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The paper deals with the energy transition, focusing on the decisions to be taken about the change in the energy conversion capacity of specified portion of the universe, such as industrial or domestic districts, regions, countries, etc. Conversion capacity is intended here as the set of all energy conversion and storage units characterized by type, size and number, and interacting with the natural gas and electricity grids. The goal is to find guidelines for new installations, obtained by simulations of a model able to describe properly the behavior of each energy conversion technology and the interaction with grids. The model is based on a traditional MILNP approach, but contains unique features in the literature, which allow to obtain results of general validity for applications to very different geographical areas, or to countries including very different regions that transmit energy with each other or export/import it from abroad. The main novelty of this work is to identify the best planning for the decarbonisation of energy demand sectors, according to the criterion of minimum cost, both at global and at regional level. The results applied to the case of Italy allow identifying clearly the energy demand sectors to which new installations should be applied first to minimize the cost for the total energy system, and the units that must be foreseen to satisfy these energy demands, i.e. a precise strategy for the energy transition towards a 100% renewable system. • A multi-regional model is built to find the most convenient energy transition path. • General guidelines for Western countries are derived from the Italian case study. • Replacement of boilers with heat pumps allows increasing RES share from 20 to 30%. • For RES share >60%, PtG is the low-carbon strategy for high temperature heat demand. • Transportation is the last energy sector that should be decarbonized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the influence of temperature and of rainfall intensity and the effect of such variations on the treatment efficiencies and on the electrical consumptions in seven medium-large size Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in Apulia in South Italy (Bari, Barletta, Brindisi, Lecce, Foggia, Andria and Taranto). It has been observed, in the considered WWTPs, a slight but clear increase of the incoming flow due to the increase in rainfall intensity, which results to an increase of the energy consumption per incoming volume. The impact of the climate change to the incoming flow, during the last five years (2016–2020), has been assessed indicating that an increase in rainfall intensity results to an increase of the WWTPs energy consumptions per wastewater treated volume. More specifically, for a specific WWTP (Lecce) it was found that the electrical consumption increases from 0.36 kw/m3 to 0.51 kw/m3 when the rainfall intensity was increased from 0.8 mm/min to 2.9 mm/min. Some adaption measures have been considered to upgrade the existing WWTP so to mitigate the energy increase and to limit the global effects of climate change. [Display omitted] • As Rain intensity rises, wastewater influx into WWTPs increases. • Rainfall intensity influences negatively electrical consumptions. • BOD removal is lower with increasing annual precipitations. • Temperature influences BOD, COD and SST removal efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote energy saving in the residential sector Directive 2012/27/EU has set the obligation for buildings supplied by central heating sources to install individual heat metering and accounting systems. However, in social housing, bills based exclusively on individual consumption should be unfair due to some unfavourable situations, such as first and top floors, presence of unheated common spaces, north oriented dwellings. Nevertheless, fair heat accounting rules should be introduced especially in social housing buildings, which are often thermally underperforming with inefficient heating plants and tenants are commonly low-income people and elderly. On the other hand, common regulations for heat accounting providing compensation to avoid inequalities among tenants have not been set and different approaches on this topic are present among EU Member States. In this paper the authors present a new heat accounting method for social housing based on the estimation of extra-consumptions due to building inefficiencies. According to this method, extra-consumptions are charged to all tenants in order to encourage energy efficient retrofit interventions. Finally, the new method has been experimented in a typical social housing building in Italy and compared to other methods applicable in EU, evidencing some advantages and weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyse and compare the environmental performances of the most widely used cooking appliances (the induction hob vs. the gas hob) considering a typical Italian scenario in terms of food, family and social habits. Cooking appliances are subject to energy labelling, and they represent the most impacting system inside households. This study was performed in accordance with the international standard, ISO 14040/14044, by using an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (aLCA). The functional unit is defined as the “preparation of a complete homemade meal (lunch) for 20 years consumed by a four-member family in Italy”. This study shows the dominance, in terms of environmental impact, of the induction hob with respect to the gas hob for most of the selected midpoint indicators. In particular, the induction hob accounts for more than 60% of the climate change and ozone depletion impact categories and more than 70% of the metal depletion category. The same trend is also noticed in the end-point categories (human health, ecosystem qualities and resources) and for the Cumulative Energy Demand indicator. Based on the experimental evidence of this work, the use phase is the most important due to the different energy carriers (natural gas vs. electrical energy). This finding is the result of the nature of the energy carrier (the electricity grid mix) in the Italian scenario, which is mainly based on non-renewable sources. In addition, concerning the production phase of the two appliances, the induction hob shows a relevant dominance in terms of the human toxicity and metal depletion impact categories due to the use of rare metals and