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Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175

71st Conference of the Italian Thermal Machines Engineering Association, ATI2016, 14-16
September 2016, Turin, Italy

Energy audit of public buildings: the energy consumption of a

University with modern and historical buildings. Some results.
A.Magrinia,*, L.Gobbib, F.R.d’Ambrosioc
a
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture - University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy
b
Facilities and utilities management service – University of Pavia, Palazzo del Maino, Via Mentana, 4, 27100 Pavia, Italy
c
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 - 84084 - Fisciano (SA), Italy

Abstract

The reduction of energy consumption in public buildings is a priority indicated in European Directives and national legislative
documents. Some aspects of this problem are presented and discussed in reference to the University of Pavia, one of the oldest
universities in Europe, founded in 1361, which has a 40% of her total built area represented by building built before the II World
War. The energy audit of the whole University building stock, the intervention potential, and particularly the energy consumption
reduction in the historical buildings, allow to outline an overview of the accessible energy savings, and their costs.
© 2016 The Authors.
© 2016 PublishedPublished
The Authors. by Elsevierby
Ltd. This is anLtd.
Elsevier open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ATI 2016.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ATI 2016.

Keywords: Refurbishment, energy audit, historical buildings, public buildings, historic buildings, energy consumption

Nomenclature

IEN Normalised Energy Indicator for Heating

HDD Heating Degrees Day
PBT Pay Back Time

* Corresponding author: Anna Magrini. Tel.: +39.0382.985724; fax: +39.0382.985889

E-mail address: magrini@unipv.it

1876-6102 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ATI 2016.
doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.022
170 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175

1. Introduction

The reduction of energy consumption in public buildings is a priority indicated in European Directive
2010/31/EU (EU Parliament 2010 [1]).
Among the public buildings categories, a wide stock characterized by a continuous use is the ones dedicated to
learning activities. They are spread uniformly in the territory, and they are affected by high energy consumption, due
also to the particular IEQ needs of the young people (as highlighted by EN 15251 Standard (CEN, 2007 [2] that will
be soon superseded by EN 16798-1 and -2 Standard [3]).
The public buildings of the Universities are characterised by a very high multiplicity of activities (classrooms,
libraries, offices, conference rooms, laboratories, bars, refectories, sports gyms) with various occupancy profiles,
which must be taken into account jointly with the particular buildings features: a wide knowledge of the
management issues and an accurate energy audit represent basic pillars for the critical issues of energy consumption,
to support decisions on priority actions and their costs.
The energy consumption reduction is not always easy to obtain in this field, mostly when the University building
stock includes a mix of contemporary and historical buildings. A more ambitious challenge is represented by the
energy performance improvement of the historic buildings, that are important from the History’s point of view,
whereas a historical building is only related to the past (Mazzarella, 2015 [4]).
Regarding the historic and historical buildings, the Directive states that the Member States may decide not to set
or apply the requirements referred to energy performance to “buildings officially protected as part of a designated
environment or because of their special architectural or historical merit, in so far as compliance with certain
minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance”.
In Italy, most of the buildings edified before 1919 (that represent quite 20% of the national building stock) are
Museums, like Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Farnese and Museo di Capodimonte, or representative buildings, like
Quirinale, Palazzo Chigi and Ambasciata Francese.
Historic and historical buildings host the historic Universities also. The oldest Italian Universities started their
activities before the 16th century: the first one was settled in Bologna traditionally in 1088, the University of Napoli,
the first secular one, was founded on 1224, the University of Pavia in 1361.
At University of Pavia up to now 77,000 m2 surface is occupied by historic and historical buildings, located in the
town center, while 60,000 m2 were built before the II World War, and 85,000 m2 in the ‘80s, in other areas occupied
by the modern edification, for a total built area of 230,000 m2.

