1  r 
t
t 0
CFt is the cash flow at time t, [€];
r is the discount rate, [-];
N is the economic lifetime, years.

65
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

that is implicitly defined as number of years

and months for which the discounted cash N
 C  S t
flow becomes is null. 
t  0 1  r 
t

PESC  N
(5.6)
PESt
In general, for a better financial resources

1  r 
t
allocation, it may be important to promote t 0
solutions that:

• feature a more favourable relationship where:

between invested economic resources PESC is the Primary Energy Savings Cost
and expected results; C is the annual operating costs, including
• may enter into operation in a relatively the installation cost per year 0, >0;
short time, so as to take into account the S is the any kind of subsidy or grant
value of the cumulated benefits that the which reduces the investment cost, >0;
project is able to produce within five N is the useful life in years.
years from the time in which the analy-
sis is carried out. PESC is the unit cost of saved primary en-
ergy through the application of energy sav-
5.8.3.1 Direct energy saving economic ings opportunities and it is therefore evi-
assessment dent that if this cost is less than the cost of
In the specific case of a financial analysis the energy unit currently used (such as pur-
of an energy saving investment, a further chased gas or electricity) the improvement
two energy/economic indicators can be work would be cost-effective. The differ-
conveniently applied, which can directly ence between the two is the final gain (at
assess the economic convenience: the end of the useful life) in terms of no ex-
penditure.
• energy savings cost, ESC, in [€/kWh];
• primary energy savings cost, PESC, in The presence of grants for the implementa-
[€/kWh]; tion of energy saving opportunities, moves
(in a positive way) the terms of economic
These two energy/economic indicators feasibility, to the point that if PESC < 0,
highlight whether the investment is con- this would mean that the subsidies have ex-
venient or not by means of a simple com- ceeded the total cost of the improvement
parison with the cost of the energy carrier work.
prior to the improvement work.
The use of PESC is preferred to the ESC, in
The cost of saved primary energy, CSPE, is as much as the latter refers to the saved en-
calculated using the discounted cash flow ergy carrier unit, and not to its value in pri-
approach used for the others economic pa- mary energy, which is the only real param-
rameters, applying the same discount rate eter of performance comparison between
also to the yearly saved primary energy, as different systems.
follows:

66
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

5.8.3.2 Direct avoided emission 5.8.5 Image

economic assessment This is the most difficult index to consider
For energy savings, as for avoided CO2 objectively, as it is the perception of the
emissions, it is possible to use a direct indi- specific action by the general public how-
cator of economic convenience. The ratio ever the end user of the cultural heritage
between the cumulated actualised avoided might consider the action as appropriate,
emissions and the actualised investment justifiable, sustainable and correct.
cost for the implementation of the innova-
tive design can be used (AEI); it is ex- It is clear that the opinion of the public can
pressed in [kgCO2/M€]. As can be inferred be crucial to the success of a purely tech-
from its definition, AEI does not take into nical action, which is assessed by its side
account the purely economic value of the effects without understanding the technical
project, meaning the ability to provide a re- aspects however, it is fundamental that any
turn on investment. action to a cultural property is performed in
such a way that it creates a positive public
Again, as for energy savings, carbon emis- perception.
sions related to the use of possible renewa-
ble energy sources, whether they are uti- To know the opinion of the public, ques-
lised in the proposed system or in the actual tionnaires that are designed to evaluate the
system, should be considered as zero. potential perception of each ESO proposal
can be drawn up. In this way an opinion
5.8.4 Compatibility with scale relating to the image can be produced
architectural, historical and to obtain an index that can then be consid-
cultural constraints ered in the multi-criteria analysis. It is im-
It may happen that once the preparatory portant to carefully draft the questionnaire,
stage of the energy audit of historic build- and this can be the weak point of the pro-
ings has been completed, different opportu- cedure.
nities arise, which have similar energy, en-
vironmental and economic indicators. In
this case, it is essential to assess the com- 5.9 Multi-criteria analysis
patibility of the potential action with the
constraints imposed by the specific build- Obviously, there is no absolute single ele-
ing to respect its architectural, historical ment that will determine the best solution
and cultural integrity. for an energy saving opportunity. It is a
complex problem, the solution of which
The definition of these constraints is a feature can be found through a multi-criteria (or
of each building and can hardly be general- multi-objective) analysis, which is useful
ised. However, it is possible to define a scale when there are different objectives, with
of values for a compatibility assessment in different investments, for each potential
terms of invasiveness of the individual action solution.
with respect to the specific constraint.

67
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

In the multi-criteria analysis for each objec- time of less than 10 years and PES re-
tive the following quantities/rules have to quirement greater than 2 MWh). The
be defined: weights relating to the two normalised in-
• a reference indicator; dicators have been considered equal and
• an evaluation/comparison criterion; thus 0.5 for both. The normalised indices
• a possible normalisation criterion. were then calculated and the unified in-
dex was calculated by the weighted aver-
To choose between the various possible op- age of the two indices. Finally, the best
tions, the following should be set for each solution was determined: solution 2,
objective: which is the one that returns the highest
• constraints; weighted index.
• associated weight;
• unifying criteria between them. 5.9.1 Multi-criteria analysis applied
to energy savings measures
For energy saving measures on buildings
Table 5.6 shows an example of a multi-cri- and installations of historic buildings the
teria analysis, referring to four different op- most common objectives are related to:
tions assessed for two objectives (energy • energy assessment;
savings and cost-effectiveness) that are • environmental assessment;
considered as equally important. In partic- • economic evaluation;
ular, the Payback Time (PBT) and the Pri- • compatibility with the architectural,
mary Energy Savings were taken as refer- historical and cultural constraints;
ence indicators and the normalisation crite- • image.
rion of the two indicators was defined.
These elements must be clearly identified
Cases 1 and 4 were then excluded, as they for each project.
did not observe the constraints (return

Table 5.6. Example of a multi-criteria analysis. The weight refers to normalised values.

Economic Energy
Objective Normalisation
return Saving
Pay-back Weighted
Indicator PES Pay-back time PES
time index
[years] [MWh] 0-max 0-1
Weighted
Criterion MIN[TRi] / TRi PESi / MAX[PESi]
average
Alternative 1 12 6 0.67 1.00 0.83
2 8 4.5 1.00 0.75 0.88
3 9 2.5 0.89 0.42 0.65
4 11 1 0.73 0.17 0.45
Weight 50% 50%
Constraint <10 >2

68
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 5 Energy audit procedure

5.10 Energy audit of historic the task is even more difficult because, un-
buildings less archive research is carried out, it is not
possible to go back to the original plan and
As mentioned in the introduction, the en- will be dependent on any changes that have
ergy audit of an historic building is not a taken place over the years or centuries.
simple process. The first obstacle is the lack
of adequate plans and sections, in addition From the materials point of view, it is
to the lack of knowledge of materials and sometimes possible to trace the construc-
construction details of the inner and outer tion details of the walls in a non-destructive
walls. or intrusive way; for example, using endo-
scopic techniques through existing pas-
These problems are common in many exist- sages or interstices in the masonry. These
ing buildings, where it is not easy to track techniques, however, may be expensive
plans and sections that are significant from and not always take account of works that
an energy point of view, and in circum- have been performed over time to the walls,
stances where core samples are not always which are often hidden under potentially
possible for the identification of correct valuable plaster and are not always detect-
thermophysical characteristics of masonry able with techniques such as infrared ther-
structures. In the case of historic buildings, mography.

69
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
6 System compatible design
6.1 Introduction just the lack of insulation, which can result
in water vapour condensation on the outside
It is clear that a building energy perfor- surface leading to corrosion.
mance improvement cannot exclude inter-
ventions on the services systems, unless Hydronic Radiators
particular historic, architectural or func- When heating only is needed, the most
tional restrictions make them inadvisable or common emission system comprises radia-
impossible to carry out. Thus, it must be tors or baseboard radiators, which are
clear to the general designer what kind of looped together and are usually set under
services systems, mainly HVAC (Heating, windows or along perimeter walls. Most
Ventilating, Air Conditioning), are availa- piping is typically cast iron although copper
ble on the market and might be suitable to systems can be used if separately zoned.
improve the energy performance of an his- Historic radiators, which are usually made
toric building while achieving the comfort of cast iron, can be reconditioned or new ra-
and/or artefacts conservation goals. diators can eventually replace the existing
radiators if they are not of any historic or
An HVAC system can be designed and artistic value. In the first case, the possibil-
operated in very different ways and with ity of coupling with new low temperature
different impact on the historic building in heat generators should be carefully investi-
relation to its technology. The principal gated, since they were normally designed to
HVAC system can be then divided in four work at high temperature (80°C). In the
main categories: second case, the original radiator position
• water systems; and fixings might be reused, selecting new
• air systems; radiators, with a power-to-volume ratio
• combined air and water systems; which is compatible with the available
• refrigerant flow systems. space and power need. Additionally, mod-
ern cast iron baseboards and copper fin-
The following details of these systems will tubes are available and can be used being
highlight advantages and disadvantages for less invasive than new radiators. It should
each of them. be noted that radiators are only able to pro-
vide heating and cannot control the air qual-
ity, even air humidity.
6.2 Water Systems8
Hydronic Radiant Floors and Ceilings
Water systems are generally called hydronic In some case the use of a floor or ceiling
systems and use a network of pipes to de- heating system is preferred. This can occur
liver water to hot water radiators, radiant when historically valuable frescos, or any
pipes set in floors or fan coil enclosures, the decoration, are on the side walls and no use-
latest of which can provide both heating and ful space is available to install radiators
cooling. Usually existing pipes systems pro- without compromising the space. Of
vided for heating only are not suitable for course, such practice is possible only if the
cooling due to the material they are made of floor covering or the existing ceiling
(black iron pipes), the insulation typology or (vaults, etc.) is not historically valuable or

70
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

if can be dismounted and then replaced 6.2.1 Advantages

back without any damage. Hydronic radiant Piped systems are generally easier to install
floor and ceiling systems may also be used in historic buildings because the pipes are
for cooling. However, this must avoid tem- smaller than ductwork, and so, being less
peratures of the cold floor or ceiling that go invasive, can be more readily accommo-
below the air dew point temperature, or it dated. The use of high density polyethylene
will require coupling it with an air system pipes, which are made from materials about
that controls air humidity. As with radia- one-eighth the density of steel, flexible and
tors, radiant floors and ceilings cannot con- available in straight lengths or in coils, may
trol the air quality but can only provide avoid chasing walls and floors by utilising
heating and/or cooling. unused secondary spaces and interstices.
They are lightweight and do not require the
Fan Coil Units use of heavy lifting equipment for installa-
Fan coil systems use enclosures, or cabinets, tion and the requirement for fittings is sig-
in each room serviced by 2, 3, or 4 pipes. A nificantly reduced by their availability in
fan blows air over the coils which are ser- long coils. Usually water systems are very
viced by hot or chilled water. Each fan coil quiet, i.e. do not introduce noise into the in-
unit can be individually controlled. Four- door environment.
pipe fan coils can provide both heating and
cooling all year long. Most piping is steel. 6.2.2 Disadvantages
Units may be concealed in closets or custom There is the risk, however, of hidden leaks
cabinetry, such as benches. Unlike other hy- in the wall or of burst pipes in winter due to
dronic units, fan coils can partially control freezing water, if it is too cold and the
the indoor air quality, at least providing dust boiler fails. Fan coil condensate pans can
filtration. Some special fan coil units are also overflow if not properly maintained and
able to manage local air ventilation, mixing condense water drainpipes must be in-
recirculated air with fresh external air. stalled. Fan coils may be noisy.

Hydronic generators and control systems

The required energy, to be delivered to the 6.3 Air Systems 9
emitters and carried by the water distribu-
tion system, is usually produced by boilers The basic HVAC system is all-air, single
(hot water or steam) for heating, by chillers zone fan driven designed for low, medium
(chilled water) for cooling first to fan coil or high-pressure distribution. The system
units and, eventually to hydronic radiant comprises compressor drives, chillers, con-
floors or ceilings. New boilers and circulat- densers, and heating device depending on
ing pumps can upgrade older systems, if the whether the air is heated, chilled or both.
emission and distribution systems are still Condensers, generally air cooled, are lo-
in good condition. The heating control is cated outside. The ducts are sheet metal or
usually performed by ambient air thermo- flexible plastic and can be insulated. Fresh
stats, which control the zone temperature air can be circulated. Grilles and diffusers
for radiators and radiant floors. However, can be designed for ceilings, floors and
when fan coil units are applied for both walls. The system is controlled by thermo-
heating and cooling, on-board individual stats; one per zone.
controls is standard.

71
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

6.3.1 Basic HVAC installation of the piped system with the

Most residential or small commercial sys- performance and control of the ducted sys-
tems will consist of a basic heating source tem. Smaller air handling units, not unlike
with a cooling coil set in the unit and a re- fan coils, may be located throughout a
frigerant compressor or condenser located building with service from a central boiler
outside the building. Heating and cooling and chiller. In many cases, the water is de-
ductwork is usually shared. If sophisticated livered from a central plant, which services
humidification and dehumidification is a complex of buildings.
added to the basic HVAC system, a full cli-
mate control system results. This can often This system overcomes the disadvantages
double the size of the equipment. of a central ducted system where there is
not adequate horizontal or vertical space for
6.3.2 Basic Heat Pump/Air System the ductwork. The equipment, being
The heat pump is a basic HVAC system as smaller, may also be quieter and cause less
described above except for the method of vibration. If only one air handler is being
generating hot and cold air. Instead of a utilised for the building, it is possible to
boiler, which burns a fuel to produce heat, house all the equipment in a vault outside
a heat pump system extracts heat from the the building and supply conditioned air into
outdoor air increasing its temperature and the structure.
conveying it to the supply air. In cooling
mode, it works exactly as a conventional 6.4.1 Advantages
cooling system, cooling down the supply Flexibility for installation using greater
air. In this case, usually air-to-air heat piping runs with shorter ducted runs. Air
pumps can be somewhat less efficient in handlers can fit into small spaces.
cold climates, where auxiliary heating
might be needed. In this case the system can 6.4.2 Disadvantages
be fitted with electric resistance coil. Piping areas may have undetected leaks; air
handlers may be noisy.
6.3.3 Advantages
Ducted systems offer a high level of control
of interior temperature, humidity, and fil- 6.5 Refrigerant Flow Systems
tration. Zoned units can be relatively small
and well concealed. These systems are rather new and are be-
coming increasingly popular compared to
6.3.4 Disadvantages water and air systems and are steadily gain-
The damage from installing a ducted sys- ing attention in rehabilitation work. In such
tem without adequate space can be serious systems, the heat distribution fluid between
for an historic building. Systems need con- generators and emitters is the actual heat-
stant balancing and can be noisy. ing/cooling working fluid, i.e. the refriger-
ant. The simplest configuration is the well-
known ductless mini-split products. In
6.4 Combined Air and Water these, an indoor ventilating unit is con-
Systems 10 nected through refrigerant pipes to an out-
door unit hosting the refrigerant compres-
These systems are popular for restoration sor. Originally devoted only to cooling, re-
work because they combine the ease of versible heat pump units are now available.

72
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

When heating is required a four-way valve Relatively low cost and high flexibility, be-
sends the compressed hot refrigerant va- ing industrialised modular systems. Multi-
pour to the heat exchanger inside the venti- ples of these modules can be used to
lating unit, which acts as condenser, and the achieve very high cooling capacities. Each
subcooled liquid to the outdoor heat ex- module (or set of two) is an independent re-
changer, which acts as evaporator. When frigerant loop, but they are controlled by a
cooling is required, the four-way valve common control system. The modularity
swaps the function of the two heat exchang- also enables staged, floor-by-floor installa-
ers: the indoor becomes the evaporator and tions. In cases where operable windows are
the outdoor the condenser. The maximum present and meet code requirements for
circuit length can be up to 30 m offering far ventilation, VRF systems are also particu-
more flexibility in their mounting com- larly suitable for retrofitting historic build-
pared to air-to-air package units. The evo- ings without disturbing the structure as
lution of such systems, which has reduced other systems do. Finally, because the con-
the overall costs, include the so-called Var- densing units are normally placed outdoors,
iable Refrigerant Flow systems (VRF). there is no need for a plant room, but care
They are larger capacity, more complex has to be taken in their positioning to avoid
versions of the ductless multi-split systems, the visual disruption of the landscape.
with the additional capability of connecting
ducted style fan coil units. They are inher- 6.5.2 Disadvantages
ently more sophisticated than multi-splits, Piping areas may have undetected leaks;
with multiple compressors, many evapora- fans in terminal units may be noisy. The ab-
tors/condensers, and complex oil and re- sence of an air distribution system imposes
frigerant management and control systems. a separate air ventilation system, if ventila-
They do not provide ventilation, so a sepa- tion requirements have to be meet. The
rate ventilation system is necessary. The compressor units need to be placed outside,
term variable refrigerant flow refers to the having an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger,
ability of the system to control the amount and an adequate space must be available to
of refrigerant flowing to each of the evapo- avoid visibility from the street and the
rators/condenser, enabling the use of many neighbouring buildings and neighbourhood
evaporators/condensers of differing capaci- areas. Noise production can also be a prob-
ties and configurations, individualised lem if too many outdoor units are used in an
comfort control, simultaneous heating and urban crowded area.
cooling in different zones, and heat recov-
ery from one zone to another.
6.6 Other System Components 11
6.5.1 Advantages
Usually high efficiency systems because of Non-system components should not be
their variable flow control using inverter overlooked if they can make a building
systems, which allows high partial load ef- more comfortable without causing damage
ficiencies. It is a heating and cooling ser- to the historic resource or its artefacts.
vices just in one system, which can work in
parallel with different zones at the same Portable Air Conditioning
time, also implementing heat recovery from Most individual air conditioners are set in
one zone to another. Flexibility for installa- windows or through exterior walls which can
tion using only refrigerant piping runs. be visually, as well as physically, damaging

73
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

to historic buildings. Newer portable air con- generators, boilers or furnaces, are placed
ditioners are available which sit in a room and in a dedicated closed space, i.e. boiler
exhaust directly to the exterior through a room, which is usually in the building
small slot created by a raised window sash. basement and out of sight. Thus, if the ex-
isting chimney complies with the current
Fans safety codes, there is no problem in substi-
Fans should be considered in most properties tuting the old boiler or furnace with a new
to improve ventilation. Fans can be located in one. Additionally, if the emission and dis-
attics, at the top of stairs, or in individual tribution systems are suitable, a low tem-
rooms. In moderate climates, fans may elim- perature technology should be employed
inate the need to install central air systems. potentially together the exploitation of re-
newable energy sources.
Dehumidifiers
For houses without central air handling sys- Considering the energy source, the heat
tems, a dehumidifier can resolve problems generator can be divided in two main cate-
in humid climates. Seasonal use of dehu- gories: using fossil fuel, using renewable
midifiers can remove moisture from damp energies. From a construction and perfor-
basements and reduce fungal growth. mance point of view and, in particular, the
operating temperature, heat generators,
Portable radiant heaters, such as those with which are more commonly called boilers
water and glycol, may provide temporary when the heat distribution fluid is water or
heat in buildings used infrequently or dur- furnaces if air, can be divided into the fol-
ing system breakdowns. Care should be lowing three major types:
taken not to create a fire hazard with im-
properly wired units. • standard boilers, where the average op-
erating temperature is limited by the
6.6.1 Advantages type of construction (usually less than
Components may provide acceptable levels of 90°C for unpressurised water boiler)
comfort without the need for an entire system. and must, however, be greater than a
certain value to avoid undesired con-
6.6.2 Disadvantages densation from the flue gas;
Spot heating, cooling and fluctuations in • low temperature boilers that can oper-
humidity may harm sensitive artefacts or ate continuously with an inlet tempera-
furnishings. If an integrated system is desir- ture of heat distribution fluid between
able, components may provide only a tem- 35°C and 40°C and for which, conden-
porary solution. sation of the water vapour contained in
the flue gas may take place in specific
conditions;
6.7 Heating Generation Systems • condensing boilers, designed to recover
the condensation energy of most of the
In a heating system, the main subsystem, water vapour contained in the flue gas.
which can undergo a significant energy
improvement without affecting the his- 6.7.1 Standard boilers
toric value of the building is usually the Boilers made of carbon steel and now only
heating generation system. Normally in a used for high capacities, from about 2 MW
centralised heating system, the heat up to approximately 20 MW.