coppers in the cooktop part manufacturing. The outcomes obtained from this study may be used by household manufacturers to improve the performance and design solutions of their appliances as well as by end users in their selection of cooking technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction sector contributes to 8% of carbon dioxide emissions, most of them caused by clinker production: in recent years, the efforts to reduce environmental impacts are growing. This paper investigates the environmental performances of clinker production and the factors driving emissions. For this purpose, the environmental impacts of 41 different grey clinkers produced in Italy from 2016 to 2021 certified by a third party according to the European standard EN 15804 have been assessed. Three input datasets (i.e., energy consumption, raw materials, and transport) have been investigated to identify the most significant variables that affected the environmental impact categories in the period 2016–2020: a stepwise regression allowed the identification of the optimal predictors to be included in the multiple regression models. The most significant variables are pet coke, fossil fuels, natural raw materials, and lorry transport. The identified models have been validated having regard to 2021 data. Therefore, for each impact category, multiple positive and negative dependencies which bear an effect on the environmental results have been quantified. The output provides proven quantitative results that can support cement producers to develop low-impacting clinker recipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public acceptability appears an essential condition for the success of low-carbon transition policies. In this paper, we investigate the role of self-interest on citizens' preferences for the distribution of costs and environmental benefits of energy efficiency policies. Using a discrete choice experiment on nationally representative household samples of Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we first investigate preferences for national burden-sharing rules and for the distribution of environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural and/or urban areas. We examine the role of self-interest and self-serving bias in a correlational manner by looking at the effects of income and location of residency on preferences for these policy attributes. Moreover, we investigate the effect of self-serving bias on preferences for burden-sharing rules in a causal manner by experimentally priming randomly assigned groups of participants to feel either rich or poor. Our results suggest that the accountability rule is the most popular and the equal-amount rule the least popular burden-sharing rule. Further, policies with environmental benefits accruing primarily in rural areas are least preferred. We find some evidence for self-interest, especially through our correlational approach. Finally, across country samples, our results reveal heterogeneity in preferences for policy attributes and in the prevalence of self-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Data about DHW in residential buildings were collected by survey in Southern Italy. • Contextual and personal factors influencing DHW usage were considered. • Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize DHW by climatic zone. • Inferential statistics were conducted to discover DHW usage patterns. • Four clusters of dwellings were identified considering DHW daily usage hours. In European efficient buildings, the share of energy use for DHW is a significant percentage of the heat requirement. The evaluation of DHW energy demand and consumption patterns has been neglected in the past and studies are located in Northern countries. This paper presents a survey conducted in Southern Italy. Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize DHW production by climatic zone. Inferential statistics were conducted to discover significant contextual and personal variables and identify usage groups. The most used energy source was biomass (49.3%), followed by methane gas (37.7%). Fireplaces were installed in the coldest zone, in detached houses, more in small municipalities (36%), and low-income families (32%). Solar systems were in 8% of dwellings having income higher than 28000€. Four clusters of dwellings were identified considering the daily usage hours. The eldest and less numerous households fell into the cluster with the lowest usage (3.5 h). Households with a percentage <25% of unemployed components had more probability to belong to clusters with more DHW usages. The paper contributes to fill the investigation in the Mediterranean area and provides a systematic approach to expand the limited knowledge about the influencing factors on the DHW production and usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Dynamic evaluation of economic and energy benefits due to thermostatic valve installation. • Dynamic evaluation of economic and energy benefits due to heat metering installation. • The adoption of both thermostatic valves and heat metering least to a payback period lower than 2 years. • Analysis carried out considering several shapes of typical building. The aim of this paper is to propose a novel approach in order to accurately calculate the energy and economic savings due to the use of heat metering and thermostatic valves in residential buildings. The paper aims at proving that the present simplified approaches used in European Legislation may lead to significantly underestimate the profitability of this technology. The study is developed for four different typologies of buildings located in the city of Naples (South of Italy), including their geometrical and thermophysical properties. The buildings are first modelled in Google Sketchup and subsequently linked to the TRNSYS environment, which also includes a detailed model of the piping systems. The models allow one to evaluate, for every period of the year, energy demand, energy supplied by radiators, heat gains, transmission, etc. The developed models are used to calculate energy demands for three scenarios for each type of building: centralized heating systems not equipped with heat metering; thermostatic valves without heat metering; heat metering and thermostatic valves. The possible savings related to thermostatic valves and heat metering are estimated using the developed model. The results are compared with the ones provided by the Italian Standards. Results