Figure 1 – Location of the University buildings in the town center (Historical Buildings, HB, yellow, right side), in the modern expansion
(Contemporary Buildings, CB, green) and outside the town (CB, blue, left side)
 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175 171

Today the University of Pavia hosts the activities of 1150 structured teachers and researchers, 860 administrative
staff / employees, and 23,000 students / year and it represents an important public heritage for a medium-sized cities
such as Pavia, a town of about 64 km 2 in extent, with 73,000 inhabitants.
In this situation, the University of Pavia appears to be the owner of a building stock of great interest for the
refurbishment purposes, because its buildings, with different characteristics, should be analysed and restored
following very different criteria.
In any case, to proceed to an accurate refurbishment at any level, first of all it is indispensable to conduct an
energy audit, to identify the feasible interventions for the energy consumption reduction possibilities and their costs.
Here below some considerations related to the thermal energy consumption for winter heating, derived by the
energy audit of the University of Pavia, are presented.

2. The energy audit

The whole University was subdued to a wide investigation on the energy performance of its buildings to define
the actual energy consumption and the most effective measures for a significant reduction. The energy audit has
followed the procedures indicated in the EN 16247:2014 Standard [5] and it has been developed on the basis of the
following activities:
• building geometric survey;
• heated volume definition;
• characteristics and settings of the technical building systems;
• energy consumption data in terms of Nm3 of natural gas;
• Heating Degree Days, HDD;
• components of air conditioning systems;
• occupants behavior and operational regime.
The energy model has been built by means of a software based on the quasi-steady-state calculation method (EN
ISO 13790 and UNI/TS 11300 [6,7]), by using the mean HDD of the last three years, and considering the effective
operation time of the heating system. The HDD represent the accumulated hourly temperature difference between
the reference internal temperature (20°C) and the external temperature. The results have been validated by means of
the mean annual consumption registered in the corresponding three years period. The model has been used to define
the improvements, the corresponding costs, and the Pay Back Time (PBT).

Figure 2 – Annual heating energy consumption [kWh/m3] of University buildings.

The S/V ratio [m-1] is indicated on the top of each bar
172 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175

In this analysis the attention has been focused on the heating energy consumption, with the aim to compare the
results with the IEN for heating, (Normalised Energy Indicator for Heating), an indicator developed by ENEA-FIRE
(the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development and the Italian
Federation for the Rational use of Energy) [8], referred to the primary energy consumption for natural gas.
In Figure 2, the annual heating energy consumption is analysed for the historical buildings (built from IX up to
XIX century) and recent ones (from XX century). It is clear that the building age doesn’t affect significantly the
mean energy consumption both for historical and recent buildings corresponding respectively to 25 and 25.7
kWh/m3 (the mean value becomes 23.2 kWh/m3, excluding CB08 building, that needs to be heated for 24h/day).
Also the building shape doesn’t seem to affect significantly the energy performance, even if a higher mean value of
S/V is reached by historical buildings (0.41 m-1 in comparison with 0.36 m-1for contemporary buildings).
To improve the performances of the buildings, historical and recent, some intervention has been evaluated. In
Figure 3 the main refurbishment actions proposed in the audit process are represented by means of the ratio between
the forecast primary energy consumption and the actual calculated value.

Figure 3 – Refurbishment actions indicated in the energy audit

(B = Boiler, indicated when IT1 – Heating system refurbishment includes boiler substitution)

