Preliminary Energy Evaluations for the Retrofit of Rural Protected Buildings in a Peripheral Context of Milan

Abstract

This research is framed in the development of an agri-food hub in the city of Milan, including retrofitting an historical farmhouse. In particular, it focuses on the renovation of two historical buildings within the farmhouse. It aims to present a method to support the energy retrofit design of protected buildings, assuming the possibility of achieving high energy efficiency and integration of local renewable sources, while respecting the constraints related to the building’s historical value. Two envelope scenarios, with internal and external insulation, were developed, simulated with Integrated Environmental Solutions: Virtual Environment tool and evaluated. As main results, for the demand side there are no significant differences in terms of energy loads on yearly basis in the two retrofit scenarios, on the supply side, several aspects were considered, including the local renewable potential. Concluding, the application of the described method to the mentioned case study can support in tackling the challenges of protected buildings energy retrofit. 

Keywords

• historical rural building retrofit
• buildings protection constraints
• cultural heritage
• dynamic simulations
• buildings renewables integration
• profiles definition for the internal loads.