show that the thermostatic valves adoption leads to a significant reduction, up to 50%, of the thermal energy demand of the residential buildings and that all the proposed systems exhibit a remarkable economic profitability, with a payback period lower than 1.7 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An integrated energy-economic analysis of Net ZEB office buildings was proposed. • A thorough discussion on the energy balance was provided for Italian climate zones. • Energy grid integrations, self-consumption, storage and losses were analyzed. • The cost assessment of office buildings was performed and compared to state-of-art. • The energy-economic benefit of a new Net ZEB office in Italy was demonstrated. Recently, the built environment has become one of the leading sectors in the challenge of decarbonization and energy consumption reduction. Because of the specific use and the complexity of the typological, architectural, and technical characteristics, non-residential buildings represent a challenge to overcome the nearly Zero Energy Building standard and to achieve the objective of Zero or Net Zero Energy Buildings. It is desirable that the energy produced in situ from renewable sources totally covers the energy demand (ZEB); alternatively, the amount of energy self-produced and dispatched into the grid must be greater than (or equal to) the energy withdrawn from the grid (Net ZEB). At the same time, it is necessary not to neglect the economic aspects. The aim of this work is to propose an integrated energy-economic analysis to demonstrate the actual feasibility of new Net ZEB offices in different Italian climate zones. Thus, the energy analysis of a reference building, based on consolidated and cost-effective envelope and HVAC systems, has been carried out through dynamic simulations. The photovoltaic field located on the roof provides the energy needed for lighting, appliances, and HVAC. The obtained results are the energy demand and the energy production from renewable sources for the case study in each Italian climate zone. Moreover, the paper discusses the complexity of the annual energy balance, considering contributions such as grid integrations, self-consumption, energy stored and losses. Finally, the cost assessment of the proposed building has been carried out and compared to the state-of-art, pointing out the economic feasibility of the Net ZEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A research topic relatively new but with an increase interest in the last five years. • The largest scientific contribution from China, Australia and Italy. • The main journals in the field Building and Environment and Energy and Buildings. • Three main direction of research: thermal energy performance of buildings, ecological benefits and reducing the urban heat. • The main limitation of using green walls is the high cost of installing and maintenance. The continuous state of development of the human society imply a big effort and demand to generate and use more and more energy to power our lifestyle. The impact of human activity has negative effects on the environment and thus solutions to maintain or increase our development rate but in the same time to decrease the pressure on the environment must be developed. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate if the use of green walls systems can be a solution to decrease the energy demands in buildings. The investigation include a bibliometric literature research, a scientometric analysis and an in-depth discussion. The data used for the research were obtained by interrogating the ISI Web of Science and Scopus databases, were selected using the guidelines of the PRISMA method and processed with the help of VOSviewer and Bibliometrix software. The research results indicate an increase interest in this topic in the last five years and that the use of vegetation in the constructed grey areas can bring a lot of benefits especially from environmental point of view. Green walls can be a solution to decrease the temperature on the wall surface in hot summer days and to prevent heat loses in the winter time, and thus have beneficial effects on the amount of energy required to maintain a proper interior temperature. The main limitation of using green walls is given by higher costs of installing and maintain the vegetation on walls, thus, finding new more economical, systems of green walls must be developed in the future. Considering all of this it can be state that green wall systems have the potential to become good solutions not just to improve the energy efficiency of buildings but also to create more sustainable urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of Sustainable Development Goal 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Increased energy efficiency is particularly important in the construction industry because urban agglomerations currently consume up to 80% of global energy, 40% of which is attributable to buildings. In countries like Italy however, where historical buildings constitute a significant part of the building patrimony, improving energy efficiency is not always straightforward as interventions must take into account the historical materials used as well as the context of the construction. Therefore, the aim of this research was to establish a methodology that would identify the most effective means of achieving energy efficiency taking into account the historical aspects of a building and its cultural context. The methodology proposed and described in this paper involves: preliminary analyses to identify the elements of value and the level of transformability of facades; the selection of different insulating materials; dynamic simulations of building behaviour; analyses of intervention costs in relation to each type of insulation and finally the preparation of a multi-criteria matrix to identify the most effective method of improving energy efficiency of a historical wall with differing degrees of transformability. Each insulating material was analysed in relation to heating and cooling requirements and material cost impact. The methodology was applied to a case study in the Province of L'Aquila, Italy. In the paper a multicriteria framework, for the improvements in the thermal efficiency of a building, it is presented. Specifically the attention is focused on heating requirements, cooling requirements and cost impact. The results indicate that, with respect to historical building, it