74
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

These heat generators cannot endure flue gas The design criteria used for these genera-
condensation; therefore, the return water tors, that is completely innovative com-
temperature must always be higher than pared to those used for the conventional
minimum set values, regardless of the be- combustion heat generators, exploits the
haviour of the heating circuits. For this rea- low temperature of the return water to cre-
son, appropriate hydraulic precautions must ate condensation of the water vapour con-
be taken in order to prevent the temperature tained in the flue gas. And so, the flue gas
from dropping below the pre-set value. temperature is also low, just slightly higher
than that of the return water, by only 10°C
6.7.2 Low-temperature boilers to 15°C, which reduces the flue gas losses.
Low-temperature boilers, which are also
known as sliding temperature boilers, are For these reasons, the efficiency value of
an evolution of the standard type. However, condensing boilers is significantly higher
operating problems associated with the risk than that of conventional boilers: producing
of condensation on the convective heat peak net efficiencies of approximately 108-
transfer surface have been greatly reduced, 109%12.
if not eliminated, thanks to the design fea-
tures and technological solutions. Such From a design point of view, when choos-
boilers can work at very low operational ing the system emitters, those that are able
temperatures, (down to 25°C at the return to operate with heat transfer fluids at lower
connection) without causing the formation temperatures are preferred, such as radiant
of condensate. The heat generator is there- floors and panels, chilled beams and fan
fore, not forced to operate continuously at coil units.
high temperature, as was the case in former
cast iron boilers with their non-condensing 6.7.4 Biomass boilers
system, and so its energy performance is These boilers convert the chemical energy of
considerably improved, particularly in biomass, into heat, which is transferred to a
terms of average seasonal efficiency. heat distribution fluid, using essentially the
same technology as for traditional boilers.
Compared to the standard boilers, low-tem-
perature boilers, even with construction ma- Biomass refers to any biologically originat-
terials unsuitable to endure the presence of ing substance and is therefore linked to the
condensation, have fewer problems in rela- chemistry of carbon. As renewable energy
tion to both thermal operating range and re- sources, biomass is considered only as
turn temperature control. It is, however, good those substances produced today by chloro-
practice to pay attention to the risk of conden- phyll photosynthesis, for example, forests,
sation especially under certain operating con- crops, food industry residues, thereby ex-
ditions, particularly during heating-up. cluding all fossilised biomass and deriva-
tives thereof from that definition. Solid
6.7.3 Condensing boilers fuels can be obtained directly from such bi-
Condensing boilers are made entirely, or in omasses (firewood, agricultural residues
part, from materials such as stainless steel, and forestry), whereas liquid and gaseous
aluminium alloys and grey cast irons with fuels can be obtained from appropriate
treated corrosion-resistant surfaces that re- structural transformation of the organic
sist the potentially corrosive condensate component (fuel from municipal solid
water.

75
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

waste, bio-diesel from oilseed crops, bio- It should be borne in mind that the use of
ethanol from plants containing sugar, etc.). woody biomass for the production of heat
causes a high level of pollution due to the
Each category of biomass energy source emission of toxic and carcinogenic sub-
can be harnessed with appropriate technol- stances in the flue gas in the form of ultra-
ogies, which nowadays are almost all well fine dusts that are characterised by a parti-
developed, depending on their moisture cle diameter of less than 1 µm. The prob-
content or their carbon/nitrogen ratio. lem occurs in both residential and industrial
areas, since the use of woody biomass is the
The advantages of using biomass for en- main source of energy and pollution in
ergy purposes are related to the following homes in developing countries, and not
characteristics: only that, developed countries encourage
the use of biomass in power plants to re-
• it can be considered a renewable re- duce emissions of climate-altering gases
source, provided that it is employed at (Valerio, 2012).
a rate that does not exceed the biologi-
cal renewal capacity; 6.7.5 Solar thermal systems
• among all the renewable energy As heat generator, a solar energy system is
sources, it is the one that can be devel- not just a single piece of equipment but
oped the quickest, thanks to the proven generally consists of several components as
technologies; collectors, storage unit and control systems,
• biomass is free from sulphur and there- interconnected with pipes (water system) or
fore does not lead to the formation of ducts (air system).
sulphur oxides, toxic agents or agents
responsible for acid rain during com- There are two main types of systems,
bustion; namely those with natural circulation (Fig-
• does not increase the amount of CO2 in ure 6.1, top) and those with forced circula-
the atmosphere, because the amount of tion (Figure 6.1, bottom) of the working
gas emitted during the combustion fluid, i.e. the heat distribution fluid. In the
phase is equal to that absorbed by pho- first case, circulation of the heat distribu-
tosynthesis during the growing phase. tion fluid is guaranteed by the mass density
difference created in the solar collector due
In contrast, biomass has: to heating of the fluid; this produces a mod-
est pressure difference that allows a suffi-
• relatively low physical and energy den- cient circulation with circuits that are am-
sity and it is seasonal; this leads to major ply-dimensioned and not too long. These
problems relating to transportation and systems are often supplied as a kit that also
storage compared to traditional fossil includes the storage unit integrated with the
fuels (storage is also an advantage com- solar collector and is placed just above it.
pared to other renewable sources, be- The advantage of natural circulation sys-
cause it allows the use of biomass when tems is that they are very simple and they
needed rather than when it is there, as in do not require a circulation pump and/or a
the case of solar and wind energy); control unit, which in themselves represent
• high moisture content and mechanical a considerable cost in a small plant. In ad-
strength, which makes drying and pro- dition, the location of the storage unit just
cessing difficult and expensive. above the collectors ensures natural

76
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

circulation. The presence of a non-return tance between the collector and the storage
valve prevents reverse circulation at night unit, only forced circulation systems can be
that would otherwise cool the energy store. used. A forced circulation system consists
Today, the major use of natural convection of solar collectors, storage unit (generally
systems is for domestic hot water produc- connected to the solar collector loop
tion for single-family use. through a heat exchanger), a pump and a
control system for pump start/stop. Obvi-
If larger installations are considered, and ously, the usual accessories for hydronic in-
especially when there is a significant dis- stallations should be provided.

Figure 6.1. Thermosiphon solar system (top); b) forced circulation solar system (bottom). From [5].

77
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

The main drawback in using a thermal solar cooled, i.e. depending on the type of fluid
system in historic buildings is the need for used to transfer the condensation heat to the
roof space or nearby land to host solar external environment: water-cooled or air-
collectors. It is evident that this practice can cooled devices.
impact on the landscape style and the
building architecture if they are visible Vapour compression refrigeration units
from the surroundings. Vapour compression refrigeration units use
a compressor to run the refrigeration cycle,
usually driven by an electrical motor, but
6.8 Cooling Generation Systems can also be driven by internal combustion
engine.
In a centralised cooling system, the cooling
generators, chillers or air coolers, are Table 6.1. Criterion for choosing the compres-
placed in a dedicated closed space, i.e. the sor type in relation to the cooling capacity in a
thermal power station, but, compared to a water refrigeration unit.
conventional heating system, i.e. with a
boiler or a furnace, extra equipment has to Refrigeration capacity Type of compressor
be placed outside (dry condensers, wet range
cooling towers), if well water is not used to
Up to 90 kW alternative – scroll
cool down the condenser. Most cooling
generators are water refrigeration units,
also known as chillers, which are devices From 90 to 280 kW alternative – screw
that operate on a reverse cycle-basis to
alternative - screw –
produce cold water (Figure 6.2). From 280 to 700 kW
centrifugal

From 700 to 2800 kW screw – centrifugal

HOT SOURCE
From 2800 to 8400 kW Centrifugal

NATURAL
HEAT REVERSE Absorption refrigeration units
TRANSFER CYCLE An absorption refrigeration unit uses as its
DEVICE working fluid a mixture of two compo-
nents, specifically a solution. One fluid, the
COLD SOURCE solute, is the refrigerant used in a standard
refrigeration cycle, the other, the solvent, is
working in a secondary loop (absorber-gen-
erator) to allow the production of refriger-
Figure 6.2. Reverse cycle device operation ant vapour at high pressure from liquid re-
mode respect to natural heat transfer. frigerant at low pressure. These units are
mainly driven by heat provided by a third
Three different typologies of cooling gen- energy source at the highest temperature
eration device exist: vapour compression among all the available other sources. Elec-
refrigeration units, absorption units and ad- tricity is also used to run the solution pump,
sorption units. Another fundamental dis- but only a small fraction compared to the
tinction is related to the way those units are total power input.

78
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

The operating limits vary according to the of conventional compressors, similar to ab-
adopted solution. With the water-lithium sorption refrigeration units. The operation
bromide solution, the temperature value of of adsorption cooling system depends on
the cold source must be higher than 0°C and adsorption/desorption characteristics of the
that of the hot source lower than 38°C, particular adsorbent/refrigerant pair in a
while the generator temperate has to be kept similar fashion to absorption units, with the
between 70 and 95°C. In the ammonia-wa- main difference that while in the latter a
ter solution, the temperature value of the chemical process is the driver, in the former
cold source can reach −20°C, while that of it is the physical adsorption/desorption pro-
the hot source can reach 70°C, but the gen- cess.
erator requires a temperature higher than
110°C. Consequently, with the water-lith- Adsorption refrigeration units are not com-
ium bromide solution only water-water sys- mon and applied as widely as absorption re-
tems can be implemented, while with the frigeration units and are usually less effi-
ammonia-water solution air-water systems cient but can be operated at lower tempera-
can be installed. tures then absorbers. The temperature of the
heat provided for desorption can be as low
The water-lithium bromide systems can as 50°C allowing the use of flat solar col-
work in heat pump mode only by reversing lector systems as heater, so providing a re-
the external hydraulic connections between newable energy source.
the user’s distribution system and the evap-
orator or the condenser, since they are wa- 6.8.1 Water cooled refrigeration units
ter-cooled systems. Their only limitation is Regardless the cycle type, in water-cooled
that the delivered hot water cannot exceed units, the condenser consists of a shell and
38°C in heat pump mode. tube or plate heat exchanger in which the
refrigerant is cooled and condensed by
The ammonia-water units can internally means of water that in turn is heated and
swap the function of the two available heat may be "expendable", for example, well
exchangers. In cooling mode, the air-to-re- water, seawater or recirculation water, or
frigerant heat exchanger acts as condenser, tower water (if an evaporative cooling
in heating mode it acts as evaporator. This tower is used).
is principally because their refrigeration cy-
cle is usually an air-cooled cycle. The ad- The evaporative cooling tower is a device
vantage of these systems is that they can that cools down the process water by put-
produce hot water at 70°C with a suffi- ting it in contact with atmospheric air. It is
ciently high efficiency, even if outside air mainly used for cooling industrial water
temperatures are very low (−20°C). and condensation water of medium-large
refrigeration units, since the economic ben-
Adsorption refrigeration units efits are greater than those obtained with
An adsorption refrigeration unit does not other solutions. The operating principle of
use any mechanical energy, but only heat an evaporative tower is based on the fact
energy (gas or oil fired or even solar pow- that a small percentage of water circulating
ered). Adsorption refrigeration systems in contact with the air evaporates and
work similarly to the conventional vapour causes the remained liquid water to cool. In
compression system but use a thermal com- order to facilitate the evaporation process,
pressor operating through heat input in lieu the water to be cooled is finely atomised on

79
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

a honeycomb evaporative cooling pad with needing only relatively large plant spaces
a large surface area, which is aspirated by a and some openings for the intake and the
counter-current flow of air. rejection of the cooling air.

In historic building energy improvement, Some typical efficiencies of vapour com-

the use or cooling towers might be chal- pression air cooled refrigeration units, i.e.
lenging if no outdoor space is available the EER efficiency values, as defined in
where they can be placed without altering Ch. 6.9.1, are shown in Table 6.2.
the building architecture and the landscape
style.
6.9 Combined Heating and
6.8.2 Air cooled refrigeration units Cooling Systems
In air-cooled units, the condenser consists
of a finned coil where the refrigerant is To produce both heating and cooling with
cooled by outside air, which is moved by the same unit, electric and gas heat pumps
fans. Air-cooled refrigeration units are di- are used, the principles of which are given
vided into the following, depending on the for non-experts in the following descrip-
type of fan used: tions.

• units with axial fans, installed directly The heat pump is just a cooling unit used
outside; with a different goal: while the cooling unit
• units with centrifugal fans that allow has as objective the cooling of a low tem-
channelling of the cooling air and can perature source (air, water, ambient, etc.),
therefore be installed in specific rooms. the heat pump has the goal to heat a high
temperature source (air, water, ambient,
Table 6.2. EER values for a water refrigera- etc.). Thus, the main difference between a
tion unit. heat pump and a refrigeration unit is the
useful effect, while the basic operating cy-
Type of compressor EER cles are exactly the same.
Water-cooled The most common example of a heat pump
Scroll 4.4 - 4.5 is the domestic refrigerator: a certain
Normal screw 4.5 - 4.7 amount of heat is transferred from the food
High-efficiency screw 4.9 - 5.0 compartment into the kitchen: for the re-
Centrifugal 5.0 - 5.1 frigerator the food compartment is the cold
Air-cooled
source while the kitchen is the hot source.
The difference between the refrigerator and
Scroll 2.6 - 2.7
the heat pump is not thermodynamic, but it
Normal screw 2.7 - 2.9 depends only on what we consider the use-
High-efficiency screw 3.1 - 3.2 ful effect. If the useful effect is the cooling
Centrifugal 3.0 - 3.1 of the cold source, then it is called refriger-
ator, whereas, on the other hand, if the use-
In historic building energy improvement, ful effect is the heating of the hot source
the axial fan solution have the same prob- then it is called heat pump. The heat pump
lems as explained for cooling towers, while operation requires an energy supply; this
the latter solution is much more feasible energy can either be mechanical, in which

80
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

case we usually have vapour compression delivered heat QH to the hot source obtained
heat pumps, or chemical or thermal energy with a certain energy expenditure, E, whose
(heat), and in this case we usually have an nature depends on what kind of heat pump
absorption or adsorption heat pump, as de- we take into consideration. Thus, its steady-
scribed in Ch. 6.7. state energy balance, which is shown sche-
matically in Figure 6.3, is as follows:
Vapour compression heat pumps are typi-
cally driven by an electrical motor and thus
require electrical energy. In some case, they QH = QC + E (6.1)
can instead be directly driven by an engine
that produces mechanical energy or indi- Starting from (6.1) and using the following
rectly via electrical motor, which uses elec- names and symbols to define the system
tricity produced by the engine when cou- performance under different operation
pled with an alternator. In both cases, it is modes:
also possible to recover heat from the en-
gine cooling system and that of the flue gas. • EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio), in
These systems are usually called Total En- cooling operation mode,
ergy Systems. • COP (Coefficient of Performance), in
heating operation mode,
Absorption/adsorption heat pumps may • These system efficiencies are defined
also run directly on fuel, such as by burning by the equations:
natural gas.
Qc
EER  (6.2)
6.9.1 Reversible Heat Pump E
Performances
Whatever the type of heat pump and its op- QH Qc  E
eration mode, its refrigeration cycle is al- COP    EER  1 (6.3)
E E
ways characterised by the amount of heat QC
extracted from the cold source and the

ENERGY TAKEN FROM ENERGY SUPPLIED TO THE

THE COLD SOURCE HOT SOURCE
QH = QC + ES

COLD QC HOT
SOURCE SOURCE
HEAT
QC PUMP
Air, soil, Environment
ground- to be heated
water, sea, ES = Q QH
etc.

ES
ENERGY SUPPLIED
TO THE SYSTEM

Figure 6.3. Energy balance of a heat pump system.

