Claudio Del Pero’s research while affiliated with Politecnico di Milano and other places

The growing global emphasis on sustainability science has catalyzed significant advancements in research and practice within this domain. Among the various initiatives, the European Union has introduced LEVEL(S), a comprehensive framework for assessing the sustainable performance of buildings. This system provides a standardized methodology for evaluating and reporting key aspects of building sustainability across Europe, leveraging a structured set of indicators to address performance throughout a building’s life cycle. This study conducts a thorough analysis of the key performance indicators (KPIs) within the LEVEL(S) framework. It highlights critical limitations, such as the absence of specific metrics, misalignment with existing regulations and standards, and the absence of clear thresholds needed to effectively evaluate the performance of each KPI. Through a rigorous analysis of these KPIs, this study explores the potential for developing an enhanced and more refined framework to address these challenges.

Photovoltaic solar energy has emerged as a vital solution in energy transition, especially in buildings with building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. This study evaluated a BIPV system in João Pessoa, Brazil, using PVsyst 7.4 software for simulations in 2023 and experimental tests in 2024 to compare real and simulated energy values injected into the grid. The experiments were conducted in April, June, July, and August, covering seasonal variations. The east and west orientations showed the best performance, with annual production of 65.5 and 81.6 kWh, respectively, due to the balanced solar irradiance. Conversely, the north and south orientations generated less electricity, with 51.3 and 42.1 kWh, respectively, due to lower direct solar exposure. The average injected energy was 0.2445 to 0.2530 kWh/day in April, 0.2851 to 0.2470 kWh/day in June, 0.2816 to 0.2400 kWh/day in July, and 0.1556 to 0.1700 kWh/day in August. Performance ratios were 44.3% for the north, 44.4% for the south, 47.4% for the east, and 56.8% for the west, highlighting the impact of orientation. It is concluded that the east and west facades are more suitable for BIPV systems in João Pessoa, emphasizing the importance of local factors in optimizing urban energy efficiency.

This study investigates how energy retrofitting measures contribute to increasing the market value of multi-family residential buildings within the European real estate market. It examines how energy efficiency improvements, driven by EU decarbonization strategies, enhance the actual and perceived value of these properties. The research employs a dual-methodology approach, integrating the Cost Approach to estimate the financial impact of retrofitting with the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to evaluate consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for energy-efficient properties. Two real case studies are considered to evaluate the methodology and how the monetary value of buildings is affected by their energy efficiency. The results revealed that buildings subjected to deep energy retrofitting are more attractive to potential buyers, who are willing to pay a premium of 13.5% over properties in pre-retrofit conditions. This underscores the tangible market value increment attributed to energy efficiency enhancements. This study bridges the gap between the quantifiable costs of energy retrofitting and the market valuation, offering a dual perspective by integrating both actual cost analysis and perceived market value. Moreover, this work highlights the correlation between energy retrofit investments and increased market value in the European real estate sector.

Among renewable energy generation technologies, photovoltaics has a pivotal role in reaching the EU’s decarbonization goals. In particular, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems are attracting increasing interest since they are a fundamental element that allows buildings to abate their CO2 emissions while also performing functions typical of traditional building components, such as sealing against water. In such a context, since one of the main challenges to decarbonizing the building sector lies in the retrofitting of existing buildings, the current paper is focused on the design, development, and testing of a novel roofing BIPV system. The entire research was carried out as part of the Horizon 2020 HEART project. In more detail, the research analyzed the requirements of typical pitched tile roofs, which are currently the most common type in Europe, and developed a universal photovoltaic tile that can be easily and quickly integrated into such a type of roof. The research was also aimed at minimizing the embodied energy of the component and promoting disassembly and recycling at the end of life, fully in line with a circular economy perspective. The adopted design and development processes are described in detail in the present paper, along with the results of several tests performed in the field. In addition, further development prospects of the component, aimed at meeting the integration requirements in historic buildings, are finally presented.

There is a growing interest in the real estate sector in tools for assessing the sustainability and quality of the building stock. Often such tools, regardless of their content but by their nature as an assurance tool, serve as a support and stimulus to the sustainable building market. This paper reports the steps and methodology followed in the development of a sustainability qualification system for condominium buildings. The structure of the system and its technical characteristics are described. The objective of the tool is to evaluate not only aspects related to the building’s construction and technical systems quality but also to highlight the ability to optimize condominium services and management practices.

Over the past few years, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an economic crisis, impacting various sectors including building construction. Within this sector, the residential section represents one of the main causes of energy consumption and pollutant emissions. To address this challenge the European Union has devised a strategic plan aimed at promoting energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, with a special focus on revitalizing the building sector. Within this strategic framework, the tax incentive Superbonus 110% introduced in 2020 has emerged as a pivotal program, incentivizing specific energy efficiency measures for existing buildings in alignment with the EU Directives. In this regard, this study aims to analyse the retrofit intervention of two existing residential buildings subsidized through the Superbonus 110% mechanism. A critical analysis of several passive and active energy efficiency measures is performed considering energy, environmental and economic indicators, employing a dynamic simulation approach. This work demonstrates how the proposed Italian funding program can enhance the diffusion of energy efficiency interventions. However, thanks to the analysis of real case studies, the criticalities and implications that such a mechanism has brought to the construction sector were highlighted, in the perspective of future incentives.

In order to reach the goal of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieving decarbonization by 2050, the increasing emphasis on net-zero energy buildings/districts encourages the development of advanced modelling tools to better design and manage district energy systems. This paper presents a critical review of such tools, considering the different detail level of building data and analysing the reliability of obtainable results. Initially, it elaborates on the characteristics of data resources and formats, energy demand representations of individual buildings, and the interconnection between individual buildings and districts, which are subsequently used to analyse the accuracy level of case studies. Then, the most used evaluation criteria for comparing tools arerevised. Five categories are defined: (i) input data and representation of buildings, (ii) district energy system components (i.e., generation, distribution, storage), (iii) outdoor environment, (iv) user behaviour and mobility,and (v) validation and licencing. 29 tools suitable for district energy systems modelling are critically analysed with a focus on accuracy and validation, as well as on their application and future perspectives. The results highlighted the importance of data reliability in modelling approaches and results. Difficulties in achieving accurate results included robust data acquisition, interconnection among individual buildings, outdoor environment, and modelling approaches. The results also emphasized that, although no tools can cover all the possible features at the current stage, this study can support the selection of the most suitable tool for specific applications at the district scale.

The pressure on forests is one of the main purposes of the environment depletion. Nevertheless, most research suggests solutions to limit the unsustainable woodland management. In mountainous cold climates, occupants usually use wood-burning heaters to assure thermal comfort in residential buildings. The use of this type of heater can directly affect the indoor air quality thus human health; the smoke produced throughout the combustion process can cause asthma or even lung and heart disease after a long-term exposure. This paper aims to assess the impact of olive pomace heating system on indoor air quality for a residential building located in Ifrane-Morocco through series of investigations. The study encompasses to delineate whether the olive pomace still a good alternative of wood by measuring some gaseous components such as CO2, and particulate organic compounds like PM2.5 and PM10 with air quality monitoring system for a chosen period in the winter season based on ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) and WHO (World health organization) standards and guidelines. Results showed that the olive pomace-based central heater is a good alternative to wood-burning stoves, and it can reduce more that 50% of particulate matter emissions. But both technologies assure an ambience that respects limits and guidelines.