is possible to adopt strategies finalyzed to improve the energy efficiency of these buidings, contributing in this way, also toward the SDG7. Specifically, the best performance for a wall with a high level of transformability can be obtained using calcium silicate, extruded polystyrene, kenaf and hemp, whilst, in the case of a wall with a low level of transformability, the best materials are calcium silicate, polyurethane and linen fiber. Finally, in the case in which external constraints prevent the application of a thick coat and internally there is limited space, the use of calcium silicate was found to be the best energy efficient measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of ever more ambitious global energy challenges, the European Union has set striving climate targets for 2030, planning to increase renewable energy penetration in the electricity generation as a key measure towards a clean energy transition. To respond to the challenge of keeping the increase in power sector costs, that inevitably arises when a profound reconfiguration of the electricity generation sector is expected, to the lowest possible, this paper aims to quantify the economic burden associated with the reduction of direct CO 2 emissions through a comparative assessment of various alternatives proposed for 2030 ranked in terms of their cost-effectiveness. A sensitivity analysis is also applied to the main economic and energy parameters that make up CO 2 mitigation costs to include those uncertainties that characterise future projections. The impact of electricity generation shares on CO 2 mitigation costs is assessed thus providing a basis for the definition of alternative configurations for the Italian electricity sector capable to achieve the desired environmental performance with a limited economic impact. Finally, results reveal that those scenarios based largely on natural gas and solar source are characterized by high mitigation costs, while energy efficiency is essential for a virtuous and clean electricity sector along with the use of all available sources in appropriate shares, both renewable and non-renewable, to pursue the highest environmental objectives in a cost-effective manner. Although related to the Italian case, the methodology provided in this study can be applied to any other electricity sector to ultimately evaluate the economic burden arising from possible different configurations. • Comparative analysis of scenarios for decarbonising electricity supply in Italy. • European Union Commission and National Energy Strategy projections are reviewed. • Costwise, coal phase-out is not as beneficial as other proposed configurations. • Energy efficiency is key to low-cost and highly beneficial environmental objectives. • High mitigation costs occur with large gas consumption and solar generating capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Electricity and electrification is a viable solution for the energy transition. • Electricity triangle assures a consistent framework for the energy transition. • Multifaceted benefits: energetic, environmental and socio-economic. • Conceptualization of a set of metrics for impact assessment. • A real case study (Italy) considering its evolution up to 2050. Greenhouse gases along with pollution generated by the present energy paradigm widely based on fossil fuels are providing large impacts in terms of climate change and the health of human and biological systems at large. A shift in the energy paradigm, from fossil fuels to renewable energy, is urgently needed for nature and society. This is what we refer to as the energy transition. An old commodity – electricity – can play a new key role in the energy transition. That can happen through what we call the electricity triangle involving electricity generation from Renewable Energy Sources, exploitation of electricity as the main energy vector, and electrification of the final energy uses in all sectors. The possible deployment of the electricity triangle must be carefully assessed in all its possible implications, from technological, economic, societal and environmental perspectives. In this paper, we conceptualize the electricity triangle as a viable approach to the energy transition, and we propose a set of holistic metrics to assess its possible impacts. We apply the electricity triangle framework to the case of Italy based on sectorial studies on RES generation and electrification in building, industry and transport sectors. Our results indicate that Italy in 2050 has the potential to achieve 85.6% penetration of RES in its electricity supply, while 41%, 53% and 42% of the energy consumptions in transport, residential, and industry sectors will be electrified. Ultimately, this would lead to a 68% reduction in CO 2 emissions compared to current levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview about the distribution of the environmental impacts arising from different domestic functions (i.e. storing and preparing food, washing dishes, watching television, reading, personal cleaning, washing, drying and ironing clothes, home cleaning, heating, cooling, lighting and mobility) typically performed within a common family home. The method has general validity but for reasons related to the availability of data in the literature it has been applied by way of example only in three EU countries: Italy, Germany and France. The study was performed by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in accordance with international standard ISO 14067 for determining the carbon footprint of different alternative domestic components, mainly appliances, for each function, by exclusively exploiting data from scientific literature. The functional unit is defined comprising all most common referred domestic activities of a family of three members within a house of 100 m2. The study identified an optimal configuration and a worse one of the domestic components in terms of carbon footprint, showing how a wise choice of these can greatly affect the overall impact by reducing it compared to the worst by more than 22% in Italy, 45% in Germany and 56% in France. The average impacts between the optimal and the worst configurations of Germany are higher than Italy (+27%) and France (+44%). Considering the impacts among the domestic functions in the average configuration, mobility was the most impactful in all the three countries (35–48%), followed by heating (17–26%), personal cleaning (10–13%) and washing