81
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

6.9.1.1 Compression heat pump Consequently, the amount of renewable en-

performance ergy used by a heat pump during the heat-
In compression heat pumps driven by elec- ing season, i.e. the amount of energy ex-
tric motor, the power supply is electrical; tracted by a renewable energy source at
therefore, EER and COP are the relation- lower temperature and used to provide heat
ships between heat (Q) and electrical en- at higher temperature, is calculated as:
ergy, the values of which can vary from 2
to 8 depending on the working condition  1 
and the type of cold and hot source. ERES  Qc  QH 1   (6.4)
 SPFH 
6.9.1.2 Absorption heat pump where:
performance QH is the heat delivered by the heat
In absorption heat pumps, the energy sup- pump in the whole heating sea-
plied to the system in different ways is usu- son, kWh;
ally heat; therefore, in this case in Equa- SPFH is the Seasonal Performance Factor
tions (6.2) and (6.3) the input energy E is in heating mode, defined as:
heat. In direct fired heat pump, the input en-
ergy to the units is the fuel, usually gas; in QH
this case E is the gas net calorific value for SPFH  (6.5)
EH
the amount of used gas and the performance
coefficients take respectively the names of where, in general, EH is the energy used in
Gas Utilization Efficiency ratio in cooling the whole heating season for the heat pump
mode, GUEC, and Gas Utilization Effi- operation, including auxiliaries; that, in the
ciency ratio in heating mode, GUEH. case of electric heat pumps, is all electrical
energy.
Compared with the performance coeffi-
cients of compression heat pumps, the EER
(or GUEC) and COP (or GUEH) values of 6.10 Combined Heat and Power
absorption heat pumps apparently seem to Generation
be much lower, as they range from 0.7 to
about 2; this is not so because, as stated in Systems that are able to produce both elec-
this document several times, primary en- trical or mechanical energy and heat at the
ergy should be considered for a correct same time are called combined heat and
comparison. power generation systems (CHP systems)
and are used to produce electricity for a
6.9.2 Heat pump and renewable energy building as well as heat. Such systems
Directive 28/2009/EC (European Parlia- might be convenient and since the same
ment, 2009) defines as renewable energy system generates both heat and electrical
sources all non-fossil energy sources, energy output, the combined process can be
namely, wind, solar, aerothermal (outdoor more efficient, from the energy point of
air internal energy, extracted as heat), geo- view, than two separated processes.
thermal (sub-surface of solid earth internal
energy, extracted as heat), hydrothermal Besides providing high-efficiency energy
(surface water internal energy extracted as production systems, CHP, and in particular
heat), hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, micro-CHP (i.e. electric power below
sewage treatment plant gas and biogases. 50 kW), can change individual buildings

82
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

from passive users to active contributors by • monocrystalline silicon;

connecting to the electrical network of dis- • polycrystalline silicon;
tributed electric energy generation. • amorphous silicon.

Such a system is usually also called a co- A PV system is usually made up of several
generation system and if production of modules connected in parallel/series de-
cooling energy is added to heating and elec- pending on the voltage required. A large
trical energy, this is referred to as a trigen- PV system then is arranged in rows of mod-
eration system. ules in parallel (strings), which must be
equipped with fuses so that if the array in
series were to fail, the current delivered by
6.11 Electric Power Generation the other arrays will be prevented from
completely damaging the faulty array. A
In historic buildings it is usually quite hard string diode prevents the reverse current
to improve the envelope insulation to lower passage into the possibly inactive string.
heating and cooling loads due to conserva-
tion reasons, thus a way to reduce their non- The photovoltaic system requires a control
renewable primary energy use is to maxim- and power conditioning system that goes by
ise the use of renewable energy sources. the name of BOS (Balance of System),
which allows the following activities:
Electrical energy is always used in a build-
ing, not only for artificial lighting and plug • to track the maximum power point
power, but also to drive chillers and heat (brings the system to operate in the
pumps, (in the case of vapour compression point where the area of the current in-
units) as well as pumps, fans and other elec- tensity-potential difference is greatest);
trical auxiliaries. Thus, on-site electrical • to convert direct current to alternating
power generation from renewable energy current (inverter);
sources, if compatible with the building ar- • to allow filtering of the harmonics and
chitecture, its historic value and the land- power factor correction (for systems
scape style, could be a significant way of connected to the network);
improving its energy performance. • to adjust battery charging (for inde-
pendent systems).
The potential renewable energy systems
suitable for on-site power generation are The inverter can be centralised or dedicated
solar photovoltaic systems and small wind to a single module. A better coupling with
turbine systems. optimal tracking of the maximum power
point may compensate the lower efficiency
6.11.1 Solar photovoltaic systems of the latter.
Photovoltaic systems are based on PV pan-
els or modules that are an array of photo- The main issue with PV system, common
voltaic cells that convert solar radiation into to solar thermal systems, is the need for an
electrical potential and, when connected to available sunny space, not always available
an electrical circuit, into electrical energy. for the power the designer would like to in-
PV systems then can be classified accord- stall. Usually the PV power density ranges
ing to the type of photovoltaic cells: between 0.1 and 0.13 kW/m²; that means
that a peak power of 10 kW requires about

83
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

100 m² of unshaded horizontal surface or only needs to pay the cost of electricity con-
south facing exposed tilted roof. sumed less the value of electricity gener-
ated, i.e. the net balance. Additionally, in
According to its connection status with the some cases, cash incentives are paid from
utility electrical grid, a PV system can be the grid operator to the consumer. To assess
classified as: such energy exchange, a PV grid-connected
system is equipped with meters that moni-
• grid connected (Figure 6.4 a); tor power transferred
• stand-alone (Figure 6.4 b).
Connection to the grid can be done only
through an interconnection agreement be-
tween the consumer and the utility com-
pany. The agreement details the various
safety standards to be followed during the
connection.

Stand-alone photovoltaic systems, on the

other hand, must have an adequate capacity
for electrical energy storage currently
achieved almost exclusively with lead-acid
batteries, whose useful life is greater than
batteries for automotive use, but generally
does not exceed more than 10 years. The
life expectancy of the PV modules is 25
years, during which time the battery will be
replaced at least twice.

When dealing with historic building appli-

cation the main issue is of course the visual
impact the PV array can have on the build-
ing architecture and the surrounding land-
scape. Thus, an analysis has to be carried
out to finalise the technologies which can
lead to an optimal architectural and land-
Figure 6.4. a) Grid-connected PV system); scape integration.
b) stand-alone PV system. From [6]).
6.11.1.1 Architectural and landscape
integration
A grid-connected photovoltaic system can In some countries energy legislation has
feed excess power to the grid and can yield provided incentivising tariffs to differenti-
revenue by selling that to the grid energy ate photovoltaic systems according to the
company. At the same time, the building is level of architectural integration of the gen-
a grid electricity consumer buying power erator, implicitly acknowledging the value
and/or energy when its own PV production of integrated architectural and plant engi-
is not enough. Depending on their agree- neering design for energy conversion sys-
ment, the consumer (the building owner) tems.

84
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

The integration may be total or partial. In

the first case, an architecturally integrated
photovoltaic system is an integral part of
the building, assuming a core function,
such as that of waterproofing of roofs or to
provide a covering material and finish for
the façades. The latest technologies make it
possible to choose among many different
solutions: the traditional opaque panels are
available in many colours, besides the clas-
sical blue and black, and there are also
transparent and semi-transparent panels,
which provide natural lighting to interior
spaces. Among the transparent or semi-
transparent solutions are so-called translu-
cent modules, where the light passes be-
tween suitably spaced solar cells, or thin-
film technology, in which the photovoltaic
film is etched so as to ensure transparency.
The latter technology, allowing a very thin,
flexible solar film, is rapidly spreading in
solutions for total integration.

Partial architectural integration means the

positioning of the photovoltaic modules on
flat roofs, on the sloping sides, or on the
vertical surfaces of the building envelope
reducing, as much as possible, the visual
impact not only of the module, but also of
all the works that contribute to the photo-
Figure 6.5. Examples of partial architectural
voltaic system, such as supporting struc-
integration of photovoltaic systems.
tures, joints and other fittings. Figure 6.5
shows examples of partial architectural in-
tegration, in ancient buildings and in an his- Landscape integration of technologies, par-
toric landscape with the use flat panels, ticularly that of solar photovoltaic technol-
photovoltaic tiles and photovoltaic trans- ogy, has seen extensive development in re-
parent glass. cent years with the improvement of meth-
ods and mechanisms making them more
It is obvious that installations made up of versatile and also more readily integrated
modules arranged in parallel rows on top of with the building envelope.
curved or sloping roofs or ground-mounted
or arranged on sloping roofs without com- On the other hand, because these systems
plying with the slope or the geometry, as interfere with the appearance of the build-
shown in Figure 6.6, are not architecturally ing onto which they are installed, they must
integrated. be designed in line with proper restoration

85
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

criteria, such as total reversibility, mini- tion practices of solar, thermal and photo-
mum intervention, compatibility and voltaic technology for buildings of histor-
maintainability to ensure the integrity of ical and artistic value. The results
the work. The design must be performed achieved show that by linking technol-
in-line with the landscaping requirements ogy, design and restoration credible re-
with the aim of reducing the environmen- sults can be achieved in terms of the en-
tal impact. ergy and protection aspects while still
preserving the principle of reversibility.
This synergy of skills can give rise to in-
novative practices and examples of the in-
tegration of solar technology to serve
building envelopes. One of these exam-
ples relates to the installation of solar
thermal systems on a sloping roof and po-
sitioning the tanks within the buildings.
Other possible actions are to repair un-
wanted gaps and openings in the building
fabric and improve the energy perfor-
mance and quality of elements of fabric
that have deteriorated the most. Energy
enhancement of the town and rural fabric
can also be implemented through adding
elements such as pergolas, signage and
lighting fixtures.

In Chapter 8 some of the reported historic

building energy improvements illustrate
and describe solar thermal installations in
historic buildings, or areas of historic value.
Among these is the photovoltaic roof of
Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City,
which is an interesting example of tradi-
Figure 6.6. Examples of the lack of architec- tional technologies used in a site of signifi-
tural integration of photovoltaic systems. cant historical value and the photovoltaic
roof tile system of Castle Acquabella in
In recent years experimental installations Reggello (FI) is a case of full integration
have achieved good results with prototypes between engineering equipment solution
that attempt to camouflage the solar tech- and the building.
nology making it less invasive. The chal-
lenge with integrated applications is know- 6.11.2 Small wind turbine systems
ing how to propose measures that are com- Electrical energy can be produced from the
patible with the landscape, environmental, wind through aero-generators or wind tur-
cultural, economic and social values. bines. The various technologies available
can be classified according to several crite-
The integration examples suggested in ria; for example, the axis of rotation or the
this Guidebook relate to sound applica- aerodynamic operation principle.

86
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

Wind turbines can be divided into the fol- Hence, they may only be suitable in historic
lowing types: building energy improvements for small
power needs. This point, and the need to
• vertical rotational axis; have a windy site to justify their use make
• horizontal rotational axis. this renewable energy source practically
useless in historic buildings.
or according to the aerodynamic operation
principle:
6.12 Designing new systems in
• rotor resistance; brief13
• load-bearing;
• combined. In designing a new HVAC system for an
historic building, it is important to antici-
The vertical-axis wind turbines may be of pate how it will be installed, how damage
the resistance or load bearing type and have to historic materials can be minimised, and
an undisputed advantage of being able to how visible the new mechanical system
operate independently of the direction of will be within the restored or rehabilitated
the wind. The resistance type can be started spaces. Mechanical equipment space needs
up directly by the wind, while the latter are often overwhelming; in some cases, it
must be put into rotation by an external mo- may be advantageous to look for locations
tor (the generator can be used as a motor). outside of the building, including ground
The horizontal-axis wind turbines, by far vaults, to house some of the equipment but
the most common, are influenced by the only if there is no adverse impact on the his-
wind direction and are often equipped with toric landscape or adjacent archaeological
a small tail fin that helps them move in the resources. As already discussed, various
right direction. means for reducing the heating and cooling
loads (and thereby the size of the equip-
Horizontal-axis turbines can be either "up- ment) should be investigated, because
wind" or "downwind": the first having a ro- smaller heating and cooling systems are
tor in front of the mounting tower (this is simpler to accommodate in available and
the most common type), while the second reusable space. Another option is to size the
has a rotor behind the mounting tower (with system to provide slightly lower interior
respect to the wind direction). The "down- comfort levels, than would normally be
wind" model has the advantage of being standard.
able to withstand the force of the wind po-
tentially with the aid of support cables The following activities are suggested dur-
placed in front of the tower. The "upwind" ing the design phase of the new system:
models must have an extremely sturdy
tower that behaves like a cantilever beam 1. Establish specific criteria for the new
with respect to wind pressure; moreover, or upgraded mechanical system. New
they have the advantage that the rotor is systems should be installed with a mini-
driven by a virtually undisturbed flow of mum of damage to the resource and should
wind. be visually compatible with the architecture
of the building. They should be installed in
Of course, wind turbines are progressively a way that is easy to service, maintain, and
more visible as their power increases. upgrade in the future. There should be

87
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

safety and backup systems in place if build- set automatic or other). The size and loca-
ings have collections, computer rooms, tion of the equipment to handle these differ-
storage vaults or special conditions that ent situations will ultimately also affect the
need monitoring. The new systems should design of the overall system.
work within the structural limits of the his-
toric building. They should produce no ex- 3. Minimise the impact of the new HVAC
cessive vibration or noise, no dust or on the existing architecture. Design crite-
mould, and no excess moisture that could ria for the new system should be based on
damage the historic building materials. If the type of architecture of the historic re-
any equipment is to be located outside of source. Consideration should be given as to
the building, there should be no impact to whether or not the delivery system is visible
the historic appearance of the building or or hidden. Utilitarian and industrial spaces
site, and there should be no impact on ar- may be capable of accepting a more visible
chaeological resources. and functional system. More formal, ornate
spaces which may be part of a visual dis-
2. Prioritise the requirements for the new play may require a less visible or disguised
climate control system. The use of the system. A ducted system should be in-
building will determine the level of interior stalled without breaking into or boxing out
comfort and climate control. Sometimes, large sections of floors, walls, or ceilings.
various temperature zones may be safely A wet pipe system should be installed so
created within an historic building. This that hidden leaks will not damage important
zoned approach may be appropriate for decorative finishes. In each case, not only
buildings with specialised stored collec- the type of system (air, water, combina-
tions, for buildings with mixed uses, or for tion), but its distribution (duct, pipe) and
large buildings with different external ex- delivery appearance (grilles, cabinets, or
posures, occupancy patterns, and multiple registers) must be evaluated. It may be nec-
schedules for the controlled air conditions. essary to use a combination of different sys-
Special archives, storage vaults or com- tems in order to preserve the historic build-
puter rooms may need a completely differ- ing. Existing chases should be reused
ent climate control from the rest of the whenever possible. In figure 6.7 an exam-
building. Determine the temperature and ple of visual impact minimisation in in-
humidity levels for occupants and collec- stalling a new HVAC system is given: heat-
tions and ventilation requirements or, more ing and cooling capacities for “Camera
generally, Indoor Air Quality requirement Picta”14 are provided by 3 heat pump units
in relation to the foreseen utilisation, in the placed inside the tower of the castle and air
different zones. Establish if the system is to ducts are routed from the air handling unit
run 24 hours a day or only during operating, to the room air diffusers using the fireplace
or business, hours. Determine what con- chimney.
trols are optimum (manual, computer, pre-

88
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 6 System compatible design

Figure 6.7. Schematic view of the Northern tower with the main components of the HVAC system.

Figure 6.8. Camera Picta Wedding Chamber in Mantova (Italy) before the HVAC installation.

89
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

4. Balance quantitative requirements removed, or if needed, simply masked. The

and preservation objectives. The ideal intake and exhaust air ducts are placed in-
system may not be achievable for each his- side the fire place chimney and can be di-
toric resource due to cost, space limitations, rectly extracted from the top (the roof)
code requirements, or other factors beyond without any destructive work from the
the owner's control. However, significant room side.
historic spaces, finishes, and features can
be preserved in almost every case, even
given these limitations. For example, if
some ceiling areas must be slightly lowered
to accommodate ductwork or piping, these
should be in secondary areas away from
decorative ceilings or tall windows. If mod-
ern fan coil terminal units are to be visible
in historic spaces, consideration should be
given to custom designing the cabinets or to
using smaller units in more locations to di-
minish their impact. If grilles and diffusers
are to be located in significant spaces, they
should be designed to work within the ge-
ometry or placement of decorative ele-
ments. All new elements, such as ducts,
grilles, diffusers, pipe-runs, and mechani-
cal equipment should be installed in a re-
versible manner so that they can be re-
moved in the future without further damage
to the building.

In Figure 6.8 and Figure 6.9, an example

of such “reversible” approach is shown: an
improvised air diffuser is placed inside the Figure 6.9. Picture of the air diffusers placed
“Camera Picta” fireplace and can be easy inside the fireplace of Camera Picta.

90
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
7 Systems performance and maintenance
7.1 Introduction and delivered in order to achieve the objec-
tives of the management of the building.
Maintenance issues should be considered as The feature of a maintenance service is that,
part of the design process of rehabilitation of in addition to the actual maintenance inter-
historic buildings and included in the design ventions, it also includes other activities,
phase, added to the general maintenance such as:
plan and must be consistent with the require-
ments specified for proper conservation of • gaining further knowledge regarding
the entire building over time. the assets covered by the contract;
• conservation;
The criteria set out for any kind of interven- • description of the proper operation of
tion apply also to maintenance require- the assets (maintenance plan);
ments: to respect, and retain, as much as • measurement, analysis and control ac-
possible the historic nature of the building. tivities;
Choosing suitable positions for any new • design and implementation of energy
system components according to the con- efficiency measures.
servation requirements is not on its own
sufficient - it is also necessary to provide There are also regulations and standards
for regular accessibility without causing that clarify the concept of maintenance ser-
any damage (physical and of its appear- vice in full compliance with the current leg-
ance) to the historic building. Furthermore, islation. Among these, the following are
care must be taken to control the physical worthy of note:
and chemical characteristics and the behav-
iour of new materials over time to prevent • Standard EN 13306 (CEN, 2010),
events that are incompatible with maintain- which defines maintenance as a combi-
ing the integrity of the historic building. nation of all technical, administrative
and management activities, during the
The overall energy efficiency of a building life cycle of an entity, designed to main-
also depends on the level of maintenance tain or restore it to a state whereby it
performed, particularly with regard to the can perform the required function;
management and maintenance of technical • Standard EN 15331 (CEN, 2011b),
installations. This section includes a discus- “Criteria for design, management and
sion of heating systems maintenance, while control of maintenance services for
matters related to electrical systems are buildings”.
omitted.

7.3 Maintenance plan

7.2 Maintenance service
The maintenance plan of an historic build-
Maintenance service consists of a mix of in- ing may be defined as a document which
tegrated activities aimed at ensuring the purpose is to maintain an efficient and func-
maintenance and possible improvement of tional asset, in accordance with the building
building properties that must be planned conservation requirements.