The three main actions, IT1-heating system refurbishment, IT2-roof insulation, IT3-windows substitution, have
been considered separately, from a general point of view: their effective application should be investigated more
deeply in a second phase, to understand the effective application potential. Combined solutions should be examined
also, to put in evidence the best actions taking into account the particular features of each building.
Moreover, in some cases, the considered refurbishment actions could be affected by some limits, like the need of
water filtration for the application of thermostatic valves that could be obstructed by dirty water. In the case of boiler
substitution, the need of high temperature water should be verified case by case: in some cases the heating systems
use natural convection heaters that are just sufficient for the purpose, by circulating hot water (quite 70°C), that is
not suitable for high efficiency condensing boilers.
The heating system refurbishment (IT1) refers to the substitution of circulating pumps and thermostatic valves
and in some cases (indicated by B in Figure 2) also of the boiler, with a condensing one. The expected mean energy
saving for this kind of action is 12% for the historical buildings and 16% for the recent ones.
The roof insulation (IT2) allows a mean energy consumption reduction 14% for the historical buildings and 22%
for the contemporary ones: they can be related respectively to the mean S/V ratio of 0.41 m -1 and of 0.36 m-1.
The windows substitution (IT3) could improve the energy performance of the historical buildings with a mean
energy saving of 10% but quite in all the cases this intervention is impossible to apply because of the limits due to
the historic value preservation. Also for the recent buildings, this action is not always useful, as the PBT is too high.
In this case, the mean energy saving is 16%. It can be noted that the energy saving percentage for historical and
recent buildings is quite the same.
 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175 173

Some evaluations regarding other refurbishment actions have been made in some particular cases (air layer
insulation, of walls heating control system revision, external insulation), but they have not been considered in the
present analysis, because of their limited application.

3. The results

The energy refurbishment of the existing buildings must follow the most recent national laws on the energy
performance requirements [9]: for the building envelope, the thermal transmittance of the restored structure
(depending on the specific climatic zone) and the hygrothermal performance of building components, are some of
the main requirements. For the technical system refurbishment, the mean seasonal efficiency of the installed
technical system is a target parameter. The boiler substitution is subdued to its efficiency assessment.
These requirements correspond to investments that must be accurately evaluated: the energy audit assessment is
useful to obtain a general framework of the most suitable actions, considering also the cost-benefit ratio of the
processes. They could be evidenced by a wide knowledge of the energy consumption of the whole building stock.
In the case of the University buildings, like for Hospitals, the different destinations and activities determine a
complex situation, difficult to manage. The suitable indicators appear to be different from the ones that can be used
for residential or office buildings.
In the absence of official studies specific for the university building sector, the IEN (Normalised Energy Indicator
for Heating) parameter, introduced by ENEA-FIRE Guide "Guide for energy saving in schools" was used for some
comparisons [8]. It is based on the primary energy consumption for natural gas, normalized according to the
following adjustment factors:
x the building shape factor (external surface area to heated volume ratio S/V),
x the building occupancy hours,
x the Heating Degrees Days,
x the heated volume.

The IEN is calculated by means of the following parameters:

Step 1 – Heating: average Annual Fuel Consumption [kWh/y] - AFC
Step 2 – Heated Volume (gross volume) [m 3] - HV
Step 3 – Heating Degree-Days - HDD
Step 4 – Building Shape Factor [-] – BSF (Table 1)
Step 5 – Time Factor depending on the building system operation time [-] - TF (Table 1)
Step 6 - Calculation of the Normalised Energy Indicator for Heating IEN:

AFC ˜ BSF ˜ TF
IEN 1000 [Wh/ (m3HDD y)] (1)
HV ˜ HDD

Table 1. Building shape factor, BSF, and Time factor values TF (for secondary schools)
Surface area to heated volume ratio S/V [m2/m3] BSF

up to 0.25 1.1
0.26-0.3 1
0.31-0.4 0.9
Building occupancy hours [h] TF
up to 6 1.2
7 1.1
8-9 1
10-11 0.9
>11 0.8
174 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175

The energy consumption of each University buildings therefore has been normalized by the methodology outlined
below, to obtain the IEN and to allow a comparison with reference values for secondary schools [8]:
x Good: IEN < 11.5 Wh/ (m3HDD y)
x Sufficient: IEN between 11.5 and 15.5 Wh/ (m3HDD y)
x Poor: IEN>15.5 Wh/ (m3HDD y)

The results in Table 2 show obviously the same distribution of values as the ones related to the yearly energy
consumption, but, in this way, they can be compared with the reference values for schools, that are valid for different
climatic conditions (normalised by means of HDD). The methodology was developed for schools and therefore some
discrepancies between their reference values and the ones calculated for University buildings are expected. The
comparison has been performed only on the basis of the energy needs for heating: in school this represents the main
energy consumption as in summer schools are mainly closed and limited areas for offices are active. University
activities often are continuous (i.e. laboratories) and offices are active all the year: therefore, high electric energy
consumption should be considered in a global assessment.
In this case, only one critical case can be highlighted, with IEN = 15.8 Wh/ (m3HDD y), referred to a building in
which the temperature must be maintained constant for the whole day (building CB08).