dishes (8–13%), while cooling is consistent only in Italy (13%), against 5% in Germany and 2% in France. The study also allowed to identify some generic criteria for defining the optimal configuration: the increasing in energy efficiency, the choice of the least impacting energy source depending on the geographical location, ensuring water savings and the early replacement of older domestic components. Finally, by comparing some common measures for improving the domestic sustainability, these criteria proved to be more effective than solar systems and improved electricity mix. The provided outcomes may be used by manufacturers for improving their product in a more sustainable way as well as by legislator and end user, respectively for boosting and choosing the greener domestic components. Image 1 • LCA for estimating domestic environmental impacts based on scientific literature. • Application to three EU countries: Italy, Germany and France. • Assessing Carbon Footprint of different alternative domestic components for each domestic function. • Determining the optimal and the worst configuration of domestic components to minimize the impacts. • Comparing possible improvements for minimizing carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The current and projected Italian electricity demand and supply is described. • Advantages and disadvantages of a possible reintroduction of nuclear are shown. • Waste management and public opinion resulted the main criticalities. • Major efforts need to be put in the waste management policy. • Communication to public on nuclear energy risk and potentiality should be pursued. Nuclear energy was adopted in Italy in the past to deal with the insufficient fossil fuels on the national territory. After a public vote subsequent to the Chernobyl accident, Italy abandoned the use of nuclear energy and nowadays adopts a mix of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources for electricity production. However, the urging environmental pollution and climate change issues are forcing Italy to realize a so-called "energy transition" towards a more sustainable energy production and consumption system. In this framework, following the examples of other countries, it could be re-evaluated the adoption of nuclear to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. In the present paper, it is presented an overview of the nuclear energy history in Italy and the current and projected electricity demand and supply. Then, with reference to the Italian framework and policies, the main advantages and disadvantages of a hypothetical reintroduction of nuclear energy are presented. The analysis shows that the adoption of nuclear energy would bring several advantages in terms of lower emissions, higher security of supply and enabling of possible other technologies; the main disadvantages are related to the opposing public opinion and the nuclear waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A set of indexes to measure energy efficiency achieved in local areas is proposed. • The distance of each observation from efficient/ideal threshold is calculated. • Pilot testing was performed on 20 Regions of Italy. • A support to policy makers in financial resource programming is offered. The basic idea of this paper is that an efficient energy planning requires a deepened awareness of the state of place. By considering the complexity of this issue - that involves both production, consumption, impacts on the environment and policy aspects - a multidimensional analysis should be implemented. The aim of the study is to propose an innovative approach for achieving increased efficiency energy by reducing the existent differential among the local areas. The approach consists of two main steps: i) the building of LEEI (Local Energy efficiency Index) and further four sub-indexes - designed by using a Principal Component Analysis - for assessing the level of local efficiency; ii) the measurement of the distance between the score achieved in the ranking by each observation and a threshold calculated as best compromise situation - realized by using a redrafted Sen Index. This methodology has been tested on a sample of 20 Italian provinces. The findings allow to provide information to policy makers concerning the overall energy efficiency of an area through a vertical comparison among the observation; while the four sub-indexes offer specific indication about the multidimensionality of the analysed phenomenon. This final step helps to offer punctual information for a future allocation to the regions, for a financial resource programming on the bases of the real weakness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the relationship between energy saving behaviour, monetary drivers and non-monetary motivations in Italy, in a period, the end of the 1990s, when the energy industry was not yet liberalized, there were no energy saving incentive schemes, and the environmental sensitivity and information were lower. We consider as dependent variable the frequency with which individuals switch the light off when leaving a room; as monetary drivers, income and perceived energy costs; while non-monetary motives in our model are measured by proxies of pro-environmental attitudes, environmental information, social pressure, and pro-social behaviours. The analysis is based on probit and logit models estimated on a sample from the Multipurpose Household Survey dataset, conducted by the Italian Statistical Office. We find that individuals who were less concerned about environmental issues were also more attentive in energy saving behaviour, suggesting, together with results about income and perceived energy costs, that monetary motivations were primary in driving this energy saving behaviour. Such findings are robust to the inclusion of variables accounting for pro-social behaviours. Altruism by individuals who claim to be more concerned about broad environmental externalities may have adversely affected their propensity to optimize energy consumption. • We study the link among energy saving, monetary drivers and non-monetary motivations in Italy. • In the end of the 1990s, the energy industry was not yet liberalized and environmental sensitivity was lower. • We use probit and logit models and a representative sample from the Multipurpose Household Survey (ISTAT). • We find that monetary motivations were primary in driving energy saving behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]