C a s a Z e r o E n e r g y
267
CasaZeroEnergy:
AN ITALIAN PROTOTYPE OF ZERO ENERGY BUILDING
Antonio Frattari
Department of Civil and environmental Engineering, University of Trento, Italy
Abstract
CasaZeroEnergy is the prototype of a building that does not use energy produced from
fossil sources, but it produces the needed energy with alternative energetic systems. It
was designed according to the criteria of the bioclimatic architecture and integrated with
passive systems for getting advantage from the climatic site characteristics for the
heating in winter, and for the inner cooling and ventilation, in summer.
The house is built with natural, renewable, recycled and recyclable materials. For this
reason it is classifiable as
“natural building”
.
Its main characteristic is the integration between the building and the alternative systems
in order to produce energy from renewable sources: the sunspace, the solar collectors,
the photovoltaic panels, the geothermal system and the pellets boiler. The home
automation manages all the building plants to ensure at the same time the comfort and
the lowest energy consumption.
The sunspace is a passive solar system, used mainly for heating the indoor spaces
during the winter season. The cooling system of the building is based on natural
ventilation strategies and on the geothermal heating pumps. The building is equipped
with shading systems.
A smart system has been included as tool to guarantee the users’ safety and security.
This kind of systems allows having, as well by remote position, a constant security
control of the building.
Keywords:
wooden building, bioclimatic design, smart house, zero energy building,
renewable energy
Introduction
CasaZeroEnergy is located in Udine (Italy). It was realized in the years between 2007
and 2010 by the company Gruppo Polo – Le Ville Plus of Cassacco (UD). The main
features of the building are:
•
a strong natural and bioclimatic characterization,
•
similarity to passive house concept,
•
the use of natural, renewable and recycled materials for the building construction,
•
a new and innovative anti-seismic timber frame system,
•
a new and innovative envelope to save energy,
•
low energy consumption,
•
the integration with energy systems using alternative and clean sources,
•
the integration with an intelligent system (home automation) able to optimize the
indoor comfort, the energy consumption and the security.
Natural and bioclimatic characterization
The natural and bioclimatic behavior of the building improves the quality of the inner
comfort and allows living harmonically with the surrounding environment, enhancing the
life quality. A strong contact of the inhabitants with the nature is made easier from most