91
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

The maintenance plan refers to the envis- 7.4 HVAC system maintenance
aged maintenance activities and to the as-
sumed frequency, indicative cost indexes HVAC systems should be designed,
and the medium and long-term implemen- constructed and installed so that these
tation strategies. Figure 7.1 shows a systems can always be operated in the most
flowchart of the operational documents of efficient and effective way. That means that
the maintenance plan. The maintenance the overall system performance should be
programme refers to the execution of the maintained throughout the whole system
maintenance activities covered by the plan life, employing a set of actions aiming to
and included in the annual expenditure improve component performance before
budget. they decay significantly. This set of actions
is usually called maintenance.
In the case of building rehabilitation and/or
restoration, such as maintenance tasks asso- When dealing with HVAC systems, their
ciated with partial demolition and recon- performance is not only related to energy
struction projects, the necessary infor- efficiency but also, and in some cases,
mation must be made available to the mainly, to their capability to provide and
maintenance service, and progressively maintain the required environmental indoor
collected in a systematic and directed man- quality. Among all possible requirements,
ner as well as being stored for subsequent hygiene requirements are essential and the
checks. HVAC system should be designed, con-
structed, installed, operated and maintained
In the case of interventions on historic so that these requirements are always com-
buildings, before drawing up the mainte- plied with. It should be noted that this fun-
nance programme, the available project damental human requirement is always
documentation must be carefully analysed central to HVAC operation regardless of
and compared with the actual property con- whether installed in new, existing, old or
dition. historic buildings.

Figure 7.1. Flowchart of the operational documents of the maintenance plan.

92
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 7 Systems performance and maintenance

Hygiene requirements actually mean sim- components. The total bacterial load in the
ple cleaning and maintaining the hygiene of water of the humidifier sections, measured
all internal surfaces and components should using the method of Standard EN ISO 6222
be continued over time. But if the HVAC (CEN, 1999), shall not exceed 1,000
system is serving an historic building, this CFU/ml (106 CFU/L) and should be
kind of maintenance may assume an even checked periodically. The aspects related to
more important role as, in addition to the the risk of legionella are extensively cov-
preservation of the human health, there is ered in a REHVA Guidebook (AA.VV.,
the conservation of artefacts inside the 2013).
building and of the building itself.
Inspections should include technical in-
In this regard, specially appointed qualified spections and testing in accordance with the
personnel must carry out regular technical current legislation.
inspections and maintenance servicing, as
well as frequent hygienic checks. There- The inspections must include technical
fore, it is necessary to adopt a logbook reg- controls and tests in compliance with the
istering all the ordinary and extraordinary current laws.
maintenance operations to the water sys-
tems and air conditioning. In general, periodic inspections must in-
clude at least the following operations:
The first inspection should be performed at
the system start-up to make sure that it has • inspection of the central air handling
been installed and cleaned of any impuri- unit and the rooms served by the sys-
ties, such as dirt and dust from the construc- tem to detect any damage. The survey
tion site and sanitised. Therefore, this oper- must be carried out with the safety of-
ation must always be planned for historic ficer and with a staff representative;
buildings where an HVAC system is in- • recording of microclimatic parameters
stalled for the first time. The inspections (temperature, relative humidity, air
that follow should be carried out on a regu- speed and pollutant concentrations) in
lar basis and, if required, the systems significant points of the air condition-
should only be cleaned by qualified person- ing system and the conditioned rooms;
nel. • inspection of the hygienic conditions
that must also include specific tests on
Filters should be regularly inspected and, in filters, humidifiers, heat exchangers
the event of contamination, replaced even if and coils;
their service life has not be reached. This • control of the total bacterial count and,
topic is the subject of a REHVA Guidebook if necessary, depending on the intended
(AA.VV., 2011) which, in addition to the use of the building, control of Le-
issues related to filter operation, also covers gionella;
issues related to energy consumption asso- • report on the inspection results that
ciated with filtration. must include any recommendations for
the necessary required hygienic
The preservation of hygienic conditions for measures.
plant systems using water must be carried
out by regular checks and sanitation proce- The hygienic inspections of air condition-
dures, including possible sterilisation of ing systems must be performed by technical

93
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

personnel who are knowledgeable in the end of the operations, particularly in the
sector: case of fluids.

• once a year for systems with water hu- Air filters

midifiers; Air filters must maintain their efficiency for
• every two years for systems with va- the duration of their service. To ensure their
pour humidifiers; functionality, they must be inspected at reg-
• every three years for systems without ular intervals and each filter must be
air humidifiers. checked and the following parameters rec-
orded:
7.4.1 Maintenance activities
Operations and maintenance must be carried • pressure difference between upstream
out in accordance with the instructions pro- and downstream of the filter;
vided by the system designer and the manu- • operating time;
facturer of the equipment and components. • status of the filters in terms of losses of
the filtering material and leaks;
Equipment and components should be • comparison with the value of designed
properly cleaned after each procedure, be- efficiency.
fore the system is put back into service. Af-
ter the sanitation procedure and before re- The air filter must not be washed and must
starting the system, care must be taken to be replaced if:
make sure that there are no toxic and/or
noxious, biologically hazardous substances • there is evident contamination, which
or substances that emit odours that could be can be ascertained by taking a sample
introduced in the air and conveyed to the of air immediately downstream the fil-
rooms. ter;
• there is a leak;
The hygiene control and correct sanitation • the final admissible pressure difference
of the system must be recorded in a register is reached;
that is part of the documentation prepared • function is not adequate from the tech-
for certification and which must be kept by nical or hygienic point of view;
the safety officer. • installation work or air conditioning
system modifications have been carried
Air treatment central unit out that may have resulted in a loss of
The rooms where the units are installed and efficiency.
equipment is housed must be thoroughly
cleaned and sanitised prior to starting the Replacements ahead of time or shorter re-
systems. The sanitation procedures consist placement times are necessary if requested
of vacuum cleaning and, if necessary, dis- following an inspection. Replacement of an
infection of the rooms. During the opera- individual element of a filter package is al-
tions that follow, regular inspections must lowed only when a single element has been
be carried out to check whether there is any damaged and only if the package has not
contaminating material and, if necessary, been substituted for more than six months.
the plant should be sanitised. If chemical
cleaning or disinfection is used, any residue When installing new filters, the air tight-
of the material used must be removed at the ness in the supporting structure has to be

94
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 7 Systems performance and maintenance

ensured; the filter pockets must not be ob- can be kept under control with regular
structed or damaged and must be free to cleaning or sanitising of the humidifiers,
align itself in the airflow direction. and with a suitable water disinfection pro-
cedure.
When replacing air filters, contamination
downstream of the filtering section and in The humidifier must stop automatically as
the rooms to be conditioned must be soon as the air conditioning system is
avoided and the new filters to be installed stopped or blocked; a stoppage control sys-
must not get contaminated by dust from the tem must ensure that the humidifier cham-
old filters. ber is dried (prior to stoppage). A func-
tional test of the stoppage control system
The filters must be stored in dust-free con- must be carried out periodically and re-
tainers and in such a way that they do not paired, where necessary.
get damaged during storage.
During the periods in which no air humidi-
Filters must not be used for more than the fication is required, the water piping must
maximum duration as recommended by the be emptied and dried.
manufacturer.
Further recommendations to be considered
Air humidifiers are:
It is important that the water in air humidi-
fiers does not precipitate or condense • control the lime-scale deposits in the at-
downstream of the humidification section, omising nozzles that should be re-
particularly in the precarious conditions placed, if necessary;
when the air flowrate is variable. • check for formation of precipitates on
the humidification chamber floor and
Notwithstanding the formalities required clean, where necessary;
by current legislation on health and safety • check for fouling formation that is vis-
at work, it is recommended to regularly in- ible on the droplet eliminator, which
spect equipment, keep the measuring must ultimately be cleaned;
equipment in order and check the humidity • check for circulation pump condition
to ensure proper function. In particular, all and operation;
parts that come into contact with water • check for water treatment system con-
must be regularly inspected, cleaned with dition and operation;
detergent, and disinfected, if necessary. • in case of vapour humidifiers, make
sure that no condensation can penetrate
In the case of adiabatic humidification, the the air duct system;
water quality is to be kept under control.
The water supply should be at least able to Further measures relate to:
limit the deposition of scale on surfaces and
therefore should be subjected to anti-lime • checking the operating conditions of
scale treatment. the humidification chamber;
• checking the water precipitation in the
The total bacterial contamination of the cir- humidifier chamber during the winter
culating water, must not exceed (CEN, season; if there are any precipitations,
1999) 1,000 CFU/ml (106 CFU/L) - this the chamber must be cleaned;

95
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• checking the drainage system; Heat recovery devices

• functional testing of the control valve. The recommendations relating to the heat
exchanger batteries also apply to heat re-
Cooling and heating coils and heat ex- covery devices.
changers
Cooling and heating coils and their acces- Air ducts and silencers
sories must be inspected periodically to Air ducts must be periodically inspected in-
check for any contamination, corrosion or side and out, through the inspection points
damage; likewise, the tightness of the sepa- defined by the designer and/or those sug-
rating walls between the two heat transfer gested by CEN and national standards such
fluids must be checked periodically. Even as Standard EN 12097 (CEN, 2006) in rela-
if there is the slightest amount of contami- tion to the various components.
nation, the system must be cleaned.
Flexible pipes must be replaced if they have
Any leaks in the separating walls between become home to deposits of contaminating
the fluids must immediately be eliminated. material. Silencers should be checked peri-
odically and any damage should be repaired
Coils and heat exchangers must be periodi- immediately.
cally cleaned; if in-situ suction or blowing
is not sufficient, the coils are removed and External air inlets and exhaust louvres
cleaned using a high-pressure cleaner. If the The air intakes and louvres must be checked,
space allows for in-situ cleaning, care must sanitised or replaced, if necessary, so that the
be taken to ensure that any dust or moisture operative functionality is not compromised.
that has been removed does not pass into The visible surfaces, which often - after a
the components of the downstream system. certain period of operation - show solid de-
posits, must be cleaned periodically.
During each inspection, great attention
must be paid to finned surfaces and, in par- The cleaning frequency depends on the ex-
ticular the condensation collection tray, ternal pollution but, in any case, it must be
which is an ideal place for microorganisms carried out at intervals that do not exceed
and mould to proliferate. For this purpose, those reported in the dated maintenance
condensation collection trays, which are schedule sheets. To check the absence of
made of easy-to-clean anticorrosive mate- abrasions, random checks must be made.
rial, should be installed inclined, so as to
avoid water stagnation. Cooling towers
Operation of the cooling towers must be
Fans suspended during maintenance and clean-
Fans and motors must be inspected period- ing. The maintenance personnel must wear
ically and any damage repaired promptly. protection masks during each operation, us-
ing mostly compressed air cleaning equip-
The fluid produced following wet cleaning ment and keeping to all the other prescrip-
can be drained through the water drain lo- tions set forth by the safety officer, pursu-
cated at the bottom most point of the fan ant to the current laws. The cleaning fre-
housing. Drainage must be controlled dur- quency must depend on the climatic condi-
ing the annual inspections. tions and local pollution.

96
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 7 Systems performance and maintenance

Cleaning and drainage of the system must In crowded rooms or rooms that are full of
be performed: dust or with low filtering efficiency, the re-
quired heat exchanger batteries cleaning
• before initial start-up; frequency and filter replacement rate in-
• at the end of the winter season or be- crease.
fore stoppages exceeding one month;
• at the beginning of the winter season 7.5 Historic building system
or after a stoppage exceeding one maintenance
month;
• at least twice a year. Usually maintenance plans forget to in-
clude the most important system for an his-
Microbiological analyses of the water relat- toric building: the control system. This po-
ing to the total bacterial load is recommended tential malfunctioning of this subsystem is
with a frequency that may depend on the ini- more important in historic buildings than in
tial quality conditions of the water intended others due to their sensitivity to any internal
for use in the cooling towers and, however, changes in the environmental parameters as
must be no less than four times a year, at least. temperature, air humidity, pollutant con-
centration, etc. If frescos and other climate
Terminal equipment sensible artefacts (panel paintings, tapes-
The equipment must be put into operation tries, portraits, antique furniture, etc.) are in
only in cleaned rooms. Two or three the building, microclimate control should
months after starting up, when the building be mandatory for their conservation. Thus,
has been completely cleaned and following a malfunctioning control system does not
acceptance and commissioning, the dust only reduce the building energy perfor-
filters must be removed and replaced. mance but also increases the risk of damag-
ing cultural heritage artefacts. If the build-
Cleaning and functional operation must be ing is used as a museum or collection or ar-
checked at the same time. chive, the climate control system will re-
quire constant monitoring and tuning.
The hygienic requirements that are charac- Backup systems are also needed to prevent
teristic of terminal equipment components damage when the main system is not work-
must be at least as rigorous as those of the ing. The owner, manager, or chief of
air treatment central unit components. maintenance should be aware of all aspects
of the new climate control system and have
It is recommended to check that in the vi- a plan of action before it is installed.
cinity of the equipment, particularly the air
intakes, there are no objects such as fur- Regular training sessions on operating,
nishings, equipment and vegetation that monitoring, and maintaining the new sys-
could interfere with their correct operation tem should be held for both curators for the
and cause hygiene problems. main building activity (museum, archive,
library, etc.) and building maintenance
If equipment does not include recirculation staff. If there are curatorial reasons to main-
air filters, the heat exchanger batteries must tain constant temperature or humidity lev-
be regularly inspected and periodically els, only individuals thoroughly trained in
cleaned. how the HVAC systems operates should be

97
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

able to adjust thermostats. Ill-informed and aspects and should include verification that
haphazard attempts to adjust comfort lev- appropriate temperature, humidity and pol-
els, or to save energy over weekends and lutants concentration levels are maintained
holidays, can cause great damage. to meet conservation requirements without
accelerating the deterioration of the historic
As underlined at the beginning, when deal- building materials, and an emergency plan
ing with historic buildings, due to their na- for both the building and any curatorial col-
ture and potential use, the maintenance plan lections in case of serious malfunctions or
should focus more on the conservation breakdowns has to be ready.

98
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
8 Application examples

8.1 The Castle of Acquabella, Reggello (Italy)

Author: S. Corgnati

Context: Historic centres

HVAC system size: Medium
Site: Vallombrosa, municipality of Reggello (FI)
Designer: M. Dentamaro (patent and project), F. Fonti
studio Italo Rota
Owner: private
Rehabilitation year: 2008
Function and use: tourist accommodation
Improvements: roof-integrated PV system
Installed power: 8÷12 Wp element
Area: 0.18 m² [each module] Figure 8.1. The Acquabella complex, Val-
lombrosa forest, panoramic view.

Assessment sheet: Castle of Acquabella, Reggello (FI) ‐ Photovoltaic tiles

Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
   
faces
roof
Microscale transparent
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
surfaces
Plants
Mesoscale Roof   
Square- Façade
block-sur-
rounding Plants
Roof   
Macroscale
façade
territory
plants
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

99
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Located in the forest of Vallombrosa at al- Complementary to the design and suitable
most 1000m above sea level, between the placement of the photovoltaic tiles, work
protected areas in the province of Florence, was carried out with the intention of using
the Castle of Acquabella stands out, not biomass energy, which is easily found in
only for its historical-architectural value, the area surrounding the castle, and local
but also for the restoration work on its roofs materials with limited cost, mainly in terms
marked by technological innovation and of pollution from transport.
the production of "clean" electricity from
renewable sources.

The photovoltaic system, in this case, is an

integral part of the roof tiles, while main-
taining independence; in fact, it can be eas-
ily replaced (if, for example, there is a prod-
uct with enhanced performance, or if mov-
ing from 8 Wp to 12 Wp). The tiles are spe-
cial tiles; in fact, they accommodate the
photovoltaic cells in the flat part immedi-
ately on the inside, so that it is a single mod-
ular unit and therefore it is repeatable de-
pending on the requirements and the shape
of the roof. The idea of combining the in-
novative aspect with a traditional tile came
from the characteristics of the so-called al-
pine roof tile, which is able to resist the
winds and adverse weather conditions; it is Figure 8.2. Castle of Acquabella, Reggello,
rather heavy and large. These are all ele- details of the internal courtyard
ments that have made it possible to insert a
small photovoltaic panel, concealed in part
by the side seams of the tile. In fact, the
model used has a low visual impact, alt-
hough it measures 46 cm x 39 cm.

The assembly of photovoltaic tiles, inter-

locking along the centreline, is carried out
in a modular manner as if the tiles were nor-
mal, with a system that engages one to the
other. The photovoltaic panel is then in-
stalled in a second moment, until the maxi-
mum extension of the roof is reached, suit-
ably assessed on the basis of exposure to
sunlight and the study of sunshine and
shadows. Of course, before laying the tiles, Figure 8.3. Photovoltaic roof tiles that have
the connecting cables must be arranged ac-
been integrated in the roof of the Castle of Ac-
cordingly.
quabella, Reggello.

100
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

8.2 Paul VI Hall (Vatican City)

Author: L. De Santoli

Context: Historic centres

HVAC system size: Medium
Site: Vatican City
Designer: C. Cuscianna (promoter); L. de Santoli
Owner: The Vatican
Rehabilitation year: 2008
Function and use: Audience Hall
Improvements: roof-integrated PV system
Supplier: Solar World AG
Installed power: 270 kWp
Area: 1934 m² [2400 photovoltaic panels] Figure 8.4. Photovoltaic roof of the Paul VI
Energy saving: 360,000 kWh/a, 20% of electricity Audience Hall in the Vatican City.
need.

Assessment sheet: Nervi Room, Rome – Shading tiles

Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
   
faces
roof
Microscale transparent
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
surfaces
Plants
Mesoscale Roof   
Square- Façade
block-sur-
rounding Plants
Roof   
Macroscale
façade
territory
plants
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

Through the installation and activation of a all the countries of the European Union are
new solar energy system, the State of the called to join, to reach a clean energy pro-
Vatican City responded to the goal in which duction of 20% by 2020.

101
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

The system (which came into operation on 20% of the needs in the State of the Vati-
November 26, 2008, and was award-win- can.
ning in the 2007 edition of Eurosolar Italy)
covers the roof of one of the most modern
architectural buildings of the Vatican: the
Paul VI Hall. This is used to accommodate
the papal audiences, and known as the
Nervi Hall, named after its designer, Pier
Luigi Nervi, who built it in 1971 on behalf
of Pope Paul VI.

