E n e r g y R e c o v e r y o f ‘ 7 0 e s I n d u s t r i a l i z e d B u i l d i n g
513
ENERGY RECOVERY OF ‘70ES INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING
Tiziana Basiricò
1
& Antonio Cottone
2
1
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, “KORE” University, Enna
2
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, “KORE” University, Enna
Abstract
The scenario has emerged from recent studies on environmental sustainability
demonstrates existing constructions are one of the main causes of energy dissipation in
relation to the age and the absence of planned maintenance, but especially to building
materials and techniques used.
This paper reports the first results of a research on energy efficiency of some ‘70es
industrialized buildings in Palermo. These constructions were built with the approach of
money and time saving, to the detritment of technological and environment quality.
Some case studies built with such technologies were chosen among Palermo low-
income districts. For these areas, the study was conducted by means of technical
documentation to identify the technical solutions, especially those relating to the building
envelope, the functional layers and related materials. Through this information it was
possible to calculate the energy performance of buildings.
The second phase of the research was focused on the qualitative survey using
thermography for the detection of thermal bridges and points of heat loss.
Measurements show these buildings have a very low thermal transmittance and
therefore require huge amount of energy for management.
To satisfy the growing demands of environmental comfort of the users, in the context of
Palermo, involving the cooling systems for buildings, it is necessary to identify
interventions reducing significantly energy consumption.
Several technical solutions were, therefore, identified to streamline the external package
of examined buildings by calculating costs of intervention and comparing the investment,
object of statal contribution in Italy, to the produced energy saving. The proposed
technical solutions, different even within the same building, can be applied, taking into
account the various environmental parameters for buildings constructed with the same
technology in other national and international contexts.
Keywords:
energy conservation, environmental sustainability, building heritage
upgrading, refurbishment and requalification, industrialized building techniques
Introduction
Social housing has played a key role in the city planning in the twentieth century, often
charting the route towards its development by including historicized suburbs or small
villages close to the old town centers.
In addition to this urban character, social housing has almost always been the beginning
of typological and technological innovation phenomena, anticipating the development of
the construction sector.
As for the city of Palermo, but the situation is similar for many other cities, it is possible
to distinguish three different periods.
The first one from the foundation of the first Public Housing Institutes (Pennisi, Basiricò,
2008) to the World War II, the second one from the post-war reconstruction and the
experience of two INA-CASA seven-year periods (Basiricò, Cottone, Pennisi, 2003) to
the early ‘70s and the third period till nowadays. These three periods were characterized
by different construction techniques, ranging from load-bearing structures in the first
