Dynamic Analysis of the Energy Performance of Buildings under Different Climatic Conditions

The aim of this work is the analysis, under dynamic conditions, of the energy performance of buildings based on different climatic conditions. Furthermore, a strategy to improve the energy performance of two school buildings is proposed by the installation of a co-trigeneration plant integrated with a solar plant. Such a plant is equipped with an absorption chiller to produce chilled fluid. Two school buildings, Liceo Classico "E. Duni" and Liceo Scientifico "D. Alighieri", located in Matera, Italy, built of reinforced concrete in the mid 60s and early 70s, respectively, are considered. The first building is made up of five levels above the ground level plus one basement level, with a total surface area of 6,085 square meters. The second one consists of four levels above the ground level, with a total surface area of 7,830 square meters. The energy consumption of Liceo “E. Duni” has been monitored in the four-year range 2009-2012. The analysis under dynamic conditions has been performed by using a well-known simulation software, TRNSYS 17, and the results have been compared with those obtained under stationary conditions by employing a numerical solver MC-11300, which is certified by the Italian Thermotechnical Committee. At first, the results obtained by considering the dynamic and stationary states and the experimental data measured in situ are compared by considering the actual buildings plants. Then, the energy performance of the two buildings are computed by considering three different climatic zones of Italy. Finally, a discussion of the advantages of the proposed requalification solution which employs the trigeneration plant is given.