The technological integration of the plant

follows the principles of the Restoration
Charter, favouring the original layout given
by Nervi to the shading roof tiles: the 4,800
concrete tiles, that have now deteriorated,
supported by a steel umbrella system, have
been replaced. Half of the roof facing south
now has 2,400 photovoltaic panels that are
completely invisible from the dome of St.
Peter's, while the other half facing north has
been replaced by aluminium screens that
partially reflect solar radiation, and so, are
able to increase productivity of the photo-
voltaic system.

When the Audience Hall is not in use, the

Figure 8.5. Conservation state of the roof (top)
energy produced by the solar generator is
and project of a photovoltaic roof (bottom).
fed into the electricity network of the State
of Vatican City to partially cover the con-
sumption of neighbouring buildings and
thus implementing a sort of energy inde-
pendence from the city of Rome, providing
electricity for heating, ventilation and light-
ing.

The annual production of clean electricity,

which is around 315,000 kWh, also pre-
vents emissions of 225,000 kg of CO2 into
the environment, saving the equivalent of
about 80 tonnes of oil.

The German company Solarworld donated

the plant to the Holy Seat. The project is
part of a plan for conversion to renewable Figure 8.6. Interior view of Paul IV Audience
energy sources, which by 2020 will cover Hall.

102
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

8.3 Le Losserand, Hotel d'Activité – Paris (France)

Author: S. Corgnati

Context: Historic centres

HVAC system size: Medium
Site: Paris, rue Raymond Losserand, XIV arron-
dissement
Designer: Emmanuel Saadi, Jean-Louis Rey; la
Sagi (executive) Company: Campenon Bernard
Construction, BS VISION Consultant: BECT
Owner: Municipality
Rehabilitation year: 2007
Function and use: Hotel
Improvements: glass-integrated PV system
Supplier: Photowatt, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France
(Sheuten in Germany)
Installed power: 123 kWp
Total Area: 7958 m²
Energy saving: 80,000 kWh/a. Figure 8.7. Le Losserand - Hôtel industriel, Paris.

An example of harmonious integration be- walls that surround the windows. This image
tween innovative technology and architec- is translated into pixels and used to generate
tural restoration, Le Losserand – Hôtel in- the glass pattern: the façade composition is
dustriel, by producing energy, is in line obtained from the sequenced emulation of
with the intended use of the historic-indus- the colour variability of the stone.
trial artefact.
The amount of PV is affected by the solar
It is a conversion project of the sub-power exposure of the façade: 60% of the surface
station "Compagnie Parisienne de Distribu- on the south side consists of photovoltaic
tion d'Electricité" (today, known as EDF – cells inserted in the window, 40% on the
Electricité de France) for small and me- east and west sides, whereas there are no
dium-sized enterprises, with full-height ex- photovoltaic cells on the north side. There
ternal openings that integrate 45000 photo- is a total of 1,000 m² of active surface.
voltaic cells in the glazing.
But photovoltaic cells are also present in
The photovoltaic cells, made of polycrys- the roof: the final level, consisting of the re-
talline silicon, are 15 cm x·15 cm in size ception and meeting rooms, has a denser ar-
and are placed between two sheets of exte- rangement of photovoltaic cells on the glass
rior laminated glass with an argon cavity, to roof. On the adjacent terrace there are eight
increase the thermal resistance of the whole light wells that, thanks to the external floor
component, and an internal glass sheet. with photovoltaic cell inserts, guarantee
light transmission and solar protection.
The arrangement of the cells in the windows,
that is, the alternation of the photovoltaic Once the entire construction is in operation,
system and plain glass was inspired by a annual production should be around
photograph of the millstone on the masonry 80,000 kWh per year.

103
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Assessment sheet: Le Losserand – Photovoltaic system on façade glass windows

Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
faces
roof
Microscale transparent
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
   
surfaces
Plants
Mesoscale Roof
Square- Façade   
block-sur-
rounding Plants
Roof
Macroscale
façade   
territory
plants
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

Assessment sheet: Le Losserand –Photovoltaic system on the façade windows

Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
faces
roof
transparent
Microscale    
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
surfaces
Plants
Mesoscale Roof
Square- Façade   
block-sur-
rounding Plants
Roof
Macroscale
façade   
territory
plants
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

104
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

8.4 Royal Tropical Institute – Amsterdam (The Nederlands)

Author: H. Besselink Installed power: Heating 2,0 MWth

Cooling 1,0 MWth
Context: Historic centres Electrical 0,9 MWe
Envelope size: 21.000 m² Energy saving: 694 MWh/year, 55% of the total
Gross Floor Area: 30.000 m² CO2 emissions.
Volume: 130.000 m³
HVAC system size: Medium
Site: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Nether-
lands
Designer: MEP/Building Physics: Hans Besselink,
Rik Maaijen, Royal HaskoningDHV: Architect
:J.J. van Nieukerken (1854-1913)
Owner: Privately owned by Royal Tropical Insti-
tute
Rehabilitation year: Sustainable development is a
continuous process started in 2015 and forecasted
to be finished by the year 2025
Function and use: multifunctional building com-
plex
Improvements: Envelope insulation and reversi- Figure 8.8. Royal Tropical Institute multifunc-
ble ground-water heat pump tional building complex.

Synthesis of intervention
Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Scenic
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
   
faces
roof
transparent
Microscale    
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
  
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
   
surfaces
HVAC systems
Mesoscale Roof    
Square- Façade    
block-sur-
rounding HVAC systems    
Roof    
Macroscale
façade    
territory
HVAC systems    
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

105
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Building description Education and Research

The building hosts facilities for education
The historic building houses different func- and research focussing on sharing
tions, briefly explained below: knowledge, supporting sustainable eco-
nomic development and health develop-
Museum ment of people in low- and middle-income
Inside the building there is the Tropen-mu- countries.
seum, which has a large collection of eth-
nographic artefacts from (sub)tropical ar- Conference and Meeting
eas. The museum and stores have closely With different kinds of available rooms, it
controlled climate conditions of tempera- is possible to organise congresses for any
ture and humidity for the conservation of other type of event. The capacity of the
the art pieces. halls varies from 32 to 600 people.

HVAC systems description

Central systems
In a central utility space the heating for the
building systems is generated by two gas
boilers. The necessary cooling capacity is
provided by a central air cooled chiller.

Distribution
Mainly three different HVAC concepts can
Figure 8.9. Royal Tropical Institute: Museum.
be found as determined by the different
building functions and use.

For the museum and its stores accurate con-

ditioning is needed for conservation of the
artefacts. Centralised air handling units
with heating, cooling and (de)humidifica-
tion connected to a building automation
platform control the indoor conditions at
the required set point.

The education and research facilities, as

well as the offices, are heated by radiators
controlled with a local thermostat. Ventila-
tion can be individually controlled by open-
able windows but does not have the possi-
bility of control by a mechanical system.

The large conference rooms are heated by

Figure 8.10. Royal Tropical Institute: Educa- radiators along the façade. The spaces are
tion and Conference Halls. ventilated and, if necessary, cooled via a
central air handling system.

106
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

Electrical System Description For the remaining part it is important to use

fossil fuels as efficiently as possible.
From the central station the electricity is
distributed to different substations inside TRIAS
the building. The majority of the substa- ENERGETICA 1
Reduce
energy e.g. Wall isolation, green roof,
tions have digital meters to save electrical demand reduction of infiltration, ...
demand data. e.g. solar heating,
wind mill,
pv-panels, ... Use of 3
e.g. heat pump,
sustainable Efficient use energy e fficient pump,
Building Energy Audit procedure energy of fossil fuels ...
Building energy model 2
An intelligent energy model was created to
obtain a clear understanding of the energy Figure 8.12. TRIAS Energetica.
flows inside the building. This model con-
tains all the functions inside the building in- Experts of all engineering disciplines in-
cluding a climate file, modules for user be- vestigated all the possibilities of measures
haviour, building characteristics and the ac- to be applied. All measures are listed below
tual control regime of the building systems. and their impacts are developed further.
The model calculates the hourly energy de-
mand, and the gas- and electricity usage. Cost optimality
The model is validated using historical data The application of sustainable measures can
of actual usage. result in financial benefit in terms of less en-
ergy- and maintenance costs. The business
Based on the validated energy model a reli- case in this situation is calculated by life cy-
able reference is created to determine the cle costing. For an optimal package of en-
effect of energy efficiency measures on the ergy saving measures with both a decrease
building energy use. of energy use and costs, the cost optimal
point needs to be found. This is the optimal
Building Energy Model Historical use
Building functions Functions
value where energy and water use is mini-
Museum Conference ... Ebatech mised, and is supported by the best business
Physics Physics Validation Gas case i.e. savings on life cycle costs.
process Heat
Use Use
HVAC HVAC Elektra As energy performance improves it takes
Energy flows
Energy flows

Energy flows

Cold Cold Cold

more effort to save further energy and wa-
Hum. Hum. Light
... ... AHU
ter. For further measures the necessary in-
vestment rises faster than the financial ben-
efits afforded by savings in energy and wa-
Figure 8.11. Building energy model validation ter use.
process.
KIT Amsterdam — Design from a sustainable vision
Preservation Cost optimal (package of) measures
Sustainable measures
Life cycle costs, €
Business Case, €

Current KIT 100%

A list of potential sustainable measures was
Optimum costs
compiled based on the Trias Energetic. The 90%
Trias Energetic uses three sequential steps CO2 emission
80%
where the first step is to reduce the energy Use of energy and water 40% 60% 80% 100%

demand as much as possible. The second

step is to make use of sustainable energy. Figure 8.13. Cost optimality design.

107
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

For individual measures the reduction on can be changed to improved double or triple
CO2 emissions are calculated by imple- isolating glazing. Special insulating single
menting those measures to the energy pane glazing is very expensive and had a
model. Further savings can be obtained by negative cost benefit. Therefore, a special
combining measures, where they can transparent isolating foil will be added to
strengthen each other by their synergy. the glazing to significantly improve the
Measures are combined into packages ac- physical characteristics. The flat and sloped
counting for different points of view. The roofs are insulated from the inside between
energy model has allowed ready analysis of the battening and the internal finishes.
these packages, since sometimes there is an
interaction between the individual mea- To reduce the energy to heat the fresh air
sures. For instance, reduced electrical en- supply, heat recovery will be installed in
ergy for lighting will increase the heating the existing air handling units. The energy
demand, but decrease the buildings cooling demand of the HVAC system is decreased
demand. For the combined packages the further on by adjusting the supply flow rate
savings on CO2 emissions and the life cycle to the actual fresh air demand.
costs are calculated. The package with the
best performance on both indicators is se- Use of sustainable energy
lected for further examination. Because of the unique cityscape and dis-
tinctive building view no renewables could
Improvements be implemented in the building design. Ar-
Envelope Rehabilitation description chitectural integration of renewables, e.g.
A boundary condition for the application of integrated solar panels in the glazed roof,
all measures is that they must not influence turned out not to be feasible because of the
the view of the historic building. This is high initial costs and low financial returns.
taken into account in the selection of
measures for the building structure and Efficient use of fossil fuels
equipment. With an improved insulating quality of the
building skin the heating and cooling can be
generated with higher efficiency by using
sustainable technologies.

The building’s heating and cooling demand

is generated by a smart combination of heat
pumps and an aquifer system. During win-
ter, stored energy from the aquifer is used to
heat up the building. Cold water is stored the
aquifer system and is used during summer to
Figure 8.14. Energy improvement actions. deliver cooling energy to the building.

The electrical energy demand is decreased

Reduce energy demand by using energy efficient LED lighting, and
Measures affecting the building physics fans and pumps have new frequency con-
mainly focus on the improvement of the trolled electric motors. To reduce the pump
building’s skin. The historical architectural energy even further the hydraulic balancing
windows contain single pane glazing that will be adjusted.

108
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

The building automation system was up- Energy saving

dated with new procedures for more accu- With the implementation of the sustainable
rate monitoring and control of the building package of measures large savings can be
systems. obtained. The savings of 497.000 n.m³ nat-
ural gas corresponds to 694 MWh/year pri-
Power production system description mary energy for all building systems.
The heating and cooling is generated by an
aquifer system with heat pumps. For peak The yearly reduction in CO2 emission for
cooling demands the heat pumps can be the MEP systems is 1.060 ktonne/year;
used as chillers. equal to a decrease of almost 55% in the to-
tal CO2 emissions. This example shows that
large energy savings can be obtained in a
complex historic building with long term fi-
nancial benefits for the owner.

ENERGY SAVINGS

100%
Gas usage Electric MEP

80% 86%

60%

40%
36%
20%

0%

Figure 8.15. Reversible ground water heat Figure 8.16. Energy savings.
pump system.

109
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

8.5 National library Klementinum – Prague (Czech Republic)

Author: K. Kabele, M.Balounová

Context: Historic centres

Envelope size: Large
HVAC system size: Large
Site: Praha, Czech Republic
Designer: Metroprojekt a.s.,: Ing. Pavel Burian, Ing.
arch. Hana Vermachová, Ing. arch. Miroslav Rous15
Owner: Public
Rehabilitation year: Due to the scale, the refurbish-
ment was divided into five stages, of which only
three have so far been completed. The continuous
process of rehabilitation started in 2010.
Function and use: centre for education, national li-
brary Figure 8.17. National library Klementinum -
Improvements: Envelope insulation and reversible Praga Praha: the building complex.
river-water heat pump
Installed power: Heating 600 kWth
Cooling 660 kWth
Energy saving: 180 kWh/year, 30%.

Synthesis of intervention
Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
faces
roof
Microscale transparent
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
   
surfaces
HVAC systems 
Mesoscale Roof
Square- Façade
block-sur-
rounding HVAC systems 
Roof
Macroscale
façade
territory
HVAC systems 
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

110
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

Building description new energy demand for cooling caused by

the higher heat loads in loft. A full air condi-
Klementinum is one of the largest com- tioning system ensures a suitable condition
plexes of historic buildings in Europe. It is for the national archive of valuable books.
built on area of 2 hectares. The first com-
plex was founded by the Jesuits after 1556. Use renewable Improve the heat
In 1653 extensive reconstruction began, energy sources transfer coefficient of
the building envelope
which lasted 170 years. It was a collective ENERGY
Create suitable
work of many famous builders: education, indoor
Improved
services for
library, astronomica tower and the St. Sal- environmental CULTURAL
BUILDING library users
conditions for HERITAGE
vator mirror Chapel. USE
historical books
Open for public
Remove past
Improvements unsuitable
inventions
The overall refurbishment process of
Klementinum is focused on three aspects:
effective use of energy, improvement in Figure 8.19. National library Klementinum
building use and creating a better condition improvement process.
for cultural heritage.
Using renewable energy
Protection of national database of books Installation of a new cooling system based
Due to the frequent floods in the basement on utilisation of river water for indirect and
of Klementinum, a new place for the book direct cooling. Utilisation of waste heat
archive had to be found. The loft of the from cooling system river sourced water for
building was chosen. However, it means a heating through heat pumps.

Figure 8.18. National library Klementinum - Praga Praha: Library Hall

111
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Building Energy Audit procedure New installation (after complete refurbish-

An energy audit was carried out in accord- ment):
ance with standard procedure stated in de- The existing gas-fired boiler plant for water
cree 480/1012 coll. The process is repre- heating system with radiators will be par-
sented on following diagram. tially replaced by heat pumps.

Ecological aspects were of primary consid- A new installation of a compressor cooling

eration in the design of the final proposal. system with output 660 kW, free cooling
circuit and heat pumps with output 600 kW.
Installed power Waste heat and cold is removed by river
Existing systems (before refurbishment): water.
Heating: 3 gas boilers with installed output
4.5 MW are used for heating. Envelope Rehabilitation description
Reduction of energy demand
Cooling: Air conditioning was installed In order to improve thermal properties of
only in data centres employing a local split the building, the renovation process in-
system. cluded refurbishment of all windows in the
building. New thermal insulation for the
Ventilation: Natural ventilation system roof was applied from the inside between
solves the air change requirement in the the battening.
majority of rooms. Mechanical ventilation
was installed only in Service hall, snack
bar, toilets and storage areas.

Figure 8.20. National library Klementinum Energy Audit process.

112
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

HVAC systems description Power production system description

The existing water heating system with radi- River water will be used for the water cooled
ators will be mostly retained. The replace- liquid chiller during the cooling period and
ment of the HVAC distribution system was during the heating period as a low potential
particularly related to the book archives. heat source for the heat pump. Waste heat
from cooling processes might be used to
The existing water heating system with ra- supply the heat pump evaporators for heat-
diators will be mostly retained. The re- ing during the transitional period.
placement of the HVAC distribution sys-
tem was particularly related to the book ar- Remaining waste heat is transferred to the
chives. Vltava River.

Indoor environment control in the book Energy saving

archives: Compared to a traditional cooling system
Fan-coil units maintain a suitable range of there is a considerable reduction of waste
temperature in archives of books in the loft. heat production.
Relative humidity is controlled by air han-
dling unit and air distribution system. Energy savings are primarily due to the re-
placement of old gas boilers, heating with
Electrical System Description heat pumps, using waste heat from cooling
Since Klementinum is a located in historic system and during the mid-season no-cool-
city centre of Prague, which is on the ing period direct river water.
UNESCO list any installation of photovol-
taic panels is regulated by the Heritage In- Expected savings are 30%.
stitute. In this case, electrical energy was
supplied by the traditional electricity grid
(220/380 V AC 50Hz).

Figure 8.21. National library Klementinum: heating and cooling generation scheme.

113
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

8.6 Historic residential building upgrade to nZEB Coimbra, Portugal

Figure 8.22. Panoramic view of Montarroio case study area, located within the protection
zones of “Jardim da Manga” National Monument and Coimbra´s UNESCO Heritage area.

