Antonio Frattari

Electric lighting at the workplace in offices: Efficiency improvement margins of automation systems

Electric lighting is one of the major energy loads in non-residential buildings. It is strategic to examine the real behaviour of available lighting control systems for practical applications so as to allow the development of strategies that can improve the reliability of measured data (in terms of illuminance at the desktop) and the consequent response of the control system. This paper presents a case study of an office where lighting data measured at the desktop and read by the automation system have been analysed. It also investigates the consequent response of the control system. In particular, we extrapolate data on the systems improvement margins and suggest suitable correction functions to be applied to the illumination data measured by ceiling-mounted sensors.

AUSILIA: Assisted unit for simulating independent living activities

The goal of this paper is to present AUSILIA, a project aimed at developing and integrating solutions to foster independent living of subjects affected by disabilities or recovering from traumas. AUSILIA exploits the synergies and competences acquired by the partners in the domain of assisted living and rehabilitation, implementing an advanced technological infrastructure capable of monitoring and analyzing the activities conducted by the users within the premises of the living lab. Thanks to the capability of carrying out automatic analysis of the ongoing events and the interaction of the user with the surrounding environment and objects, it will be possible to determine the best set of aids to support an independent living as soon as they return back home.

Envelope within an envelope: an FM approach to adaptive re‐use of redundant barns

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the innovative concept of “envelope within an envelope” as a tool to give redundant timber farm barns (which may be perceived as uneconomic for adaptation) new life for residential purposes. It aims to outline research that is proposed in order to provide guidelines for conservation/preservation professionals, potential user/occupants, investors and developers. It is based upon current problems existing in the Trentino region of Italy and the state of Michigan in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – After explaining the new concept and its potential for solving current conservation/preservation problems, the paper introduces technical and facilities management (FM) goals for research and development. Within the FM goal a series of objectives are outlined giving a broad methodology to consider user needs, costings, and communication needs for raising awareness.Findings – The concept recognizes traditional conservation/preservation interventions capable o...

Zero Energy Homes

In the last 50 years a fifth of the planet’s inhabitants had a strong development that deeply changed their habits and their life quality. For this enhancement, the people of the developed areas paid a high price. A large use of energy, produced from non-renewable sources as fossil fuels, increased the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere with several problems and a huge impact on the nature. As a consequence, there is a need to rethink the design of buildings, cities and their organizations. The challenge for the new sustainable cities is to grow according to the lifestyles of today and tomorrow, while implementing a better relation between the nature and the mankind and restoring the lost human contacts. An option for doing this is to design and develop Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) reducing to the minimum the impact of pollution and the exploitation of non-renewable sources. In particular, the following aspects should be considered: to use of renewable and recycled materials; to improve the energy efficiency of buildings; to introduce more efficient energy systems that use alternative and clean sources; and to introduce building automation systems (to optimize the energy consumption). In this lecture the following topics will be presented: definition of ZEH, including a review of definitions, parameters influencing the definition and examples, criteria to build or refurbish to a ZEH standard and some questions and examples related with the design, construction and operation of new Zero Carbon Homes.

ZEMCH Business Operation in Japan

Today, Japanese housing manufacturers mass-customise their highly industrialised houses with the aim to deliver quality affordable homes in which design quality, or housing performance, can be defined by buyers/users in consideration of their economic constraints. Moreover, in response to the drastic hike of energy prices and global warming issues, the prefabricators today tend to commercialise net zero energy homes. Their high-quality, zero energy mass custom homes (ZEMCH) that are also reasonably priced enjoy a good reputation. This chapter will identify the essential elements of Japanese housing manufacturers’ business operation being applied for the delivery of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable homes that satisfy the market needs and demands.