An assessment of energetic efficiency improvement of existing building envelopes in Italy

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to remark the importance of sustainable technologies in the facade renewal of existing buildings in order to fit their energetic performance to different climatic inputs, following the new European Energy Standards for energy savings. Design/methodology/approach - Technical data and typical examples of upgrading interventions in the direction of the passive solar gaining, natural cooling and other relevant sustainable technologies for building envelopes are presented and critically examined. Findings - The energy failure in existing buildings is mainly due to the poor insulating efficiency of the facades. Making use of hi-tech envelopes, not only the energetic balance, but also the architectural value of a building can be improved. Practical implications - Architects and builders can use the advices from this study in determining the advantages of up-to-date technologies in the enhancement of the energetic performance of buildings. Originality/value - Examples presented in this paper indicate how sustainable technologies, that are commonly used in new constructions where the concept starts from a low-environmental impact, can be also employed in the refurbishment of existing buildings, which is the main challenge for the global reduction of CO2. An overview on the main technical of intervention can indicate to architects and planners the potentiality for the improvement of the existing buildings, in order to reduce the overall energy balance.