Author: M. Gameiro da Silva

Context: Historic centres Year of work: 2009-2017

Size: 36 to 46 m² (building); [3000 m² if applied to Rehabilitation year: 2017 (building);
close neighbourhood] 2020? (ESCO funded renewable based district heat-
Site: UNESCO Heritage Protection Area, Coimbra, ing rehabilitation process, under appreciation stake-
Portugal holders) [www.uc.pt/efs/destaques/2016/vinci]
Designer: modular, arq:i+d, lda (team leader: arch. Installed power: Heating: 2,0 MWth, Cooling: 1,0
Nelson Brito) MWth, Electrical: 0,9 MWe
Owner: private Function and use: Residential, town house for a
small family

Assessment sheet: Montarroio case study

Integration levels
Scale Typological element Technological Landscape
Formal Morphological Chromatic
opaque sur-
   
faces
roof
transparent
Microscale    
architecture surfaces
Building- opaque sur-
   
place-con- faces
struction façade
transparent
   
surfaces
Plants
Mesoscale Roof    
Square- Façade    
block-sur-
rounding Plants
Roof    
Macroscale
façade    
territory
Plants
Integration level:  = partial;  = total

114
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

This case study describes the results of the ios” for Energy Efficiency regulations.
ongoing Ph.D thesis on “Upgrade Opportuni- Other regulatory exclusions make them
ties for Ancient Buildings (in City Cen- perfect opportunities for innovation (Brito
tres)”16 that aims to demonstrate innovative and Gameiro da Silva, 2012).
ways to reach “nearly Zero Energy Build-
ings” levels by reinterpreting the traditional The Montarroio case study, Figure 8.22 and
knowledge concerning historic buildings [8] Figure 8.23, demonstrates that contextual-
(Brito et al. 2014). Montarroio was also in- ised historical applications (see Ch. 2) of tools
vestigated as a “Shining Example” (Morck et including thermography, Indoor Environ-
al. 2016) in the International Energy Agency mental Quality (IEQ) assessment, and Build-
Annex 56 on “Cost Effective Energy and ing Information/Energy Model (BIM/BEM)
Carbon Emission Optimization in Building interpretations can enable novel economi-
Renovation”. The case study focuses on syn- cally viable renovation methods at a neigh-
ergies that can be usefully employed when bourhood scale with Energy Efficacy being a
the historic building under rehabilitation ex- driver, not a goal by itself.
ists in an historic context and thus scale ef-
fects can be accounted for to reduce costs. The Montarroio case study dimensions were
assessed using current and modern technolo-
gies including measurement using tapes, ter-
restrial laser scanning, photogrammetry and
drone flights, as depicted in Figure 8.24.
Digital reconstructions were processed, BIM
models constructed and 3D printing of scale
models were created to illustrate the complex
reality and varying wall widths.

Online monitoring of indoor and outdoor

thermal, relative humidity and CO2 param-
eters, in Figure 8.25, provided a detailed
picture of the building behaviour to fine-
tune dynamic simulation models and con-
firm the influence of the thermal inertia of
vernacular materials, and so illustrate the
potential for savings.
Figure 8.23. A contemporary Google satellite
map (top) and the superposition of an 1845 The Montarroio case study (Brito, 2016) il-
map, the “Isidoro Chart” (bottom), demon- lustrates the resilience of historic buildings
strating the persistence of the urban matrix. throughout time. A two-level building re-
ported in a 14th century royal inventory was
An ancient building located inside the expanded in the 16th century with an addi-
UNESCO Heritage protection boundaries tional level with embellished stone win-
in Coimbra, Portugal – and so automati- dows and a chimney, improved with sash
cally excluded from the provisions of the windows in 19th century, and probably fit-
Energy Performance Buildings Directive – ted with a bathroom while the adjacent
reveals the potential that Historic Areas building was reinforced with a concrete
have beyond being the “worst case scenar- structure in 20th century. That building had

115
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

the compressed earth basement floor cov-

ered with an impermeable ceramic floor
and the basement walls were covered with
boards in early 21st century. It will soon be
upgraded to “nearly Zero Energy Build-
ing”/“Net Zero” energy consumption levels
– the anticipated basic requirements of the
21st century.

Figure 8.25. a) Initial online display of Indoor

Air Quality parameters (top). b) View depict-
ing bad use of a well-balanced building: open
shutters and closed windows in summer season
result in increased solar gains and reduced
ventilation, favouring greenhouse behaviour
(bottom).

These changes, across its timeline, were

performed with a belief in the advantage of
the improvements, and a lack of awareness
of the full repercussions. The 16th century
addition of a decorative (and heavy) extra
floor imposed a significant stress on lower
levels, were cracks can be identified. The
20th century bathroom imposed excessive
loads to the north entrance door beams and
occasional, but repeating, water spillage
that accelerated local rot, while the adjacent
building “improvement” increased weight
on the shared wall, causing differential set-
tlements and south façade detachment. The
21st century basement waterproofing im-
posed rising capillarity stresses on materi-
als that were never designed to endure
Figure 8.24. Drone flight images (top), Auto- them, favouring the growth of organic ma-
desk Revit 2012 model exported to BEM soft- terials and corresponding low air quality is-
ware (middle) and 3D printed model (bottom). sues.

116
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

All these “improvements” are now im- Investment Cost” (IIC), “Life Cycle Cost”
portant issues to solve. Careful observation (LCC) over a 30-year period. This includes
of imposed changes and their results pro- the sum of IIC, energy costs, mainte-
vides an opportunity to evaluate those that nance/replacement of equipment divided
should be preserved or not, and to question by 30, as if paid annually – and Global
the unanticipated impacts of our own plan- Warming Potential (GWP) environmental
ning, as shown in Figure 8.26. impact (Figure 8.27).

These options were investigated with the Simplified versions of the models were ex-
IEA EBC Annex 56 jointly developed ported for dynamic simulation purposes,
methodology, which was extended to in- while the development of the project con-
clude demolition and reconstruction, the tinues using parametric tools such as
“deep-retrofit” practice whose advantages Revit/Dynamo or Rhino/Grasshopper (Fig-
had to be interpreted. Figure 8.27 portrays ure 8.28).
economic indicators including “Initial

Figure 8.26. Constructive comparison between initial situation (Opt.0) and other retrofit interven-
tion strategies. More info in (Brito, 2016)

Figure 8.27. Comparison between Initial Investment costs (left), Life Cycle Costs in 30 years
(middle) and Environmental Impact (right). BAU (yellow) depicts business as usual basic inter-
ventions (and the option of a heat pump), EPC (red) depicts current Energy Performance Certifi-
cates suggestions and Upgrade (green) the solutions developed from the deep assessment process.
Larger images and more detail in (Brito 2016)

117
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Results (Brito, 2016) show that “Historical”

Buildings’ efficacy in terms of energy use
and comfort must be respected, yet properly
informed interventions are often reserved for
just the monuments. Deep assessment of
neighbouring protected areas (and the people
that give them context) can bring new in-
sights and contribute to their classification in
recognised science and constructive practice.
“Tailor-made” depictions of invisible forces
such as radiant heat flows and interior wall
temperatures can ease the understanding of
such building physics phenomena and pro-
mote effective communication between
stakeholders (Figure 8.29).

Figure 8.29. Visualizing concepts. The (top)

group of thermographic images depicts the
same window in the winter (3 to 15ºC range)
at different hours (columns) and from the exte-
rior and interior (rows), illustrating the poten-
tial of thermal inertia to keep indoor wall tem-
peratures constant. The (middle) image uses
THERM (LBNL) to illustrate the heat flow on
the original situation (Opt.0) and the thermal
stress that wall insulation may impose (Opt.1)
on levels connection. A Rhinoceros/Grasshop-
per/Arduíno readout (bottom) of temperatures
inside the walls is visualised using the “Hu-
man UI”: by browsing dates and hours, the re-
Figure 8.28. Montarroio OpenStudio/Ener- lation between interior and exterior tempera-
gyPlus dynamic simulation model, visualised tures and the heat flows inside the wall (ther-
in Sketchup, Autodesk Ecotect sun path. mal lag) becomes visible.

118
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 8 Application examples

The main conclusions of the Montarroio intentions, current behaviour and to

case study are: validate retrofit alternatives;
• cost-effectiveness can be achieved in
• a deep assessment of historic buildings’ upgrade interventions (see Figure
Traditional Knowledge constructive in- 8.27), but individual deep assessment
tentions and uses, and successive “con- costs are too expensive;
temporisation” actions, is necessary to • neighbourhood scale deep assessments
understand the reasons for the funda- create an opportunity to engage multi-
mental performance; ple stakeholders, to share resources,
• high inertia residential buildings can achieve economies of scale, and to fos-
maintain adequate operative tempera- ter better collective Energy Efficiency
tures with very low carbon emissions actions;
by accounting for the radiant compo- • Energy Service Companies (ESCOs)
nent and renewable energy in the up- can have a leading role in making en-
grade performance strategy; ergy efficiency happen at a neighbour-
• dynamic simulation is key for a better hood scale (video available at
understanding of the original design www.uc.pt/en/efs/destaques/2016/vinci)

119
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Appendix A. Indoor environmental quality

A.1 - Introduction attributed by a person to the thermal envi-

The human comfort condition depends on ronment to which they are exposed accord-
the psychophysiological state resulting ing to the ASHRAE thermal sensation
from the interaction of the body and its scale. It represents a synthetic comfort in-
senses with the surrounding physical envi- dex because it correlates human perception
ronment, with particular regard to thermo- (expressed through a vote) and the human
acoustic, lighting and air quality aspects, body energy unbalancing (AA,VV. 2014).
which together constitute the so-called In- The PMV index is related to the PPD index
door Environment Quality, IEQ. Therefore, (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied).
an objective assessment of the condition of
environmental quality and comfort requires The local thermal discomfort is due to a
knowledge of the measurable environmen- non-uniformity of environmental variables.
tal physical parameters related to the There are essentially four causes of local-
above-mentioned aspects. For the evalua- ised discomfort:
tion of IEQ, which, as demonstrated influ-
ences not only comfort, but also the energy • vertical air temperature difference;
consumption of a building, environmental • warm and cool floors;
health and workers’ productivity, reference • draught;
is generally made to Standard EN 1525117
(CEN, 2007b), which is currently under a • radiant asymmetry.
revision that should be completed by 2017.
The percentage of dissatisfied people is
In particular, the standard considers the fol-
also defined as PD for local discomfort,
lowing:
where the calculation method is different
according to the cause of discomfort.
• thermal comfort;
• visual comfort; PMV is a function of six parameters, four
• acoustic comfort; of which are ambient parameters (air tem-
• air quality. perature, partial vapour pressure, relative
air velocity, mean radiant temperature) and
In the event that the historic building is also two are parameters determined by the occu-
an exhibition venue for art collections, the pant (metabolic rate, clothing thermal insu-
recently issued regulations related to the lation).
preservation of cultural assets must be
taken into account (CEN, 2010a; 2010b; The PMV and the PPD indexes as well as
2012a; 2014), especially with reference to local discomfort indexes, are defined and
the hygro-thermal, lighting and air quality calculated with the relationships reported in
aspects. Standard EN ISO 7730 (CEN, 2005) that
identifies up to four categories of environ-
A.2 - Thermal comfort ments in relation to thermal comfort, as
From an objective point of view, overall shown in Tables A.1 and A.2. Standard EN
thermal comfort conditions are evaluated 15251 (CEN, 2007b) specifies how to em-
using the PMV index (Predicted Mean ploy them in services systems designing
Vote). The PMV index is the vote generally and/or building performance evaluation.

120
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix A. Indoor environmental quality

Table A.1. Classes of global thermal comfort according to Standard EN ISO 7730 (CEN, 2005).

Value Condition
Class A Class B Class C
PMV -0.20–0.20 -0.50–0.50 -0.70–0.70
PPD <6% <10% <15%

Table A.2. Classes of local thermal discomfort according to Standard EN ISO 7730 (CEN, 2005).

Value Condition
Class A Class B Class C
Limit PD Limit PD Limit PD
[%] [%] [%]
Vertical air temperature difference <2°C <3 <3°C <5 <4°C <10
Radiant asymmetry – warm ceiling <5°C <5 <5°C <5 <7°C <10
Radiant asymmetry – cold ceiling <14°C <5 <14°C <5 <18°C <10
Radiant asymmetry – warm wall <23°C <5 <23°C <5 <35°C <10
Radiant asymmetry – cold wall <10°C <5 <10°C <5 <13°C <10
Air stream - <10% - <20% - <30%
Floor temperature 19–29°C 19–29°C 17–31°C

A.3 - Visual comfort service or manufacturing systems within

To evaluate visual comfort in the work- the building - this problem is also addressed
place, reference is made to Standard EN in the Standard EN 15251.
12464-1 (CEN, 2011a) and Standard EN
15251. There are no particular require- Sound transmission between confined spaces
ments for residential buildings. can mainly occur because of two different
causes: a sound source, which creates vibra-
EN 15251 simply refers to EN 12464-1 for tions in the air of one space that make the in-
required task illuminance levels and glare termediate partition act like a vibrating mem-
and colour rendering index, related to spe- brane of a speaker for the other space, or me-
cific internal areas, tasks and activities. EN chanically induced vibration of the partition
15251 underlines that such illuminance lev- caused by direct impact of some mass with its
els have to be fulfilled as much, and as pos- structure. It follows that, in order to assess the
sible, with daylighting to save energy. environment from an acoustic point of view,
indicators related to both airborne sound and
A.4 - Acoustic comfort impact sound be determined.
Among all the aspects related to environ-
mental quality in non-industrial indoor en- Standard EN 15251 provides some design
vironments, acoustic comfort is only re- values related to the sound pressure level
lated to the problem of noise generated by for different uses of the environments.

121
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

A.5 - Air quality the temperature that is actually perceived by

The air quality within environments, also the people exposed to the environment, that
known as IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) is im- affects the sensation of comfort, varies ac-
portant for two reasons: to ensure comfort cordingly.
from an olfactory point of view and to safe-
guard occupants’ health. Various tech- For thermal comfort design and assess-
niques are available to obtain good air qual- ment, two different methods can be used:
ity, but, basically, it is necessary to venti- performance and prescriptive. The applica-
late rooms, either naturally or mechani- tion of the performance method is based on
cally. Natural ventilation means the venti- Standards EN ISO 7730 and EN 15251
lation obtained with systems based on tem- (CEN, 2005; CEN, 2007b), while the pre-
perature or pressure differences, which scriptive method refers to respecting some
should therefore not be confused with ‘air- constraints on the environmental variables.
ing’, that means the simple opening of In the latter, operative temperature, relative
doors and windows. humidity and air velocity values within the
conventional occupied space, as inputs to
A.6 - How to improve environmental categorising functions for thermal environ-
quality mental, are specified, some examples of
To improve indoor environmental quality which are shown in Tables A.3, A.4 and
(IEQ) measures can be taken regarding A.5 respectively.
both the building envelope and/or the air
treatment systems. For air quality (IAQ) design and assess-
ment, these two kinds of methods can both
Interventions on the envelope consist of be used. Using the prescriptive methods,
thermal insulation for opaque walls, replace- the designer has to determine the external
ment of frames and shading. All these inter- air flow rate required to dilute the pollutants
ventions act primarily on the inner surface of (ventilation rate), related to the presence of
the walls and therefore on the mean radiant persons and those emitted by the environ-
temperature. The operative temperature, i.e. ment.

Table A.3. Thermal environment categories function of operative temperature, to, according to the
Standard EN 15251 (CEN, 2007b).
Thermal environment categories
High Medium Low
Minimum Maxi- Minimum Maximum Mini- Maximum
design mum de- design design mum de- design
winter to sign sum- winter to summer to sign win- summer to
[°C] mer to [°C] [°C] ter to [°C]
[°C] [°C]
Energy metabolism
21 25.5 20 26 19 27
1.2 met (sedentary activity)
NOTE: Values valid for thermal resistance of clothing equal to 0.5 clo in summer and to 1.0 clo in winter
and for subjects exposed to the considered space for a period of stay exceeding 15 min.

122
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix A. Indoor environmental quality

These are suitably corrected to take account method, instead, requires an environment
of a number of parameters including venti- that delivers conditions that satisfy those
lation efficiency, the adoption of appropri- indicated in Figure A.1. Table A.6 shows,
ate external air filtration systems and the through an example, some values of the
control of relative humidity and air velocity ventilation rate per person as a function of
in the occupied zone. The performance building or space typology.

Table A.4. Thermal environment categories in relation to relative humidity (UR) according to the
Standard EN 15251 (CEN, 2007b).
Thermal environment categories
High Medium Low
Relative hu- Relative hu- Relative hu- Relative hu- Relative hu-
midity mini- Relative hu- midity mini- midity maxi- midity mini- midity maxi-
mum design midity maxi- mum design mum design mum design mum design
winter mum design winter summer winter summer
summer [%]
[%] [%] [%] [%] [%]
45 55 40 60 35 65
NOTE: In winter conditions, the automatic control system, in accordance with the requirements of well-
being and energy efficiency, can determine relative humidity values below the minimum design values.
Likewise, in summer operating mode, the automatic control system can determine relative humidity
values higher than the maximum design values.

Table A.5. Air velocity comfort range in summer and winter.

Type of building or space Air velocity, va
[m s-1]
Heating Cooling
Residence and similar from 0.05 to 0.15 from 0.05 to 0.20

Offices in general, meeting rooms from 0.05 to 0.15 from 0.05 to 0.20

Table A.6. Examples of ventilation rate as function of thermal environment category and building
or space typology.
Type of building or Air flow rate per person Air flow rate per area
space
qv,o,p qv,o,s
[10-3 m³ s-1 per person] [10-3 m³ s-1 m-2]
High Medium Low High Medium Low
Residence and similar 4.5 3.0 2.0 0.14 0.14 0.14
Offices 8.5 7.5 5.5 0.5 0.4 0.3
Open-space type collec-
8.5 7 5 0.7 0.6 0.4
tive-multiple offices
Meeting rooms 8.5 7 5 0.7 0.6 0.4

123
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Constant and/or variable flow rate ventilation

system depending on thermal conditions.

Select the method to determine design flow rates.

Mass balance method applied to the Analogy method.

single reference contaminants.

Identify the reference contaminants and Identify the most similar case in
determine the source emission rates which the IAQ level has been
and concentrations in the outdoor air verified.
used for dilution for each of these
contaminants.

Locate the filtration systems that can be

adopted and the relevant e fficiencies, Can the identified
case be used for sizing? no
for maximum admissible concentrations
as well as for each reference
contaminant.
yes
Identify the maximum admissible
concentrations for each reference
contaminant and calculate the flow rates Calculate the air flow rate
required to comply with these limits. accordingly to analogy criterion.

Compare the calculated flow rates for

individual contaminants and identify
the reference contaminant and
air flow rate (outdoo r, recirculation and
transferred air) to be adopted.

Check the compliance of the minimum air flow rate in each operating
condition for IAQ purposes both for variable and constant flow rate
system on the basis of thermal conditions.

Correct the air flow rates accordingly to the conventional ventilation e fficiency.

Figure A.1. Performance method flow diagram.

124
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Appendix B. Hygrothermal parameters

Definitions and calculation methods of some of the most common parameters in build-
ing thermophysical analyses.

• Attenuation factor: otherwise known • Thermal capacity: also known as heat

as decrement factor, this is the ratio be- capacity, heat accumulated in a build-
tween the heat flow through the wall ing component per unit of temperature
due to a periodic ambient temperature change. This is measured in J/K. Often
and the maximum transmissible flow, the thermal capacity is related to the
which is that under steady state condi- system surface area and is referred to as
tion. It is a dimensionless quantity. the thermal capacity per unit area or
• Periodic thermal transmittance: this is ‘areal’, which is measured in J/(m²·K).
a quantity that helps to evaluate the ca- • Thermal conductance: this is the amount
pacity of an opaque wall to reduce and of heat transmitted by conduction in a unit
delay the heat flow passing through when of time through a unit area of a medium
a 24-hour harmonic ambient temperature when a temperature difference of 1 K is
cycle is applied on one side. This is rep- applied. It is measured in W/(m²·K).
resentative of the dynamic behaviour of • Thermal conductivity, λ: measures the
an envelope element and becomes criti- ability of a homogeneous material to
cal in summer conditions, since proper transfer heat through itself when a temper-
control of the attenuation and phase shift ature difference is imposed between two
can lead to a reduction in the energy re- points. In fact, it represents the amount of
quirements. It is measured in W/(m²·K). heat per time unit, which is transmitted by
• Phase shift: with reference to any peri- conduction through a sample of unit thick-
odic quantity, this is the time difference ness per unit cross-sectional area when a
between its maximum value and the temperature difference of 1 K is applied. It
maximum external applied force. For is measured in W/(m·K).
example, in summer, the periodic trans- • Thermal resistance: this is typical of a
mittance phase shift is the time interval product or of a building component,
between the maximum heat flux con- and it represents the resistance of heat
veyed through a wall and the maximum transmission between two surfaces per
value of the outside temperature. It is unit of time and surface area is under a
expressed in hours. unit temperature difference. It is meas-
• Surface coefficient of heat transfer: ured in m²·K /W.
this represents the amount of heat per unit • Thermal transmittance: this repre-
time and per unit area that is transferred sents the ability of a product or of a
from the air to a surface (or vice versa) building component to transfer heat per
when a temperature difference of 1 K is unit of time and surface area under a unit
applied. In this case it takes into account temperature difference between two en-
only convective heat transfer. If radiation vironments bounding the component
phenomena are also taken into account, surfaces. It also takes into account the
the air temperature has to be substituted thermal exchanges that occur between
by the operative temperature. It is meas- the material surfaces and the environ-
ured in W/(m²·K). ment. It is measured in W/(m²·K).

125
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

• Vapour permeability: it measures the • Vapour resistance factor: this factor

ability of a material to transfer water indicates how the strength of consid-
vapour; in fact, it is the water vapour ered material is greater than that of a
flow that crosses a unit thickness spec- layer of still air of equal thickness and
imen of unit cross-sectional area when at the same temperature. It is a dimen-
a vapour pressure difference of 1 Pa is sionless quantity.
applied. It is measured in g/(s·m·Pa).

The relations between some of the above-mentioned values are shown below:

Thermal resistance (of a homogenous material layer), R:

s
R (B.1)


where s is the thickness and λ is the thermal conductivity.

Thermal conductance, C:

1
C (B.2)
R

Thermal transmittance, U:

1 1
U 
1 1 1 s 1
 Rtot    (B.3)
hi hi hi  hi

where the surface heat transfer coefficient hi relates to the indoor environment and surface
heat transfer coefficient he relates to the outdoor environment.

126
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Appendix C. Technical sheets

Technical sheets to summarise the main parameters of the building envelope and equipment.

DATE:

Name: enter the name of the building.

LOCATION: insert a plan, showing the location

of the property its curtilage and description and
briefly describe the surroundings.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION
Insert some photographs of the building (external views, photographic inventory of the internal
areas, photographic cataloguing of the plant system elements) highlighting valuable elements.

PLAN OF THE BUILDING – SCALE ……….

Insert a plan of the building with a diagram of the equipment and system, or at least the main
indications of the air and water distribution systems for heating, cooling and DHW domestic hot
water production, collection system for the surface and foul water and so on.

1. GENERAL
Address:
Road/Street: Number:
Postcode: Town:
Locality: Province:
Telephone:
Climatic data: Climatic zone: Day Degrees (DD):
Height m.a.s.l.
Position:  in a housing estate  in a small cluster  isolated
Intended use:
Geometric data:
N° of floors above ground: Useful surface area (m2): Average height between floors (m):
Location and curtilage data:
Map: Sheet: Sub.:

2. COMPILER DATA
Name: Surname: Telephone:
Role in relation to the subject building:
Place and date of compilation:

127
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

3. PLANT SYSTEMS
3.1. AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM
3.1.1. HEATING SYSTEM

Plant type:

Type of heat generator: n°:

Year of installation of the heat generator:

Fuel used:

Position of the heat generator (heating central unit):

Rated plate power of the heat generator [kW]:

Efficiency:

Heat transfer fluid:

Flue leakage - burner on:

Casing losses:
Flue leakage - burner off:
Heat distribution system:
Distribution efficiency:

Auxiliary systems: n°: type:

Absorbed electric power:

Emission terminals: n°:

Emission efficiency:

Regulation system:
Regulation efficiency:
Plant operating time:

System maintenance:

NOTE: Examples of information to be provided:

- Plant type: (independent, centralised, only heating, combined, operating regime, etc.;
- Type of heat generators present: standard boiler, condensing boiler, etc.;
- Fuel used: natural gas, diesel, LPG;
- Efficiency: 100% of the rated plate power, as outlined in the boiler user and maintenance instructions
handbook or on the boiler rating plate or in the plant or central unit handbook;
- Heat distribution system: risers, per floor, insulated piping or not, etc.
Emission terminals: radiators, radiant panels, convector fans, etc. and possibly the corresponding
emission efficiency;
- Regulation system: thermostatic valves, programmable central unit, modulating burner, etc.
- System maintenance: extraordinary maintenance work or restructuring work carried out on the plant
system.

128
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix C. Technical sheets

3.1.2. COOLING SYSTEM

Plant type:

Type of cooling system: n°:

Year of installation of the cooling system:

Position of the cooling system (central cooling unit):

Rated power of the cooling system [kW]:

Heat transfer fluid:

Characteristics and position of the Air Treatment Unit:

Distribution system:

Auxiliary systems:

Emission terminals: n°:

Regulation system:

Plant operating time:

System maintenance:

NOTE: Examples of information to be provided:

- Distribution system; rated air flowrate, duct length, insulated piping, etc.;
- Emission terminals: vents, radiating panels, convector fans, etc.;
- System maintenance: extraordinary maintenance work or restructuring work carried out on the plant
system.

3.1.3. CONTROLLED MECHANICAL VENTILATION SYSTEM

Plant type:

Distribution system:

Auxiliary systems:
Heat recovery efficiency:
Emission terminals: n°:

Regulation system:

Plant operating time:

System maintenance:

NOTE: Examples of information to be provided:

- Distribution system: nominal flow of air or air changes, length of ducts, etc.
- Emission terminals: vents, convector fans, etc.;
- System maintenance: extraordinary maintenance work or restructuring work carried out on the plant
system.

129
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

3.2. DHW DOMESTIC HOT WATER PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Plant type:

Type of heat generator: n°:

Year of installation of the heat generator:

Fuel used:
Position of the heat generator:

Rated plate power of the heat generator [kW]:

Production efficiency:
Heat distribution system:

Auxiliary systems:

Regulation system:
Regulation efficiency:
Type and number of services:

Number of users:

System maintenance:

NOTE: the domestic hot water production system can be the same as the heating plant. In this case,
it should be mentioned.
Examples of information to be provided:
- Plant type: independent, centralised, etc.;
- Type of heat generator: standard boiler, condensing boiler, etc.;
- Fuel used: natural gas, diesel, LPG, etc.;
- Distribution system: insulated piping, recirculation, storage system, etc.;
- System maintenance: extraordinary maintenance work or restructuring work carried out on the plant
system.

3.3. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

3.3.1. LIGHTING SYSTEM
Type and number of light sources:

Electrical power used by appliances and control systems:

Average usage per year:

System maintenance:

NOTE: Examples of information to be provided:

- System maintenance: extraordinary maintenance work or restructuring work carried out on the plant
system.

130
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix C. Technical sheets

3.3.2. ELECTRICALLY OPERATED EQUIPMENT

Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:
Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:
Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:
Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:
Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:
Type: n°:
Requested power unit [W]: Hours of use:

4. RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

4.1. SOLAR SYSTEMS
Type of solar system:  Thermal/photovoltaic
Year of installation:
Technology used:
 Flat collectors  Vacuum tubes  Crystalline silicon  Amorphous silicon  other (specify)
Collecting surface [m2]:
Measured annual production [kWh]:
Type of storage system:
Storage volume1:
Is the plant integrated into the heating system?  yes  no
NOTE: Indicate and describe the type of systems that already use renewable sources in the building
(photovoltaic, solar thermal, biomass, passive solar systems, etc.). Indicate the type of storage system:
only for solar thermal systems, if present

4.2. OTHER RENEWABLE SOURCE-BASED SYSTEMS

Type of system:
NOTE: microhydroelectric, geothermal, micro wind, biomass.

5. ANALYSIS OF ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION

Year: Electricity [kWh/a]: Fuel [m3/a]: Water [m3/a]:
Year: Electricity [kWh/a]: Fuel [m3/a]: Water [m3/a]:
Year: Electricity [kWh/a]: Fuel [m3/a]: Water [m3/a]:

NOTE: Indicate the annual energy consumption deriving from the reading of individual meters or
taken from bills relating to the last three years concerning the electricity and fuel used for climate
control and annual water consumption deriving from meter readings or bills from the last three years.

6. COMMENTS

131
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Appendix D. Building performance simulation tools

D.1 - Calculation models been used to evaluate the convective heat

The use of the dynamic thermal energy flow that must be supplied to the air in the
simulation software requires good room, and system transfer functions
knowledge of the fundamentals of build- (SATF, Space Air Transfer Function) to
ing thermo-physics, building climatology, evaluate the thermal flow which must be
services systems (mainly HVAC systems) supplied by the HVAC system. The most
and numerical computation, as well as a recent software make use of only the CTF
thorough understanding of the perfor- transfer functions to assess conductive
mance characteristics of the building tech- heat flow through the envelope in dynamic
nologies and services systems present both conditions. To assess the heat flow that a
on the market as well as the object of the HVAC system has to supply to the room to
simulation. maintain a certain temperature, the (AHB)
Air Heat Balance algorithm is used, i.e. the
The calculation model, which is the basis solution of the integral enthalpy balance
of the most recent energy simulation soft- equation for the moist air in the considered
ware solutions, is based on knowledge of space. For example, the simulation soft-
the physical laws that govern the system ware EnergyPlus and TRNSYS adopt this
being analysed. By inputting the appro- calculation model.
priate data and the associated conditions,
data output (required results) are ob- In finite volume methods, the continuous
tained. Over the years, increasingly com- system is analysed, the domain being di-
plex models have been built, progres- vided into a set of discrete portions, control
sively increasing the degree of detail in volumes, to each of which a set of balance
depicting the physical phenomena of the equations is applied, such as mass and en-
subject structure. ergy conservation. Using this approach, the
solution can be improved by increasing the
As to the algorithms that are used to calcu- degree of discretization of the domain. For
late the energy performance of buildings, example: the air inside an environment can
essentially models can be distinguished as be considered as a single control volume
those based on conduction transfer func- with properties such as temperature, rela-
tions and those employing finite volume tive humidity and concentration of constant
models. A transfer function is an algorithm pollutants; alternatively, they can be di-
capable of linking the input applied to a vided into multiple control volumes to
linear system with its output, i.e. the study - for example, thermal stratification.
causes with their effects, such as tempera- This approach is useful when determining
tures and heat flows. In the TFM (Transfer the heat flow exchanged by conduction
Function Method) wall transfer functions through a wall, because the temperature and
are used (CTF, Conduction Transfer Func- thermal flow values can be found in relation
tion) to calculate conductive heat flow to the separation between one volume and
through each building wall. Only in obso- another, that is, inside the wall. This calcu-
lete and unsupported code, such as DOE- lation model is the one adopted by the sim-
2, RTF (Room Transfer Functions) have ulation software ESP-r.

132
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix D. Building performance simulation tools

D.2 - Software potentials and choice The results that can be obtained with a dy-
As mentioned earlier, there are many rea- namic thermal energy simulation model,
sons to use dynamic thermal energy simula- normally evaluated with an hourly time
tion including those that have been well es- step, are numerous and of great interest to
tablished benefits such as enabling the: the designer. Among these, by way of an
• Determination of the heating and cool- example, are:
ing loads in various rooms and in a
building to design the HVAC plants, • A study of the hourly temperature and
project calculation; moisture trend of the ambient air with-
• Determination of the energy consump- out any artificial climate control; the
tion for heating and cooling of build- so-called free running ambient, which
ings for compliance with performance is a fundamental stage in verifying the
values imposed by legislation, esti- passive behaviour of a building through
mated consumption; strategies ranging from thermal insula-
tion, thermal inertia, natural ventila-
To other more recently established benefits, tion, shading and so on;
such as: • The study and comparison of the rela-
• Knowledge of the conditions associ- tionship between energy performance
ated with thermal comfort and air qual- and thermal comfort for various build-
ity inside rooms, in connection with the ing envelope solutions;
required energy consumption; • The study of hourly trend of thermal
• Determination of the consumption of and cooling loads of a building in the
electrical energy for artificial lighting, form of hourly profiles or cumulative
related to the characteristics of the frequency curves, which allow assess-
building, and the exploitation of free ment of the methods of the combined
solar energy and the energy consump- performance of energy systems in
tion for air conditioning; buildings such as boilers, heat pumps
• Atmospheric emissions of pollutants and integrated energy systems;
produced by the operation of installa- • The study of the hourly trend of operat-
tions used to produce heating and cool- ing conditions and performance of
ing of fluids for use in a building; HVAC systems, such as air and fan coil
• The energy production of plants using systems, in relation to the characteris-
renewable sources. tics of the building and its energy sys-
tems;
To meet the needs of the designer, specific
calculation software solutions can be used We should emphasise that the most critical
for all areas of analysis, such as plant sizing issue arising from the use of a thermal en-
and calculation of consumption, thermal ergy simulation model comes from the
comfort, natural ventilation, solar thermal availability of variable input data with an
and photovoltaic, or more recently, com- hourly time step, whether they are external
plete thermal energy calculation software climatic variables, such as temperature and
solutions that can be used for almost all ar- solar irradiance, or occupation profiles in-
eas of analysis using a single model. side the building.

133
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Given the fact that all the model calcula- the quality of the input data very carefully,
tions are computerized, the following must as uncertain data may give unreliable re-
be carefully considered in the selection of sults. This problem becomes even more ap-
suitable software: parent when comparing the calculated and
measured energy performance, as the latter
• The possibility of analysing the phe- can deviate significantly, from the former.
nomenon of interest, whether it is ther- In this case suitable uncertainty intervals
mal inertia or hygrometry, adjustment should be applied to the input data to auto-
of air conditioning systems etc.; matically give the results characterised by
• Thermal load calculation method; probabilistic ranges. One of the causes of
• Type of building envelope component the deviation between simulated and meas-
modelling; ured consumption values, which can be an
• Airflow and ventilation modelling order of magnitude, is connected to the oc-
method; cupant behaviour modelling. For example,
• Air conditioning models; it could be necessary to introduce the real
• Energy systems models, also consider- behaviour of occupant modelling in the
ing the use of renewable sources; simulation with regard to occupancy of the
• The nature of the meteorological input areas, management of temperature set
data and the availability of appropriate points or the opening and closing of win-
generalised climate data; dows.
• The complexity of the input data and
the quality of the output data; A second peculiarity that deserves high-
• Accessibility, interfaces and interoper- lighting concerns the change in the design
ability. approach generated by the use of dynamic
thermal energy simulation, which involves
The simulation of the HVAC systems is a transition from a design-verification ap-
still characterised by considerable com- proach to an approach based on optimisa-
plexity and is therefore only sparsely re- tion. This aspect is very important as it is
viewed, and there is a paucity of detailed clear that it is no longer appropriate to use
studies. the simulation only as a tool to check pre-
determined design solutions, such as the ef-
A detailed comparison of 20 dynamic ther- fect of a variation in the shading or an in-
mal energy simulation software solutions is crease in the thermal insulation. Instead, it
contained in the report (Crawley et al., needs to be associated with optimisation
2008)). techniques to enhance the potential, and ex-
pand the domain of, possible solutions that
D.3 - Special application features should be investigated. In this way, it is
The uncertainty in the input variables a par- possible to determine the point where it is
ticular concern. The thermophysical calcu- no longer economical to reduce energy de-
lations for a building are performed starting mand and, when this point is reached, re-
with the measured or estimated input data newable sources should be explored.
with a determined uncertainty, which gen-
erally is not taken into account. As calcula- Some further peculiarities concern the evo-
tion models are perfected by moving from lution of simulation models to increase
practically steady-state regimes to dynamic compatibility, mutual validation and col-
regimes, it becomes necessary to consider laborative design, to promote the integra-

134
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 Appendix D. Building performance simulation tools

tion of thermal energy simulation software • improving access to information on

solutions in different applications and to building products (a duty of manufac-
improve the quality of detailed software turers and industries),
user interfaces. Linked to this aspect are the • adopting common guidelines to create
promising integration prospects between models to reflect the correct thermal
Building Information Modelling, BIM, and energy, acoustic and lighting simula-
Building Simulation. However, there are tion,
many challenges for the widespread and • improve standards for sharing and ex-
beneficial use of BIM. changing information that without
standardization result in a loss of inno-
It is necessary to compensate for the lack of vative content.
shared protocols for creating models and li-
braries by:

135
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
References

Papers and books

AA.VV. 2009. AICARR Miniguide, Padova: SGE. (In Italian).

AA.VV. 2011. Air filtration in HVAC systems (J. Gustavsson ed.). REHVA Guidebook n. 11. Bruxelles:
REHVA.
AA.VV. 2012. Introduction to the dynamic thermal-energetic simulation of buildings (M. Filippi and E. Fab-
rizio eds). Collana AiCARR. Milano: Editoriale Delfino. (In Italian).
AA.VV. 2013. Legionellosis prevention in building water and HVAC systems: A practical guide for design,
operation and maintenance to minimize the risk (S. La Mura, C.M. Joppolo and L.A Piterà eds.). Rehva
Guidebook n. 18. Brussels: REHVA.
AA.VV. 2014a. The Indoor Environmental Quality in non industrial buildings (F.R. d’Ambrosio Alfano and
L.A. Piterà eds). Collana AiCARR. Milano: Editoriale Delfino. (In Italian).
AA.VV. 2014-b. Efficienza energetica negli edifici storici, (de Santoli L. ed). Collana AiCARR. Milano, Edi-
toriale Delfino. (In Italian).
Bellia L., D’Agostino S., d’Ambrosio F.R. 2014. An integrated process for rehabilitating historical buildings.
Proceedings of 49th AiCARR International Conference “Historical and existing buildings: Designing the
retrofit, Rome.
Bo M. 2011. Innovation of traditional retrofitting techniques in building: upgrade of old radiator heating sys-
tems. Proceedings of 48th International Conference of AiCARR, Baveno, September. (In Italian).
BPIE. 2011. Europe’s Buildings under the Microscope. Published by Buildings Performance Institute Europe
Brito N.S., and Gameiro da Silva M.C.. 2012. Upgrade Opportunities for Buildings in City Centres. EPJ Web
of Conferences 33 (October): 5008.
Brito N.S., Brites G., Castela R., Fonseca P., Gameiro da Silva M.C. 2014. Learning from Traditional
Knowledge towards Engaged Inhabiting” In ICOMOS - International Council on Monuments and Sites -
18th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium. Florence, Italy: ESI
Brito N.S. 2016. Montarroio Shining Example for IEA EBC Annex56’. Available: www.iea-an-
nex56.org/Groups/GroupItemID6/12.PT.pdf
d’Ambrosio Alfano F.R., Dell’Isola M., Ficco G., Tassini F. 2012. Experimental analysis of air tightness in
Mediterranean buildings using the fan pressurization method. Building and Environment, 53, July, 16-25.
d’Ambrosio Alfano F.R., Dell’Isola M., Ficco G., Palella B.I., Riccio G. 2016. Experimental Air-Tightness
Analysis in Mediterranean Buildings after Windows Retrofit. Sustainability, 8,991-1000
d’Ambrosio Alfano F.R., De Leo F. 2014. Insulating and waterproofing materials: a combination. Milano:
Delfino Editore. In print. (In Italian).
Ficco G., Iannetta F., Ianniello E., d’Ambrosio Alfano F.R., Dell’Isola M. 2015. U-value in situ measurement
for energy diagnosis of existing buildings. Energy and Buildings, 104 108-121
Givoni B. 1969. Man, climate and architecture. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company Limited.
Mazzarella L. 2015. Energy retrofit of historic and existing buildings. Energy and Buildings, 95, 23–31
Mazzarella L. 2016. Near zero, zero and plus energy buildings: revised definitions. CLIMA 2016 - Proceedings
of CLIMA 2016 the 12th REHVA World Congress, Aalborg, DK.
Mazzarella L. 2017. Integration time step issue in Mediterranean historic building energy simulation. Proceed-
ings of Climamed 2017 International Conference “Historical buildings retrofit in the Mediterranean area”.
Matera, Italy
Morck, O., Almeida M., FerreiraM., Brit N., Thomsen K.E., Østergaard I. 2015. Shining Examples Analysed
within the EBC Annex 56 Project.” In Energy Procedia, 78,2334-2339. 6th International Building Physics
Conference, IBPC 2015.
Nypan T. 2010. Effects of European Union legislation on the built cultural heritage.
Riksantikvaren (Cultural Heritage), Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Norway.

136
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 References

Olgyay V. 1963. Design with climate: bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. Some chapters based
on cooperative research with Aladar Olgyay. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
Pinna M. 1978. Atmosphere and climate. Torino: UTET. (In Italian).
Polly B., Kutscher C., Macumber D., Schott, M., Pless S., Livingood B., and Van Geet O. 2016. From Zero
Energy Buildings to Zero Energy Districts. ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings:
from Components to Systems, from Buildings to Communities. Pacific Grove, California.
Valerio F. 2012. Environmental and health impacts generated from the combustion of woody biomass for the
production of heat and electricity. Epidemiologia e Prevenzione, Epidemiology and prevention 36(1), 16-
26. (In Italian).

Standards

For the purposes of compliance with the standard, the latest version published in National Standardization
Organizations catalogs shall prevail.
ASTM. 2010. Test Method for Determining Air Leakage by Fan Pressurization. ASTM Standard E779 -10.
ASTM Book of Standards, American Society of Testing and Materials, Vol. 4 (11)
CEN. 1999. Water quality - Enumeration of culturable micro-organisms - Colony count by inoculation in a
nutrient agar culture medium. EN ISO Standard 6222. Geneva: International Standardization Organization.
CEN. 2005. Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Analytical determination and interpretation of thermal
comfort using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria. EN ISO Standard
7730. Geneva: International Standardization Organization.
CEN. 2007a. Building materials and products - Hygrothermal properties -Tabulated design values and proce-
dures for determining declared and design thermal values. EN ISO Standard 10456. Geneva: International
Standardization Organization.
CEN. 2007b. Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy performance of build-
ings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics. EN Standard 15251. Brux-
elles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2010. Maintenance - Maintenance terminology. EN Standard 13306. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization.
CEN. 2011a. Light and lighting - Lighting of work places - Part 1: Indoor work places. EN Standard 12464-1.
Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2011b. Criteria for design, management and control of maintenance services for buildings. EN Standard
15331. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2012a. Energy audits - Part 1: General requirements. EN Standard 16247-1. Bruxelles: European Com-
mittee for Standardization.
CEN. 2012b. Hygrothermal performance of building components and building elements - Internal surface tem-
perature to avoid critical surface humidity and interstitial condensation - Calculation methods. EN ISO
Standard 13788. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2012c. Thermal performance of buildings and materials - Determination of specific airflow rate in build-
ings - Tracer gas dilution method. EN Standard 16883. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2014. Energy audits - Part 2: Buildings. EN Standard 16247-2. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization.
CEN. 2016. Ventilation for Buildings - Ductwork - Requirements for ductwork components to facilitate mainte-
nance of ductwork systems. EN Standard 12097. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017. Conservation of cultural heritage - Guidelines for improving the energy performance of historic
buildings. EN Standard 16883. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
ISO. 2006. Thermal performance of buildings - Determination of air permeability of buildings - Fan pressuri-
zation method. ISO Standard 9972. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.
ISO. 2014. Thermal insulation - Building elements - In-situ measurement of thermal resistance and thermal
transmittance - Part 1: Heat flow meter method. ISO Standard 9869-1. Geneva: International Standardiza-
tion Organization.

137
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

EPB Standards

CEN. 2017a. Energy performance of buildings - Energy needs for heating and cooling, internal temperatures
and sensible and latent head loads - Part 1: Calculation procedures). EN Standard 52016-1.Bruxelles: Eu-
ropean Committee for Standardization
CEN. 2017b. Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of the design heat load - Part 3: Do-
mestic hot water systems heat load and characterisation of needs, Module M8-2, M8-3. EN Standard 12831-
3. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017c. Thermal bridges in building construction - Heat flows and surface temperatures - Detailed calcu-
lations. EN ISO Standard 10211. Geneva: International Standardization Organization.
CEN. 2017d. Thermal bridges in building construction - Linear thermal transmittance - Simplified methods and
default values. EN ISO Standard 14683. Geneva: International Standardization Organization.
CEN. 2017e. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 2: Space emission systems (heating and cooling), Module M3-5, M4-5. EN Stand-
ard 15316-2. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017f. Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of the design heat load - Part 1: Space
heating load, Module M3-3. EN Standard 12831-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017g. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 1: General and Energy performance expression, Module M3-1, M3-4, M3-9, M8-
1, M8-4. EN Standard 15316-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017h. Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 3: Space distribution systems (DHW, heating and cooling), Module M3-6, M4-
6, M8-6. EN Standard 15316-3. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017i. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-1: Space heating and DHW generation systems, combustion systems (boilers,
biomass), Module M3-8-1, M8-8-1. EN Standard 15316-4-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Stand-
ardization.
CEN. 2017l. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-2: Space heating generation systems, heat pump systems, Module M3-82, M8-
8-2. EN Standard 15316-4-2. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017m. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-3: Heat generation systems, thermal solar and photovoltaic systems, Module
M3-8-3, M8-8-3, M11-8-3. EN Standard 15316-4-3. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017n. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-4: Heat generation systems, building-integrated cogeneration systems, Module
M8-3-4, M8-8-4, M8-11-4. EN Standard 15316-4-4. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017o. Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-5: District heating and cooling, Module M3-8-5, M4-8-5, M8-8-5, M11-8-5.
EN Standard 15316-4-5. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017p. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-8: Space heating generation systems, air heating and overhead radiant heating
systems, including stoves (local), Module M3-8-8. EN Standard 15316-4-8. Bruxelles: European Commit-
tee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017q. Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 4-10: Wind power generation systems, Module M11-8-7. EN Standard 15316-4-
10. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017r. Energy performance of buildings -Method for calculation of system energy requirements and
system efficiencies - Part 5: Space heating and DHW storage systems (not cooling), M3-7, M8-7. EN
Standard 15316-5. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017s. Energy performance of buildings -Heating systems and DHW in buildings - Part 1: Inspection of
boilers, heating systems and DHW, Module M3-11, M8-11. EN Standard 15378-1. Bruxelles: European
Committee for Standardization.

138
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
 References

CEN. 2017t. Energy performance of buildings - Heating and DHW systems in buildings - Part 3: Measured
energy performance, Module M3-10, M8-10. EN Standard 15378-3. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization.
CEN. 2017u. Energy performance of buildings -Heating systems and water based cooling systems in buildings
Part 1: Economic evaluation procedure for energy systems in buildings, Module M1-14. EN Standard
15459-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017v. Energy performance of buildings - Part 3: Ventilation for non-residential buildings - Modules
M5-1, M5-4 - Performance requirements for ventilation and room-conditioning systems. EN Standard
16798-3. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017w. Energy performance of buildings - Modules M5-6, M5-8, M6-5, M6-8, M7-5, M7-8 - Ventilation
for buildings - Calculation methods for energy requirements of ventilation and air conditioning systems -
Part 5-1: Distribution and generation - method 1. EN Standard 16798-5-1. Bruxelles: European Committee
for Standardization.
CEN. 2017x. Energy performance of buildings - Modules M5-6, M5-8 - Ventilation for buildings – Calculation
methods for energy requirements of ventilation systems - Part 5-2: Distribution and generation (revision of
EN 15241) - method 2. EN Standard 16798-5-2. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017y. Energy performance of buildings - Part 7: Ventilation for buildings - Modules M5-1, M5-5, M5-
6, M5-8 - Calculation methods for the determination of air flow rates in buildings including infiltration. EN
Standard 16798-7. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017z. Energy performance of buildings - Part 9 : Ventilation for buildings - Module M4-1 - Calculation
methods for energy requirements Calculation methods for energy requirements of cooling systems - Gen-
eral. EN Standard 16798-9. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017aa. Energy performance of buildings - Part 13: Module M4-8 - Calculation of cooling systems -
Generation. EN Standard 16798-13. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017ab. Energy performance of buildings - Part 15: Module M4-7 - Calculation of cooling systems -
Storage. EN Standard 16798-15. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017ac. Energy performance of buildings - Part 17: Ventilation for buildings - Guidelines for inspection
of ventilation and air conditioning systems, Module M4-11, M5-11, M6-11, M711. EN Standard 16798-
17. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017ad. Energy performance of buildings. Module M9 - Energy requirements for lighting - Part 1: Spec-
ifications. EN Standard EN 15193-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017 ae. Energy performance of buildings - Indicators, requirements, ratings and certificates - Part 1:
General aspects and application to the overall energy performance (ISO/FDIS 520031:2016). EN ISO
52003-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
CEN. 2017af. Energy performance of buildings - Overarching EPB assessment - Part 1: General framework
and procedures (ISO/FDIS 52000-1:2016). EN Standard 52000-1. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization

European Directives
European Parliament. 2002. Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 De-
cember 2002 on the energy performance of buildings. Official Journal of the European Communities L1/65,
4.1.2003.
European Parliament. 2009. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April
2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently re-
pealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC. Official Journal of the European Union L140/16 of
5.6.2009.
European Parliament. 2010. Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May
2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast). Official Journal of the European Union L153/13,
18.6.2010.
European Parliament 2012. Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives
2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC. Official Journal of the European Union L315/1, 14.11.2012

139
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOK

Web references

[1] https://www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf
[2] http://www.icomos.org/en/charters-and-texts/179-articles-en-francais/ressources/charters-and-standards/169-the-declaration-of-amsterdam
[3] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europe_Koppen_Map.png
[4] http://www.climateforculture.eu/index.php?inhalt=home
[5] http://www.herzo-agenda21.de
[6] http://www.aladdinsolar.com/pvsystems.html
[7] https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/24-heat-vent-cool.htm
[8] http://www.unesco.org/science/wcs
[9] https://energyplus.net/
[10] https://www.openstudio.net/
[11] http://citysim.epfl.ch/
[12] http://cfpa-e.eu/wp-content/uploads/files/guidelines/CFPA_E_Guideline_No_30_2013_F.pdf

Endnotes
1 Direct intervention on an asset through a series of operations aiming to its material integrity and the recovery of asset itself, to the
protection and transmission of its cultural values.
2 From (Mazzarella, 2015)
3 Inclusion of a cultural site in the World Heritage List requires that the authenticity criteria are met, and one or more of the following:
- to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;
- to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments
in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
- to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a civilization or to a cultural tradition which has disappeared;
- to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a)
significant stage(s) in human history;
- to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or
cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible
change;
- to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of
outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with
other criteria).
4 Any action or combination of actions aiming to increase the energy performance.
5 Continuous Commissioning is a process that accompanies the building life, seeks to solve operating problems, improve comfort con-
ditions, and re-optimises energy use in existing buildings for commercial and institutional use and in systems. It includes commission-
ing procedures.
6 │year means the energy amount is determined over one year.
7 The amount of gravel depends on the height of the building according to precise criteria set forth in the standards.
8 Adapted from [7]
9 Adapted from [7]
10 Adapted from [7]
11 Adapted from [7]
12 Referred to the lower calorific, i.e. assuming that water vapour vaporisation energy cannot be recovered. Because this is instead
possible in condensing boilers, the recovered heat can apparently be larger than the flue gas available energy. If instead the higher
calorific value, which account for that, is used the efficiency never can be higher the 100%.
13 Adapted from [7]
14 Wedding Chamber in Palazzo Ducale (Duke’s Palace) in Mantova, Italy (XIII Century).
15 http://www.metroprojekt.cz/nabidka-sluzeb/pozemni-stavby/revitalizace-arealu-klementina
16 Ongoing Ph.D. thesis developed within the University of Coimbra / MIT-Portugal Program SES/EfS theme, supervised by Dr. Ing.
Manuel Gameiro da Silva and Dr. Arch. José António Bandeirinha
17 Standard EN 15251 is currently under revision and should be replaced by pr-EN 16798-1. For the purposes of compliance with the
standard, the latest version published in National Standardization Organizations catalogues shall prevail.

140
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.
REHVA European Guidebook No.26
Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings
These guidelines provide information to evaluate and improve the energy performance of historic buildings,
fully respecting their significance as well as their cultural heritage and aesthetic qualities. The guidelines are
intended for both design engineers and government agencies. They provide design engineers with a tool for
energy auditing the historic building and offer a framework for the design of possible energy upgrades, which
are conceptually similar to those provided for non-protected buildings, but appropriately tailored to the needs
and peculiarities of cultural heritage.

REHVA Guidebooks:
No. 1 Displacement Ventilation in Non-industrial Premises
No. 2 Ventilation Effectiveness
No. 3 Electrostatic Precipitators for Industrial Applications
No. 4 Ventilation and Smoking
No. 5 Chilled Beam Cooling
No. 6 Indoor Climate and Productivity in Offices
No. 7 Low Temperature Heating And High Temperature Cooling
No. 8 Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems
No. 9 Hygiene Requirement for Ventilation and Air-conditioning
No. 10 Computational Fluid Dynamics in Ventilation Design
No. 11 Air Filtration in HVAC Systems
No. 12 Solar Shading – How to integrate solar shading in sustainable buildings
No. 13 Indoor Environment and Energy Efficiency in Schools — Part 1 Principles
No. 14 Indoor Climate Quality Assessment
No. 15 Energy Efficient Heating and Ventilation of Large Halls
No. 16 HVAC in Sustainable Office Buildings — A bridge between owners and engineers
No. 17 Design of energy efficient ventilation and air-conditioning systems
No. 18 Legionellosis Prevention in Building Water and HVAC Systems
No. 19 Mixing Ventilation – Guide on mixing air distribution design
No. 20 Advanced system design and operation of GEOTABS buildings
No. 21 Active and Passive Beam Application Design Guide — For Global Application
No. 22 Introduction to Building Automation, Controls and Technical Building Management
No. 23 Displacement Ventilation
No. 24 Fire Safety in Buildings — Smoke Management Guidelines
No. 25 Residential Heat Recovery Ventilation
No. 26 Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings

REHVA Reports:
No. 1 REHVA Workshops at Clima 2005 — Lausanne
No. 2 REHVA Workshops at Clima 2007 — Helsinki
No. 3 REHVA Workshops at Clima 2010 — Antalya
No. 4 REHVA nZEB Report
No. 5 REHVA Workshops at Clima 2013 — Prague
No. 6 REHVA Workshops at Clima 2016 — Aalborg

REHVA Office • Washington Street 40, 1050 Brussels — Belgium

Tel: +32-2-5141171 • Orders: www.rehva.eu • [email protected]
Single user license only, copying and networking prohibited. All rights reserved by REHVA.