Table 2. IEN values for each building and Historical Buildings Age.

Cod. Description Age IEN [Wh/ (m3HDD y)]

HB01 UNI-PV - Palazzo Centrale XVIIIc. 6.917

HB02 UNI-PV - Palazzo San Tommaso IXc. 5.272
HB03 UNI-PV - Palazzo Ex INPS XIX 7.994
HB04 UNI-PV - Area Ex Ponzio XVIIIc. 8.336
HB05 UNI-PV - Orto Botanico XVIIIc. 9.134*
HB06 UNI-PV - Museo Guffanti /Botta XVIIIc. 10.4
HB07 UNI-PV - Palazzo San Felice+Chiesa VIIIc. 6.387
HB08 UNI-PV - Palazzo Del Maino XIVc. 7.244
HB09 UNI-PV - Cascina Cravino XIX 7.058
HB10 UNI-PV - Vistarino XVc. 9.395
Buildings after 1900
CB01 UNI-PV - Entomologia 8.125
CB02 UNI-PV - Istituti Scientifici 6.478
CB03 UNI-PV - Odont et al. 8.829
CB04 UNI-PV - Igiene et al. 4.456
CB05 UNI-PV - Med.Legale et al. 7.584**
CB06 UNI-PV - Istologia 8.221
CB07 UNI-PV - Nave 5.103
CB08 UNI-PV - Palazzo Botta 2 15.8**
CB09 UNI-PV - Laboratorio Laser 9.179**
CB10 INFN-PV - Palazzina Uffici 5.978
CB11 INFN-PV - Capannone 6.009
Notes: for the Historical Buildings the age is referred to the most ancient parts
* presence of greenhouses
**laboratories with special needs

Regarding the improvement actions proposed in the energy audit, some analyses have been made to put in
evidence the most suitable actions related to the Pay Back Time (PBT): the three main actions IT1, IT2, IT3, when
applicable, have been considered, to calculate the corresponding costs. Their combination has not been analysed
because of the need of a deeper specific investigation for each building.
Referring to a payback time (PBT) lower than 10 years (without national incentives), 7 of the 10 historical
buildings appear to be improved by means of the heating system refurbishment (IT1): the whole money saving is
estimated up to 65.000 euro/year. Quite the 90% of the historical buildings volume is involved.
 A. Magrini et al. / Energy Procedia 101 (2016) 169 – 175 175

For the recent buildings, a PBT<10 for IT1 is indicated only for 6 of the 11 buildings but it could lead to a money
saving up to 77.000 euro/year. The 58% of the recent building volume is concerned.
The roof insulation corresponds to a PBT quite high in the case of historical buildings (only one case PBT < 10),
while it is lower than 10 for 5 of 11 recent buildings, corresponding to a 25% of the whole building volume and to a
money saving up to 27000 euro/year. The building shape doesn’t seem to affect significantly the energy
performance, even if a higher mean value of S/V is reached by historical buildings.

4. Comments and conclusions

The energy audit of a large building stock can allow global analyses and considerations on the strategies for a
smart planning of improvements. A classification system to assess the refurbishment level could be a useful tool.
The methodology developed for schools appears to be suitable in principle for the evaluation of the present
situation and the improvements, even if the limit values should be validated by means of the appropriate ones typical
of the also for University uses. In fact, even if the energy consumption of the University buildings of Pavia is quite
high and it could be reduced, as shown by means of the energy audit analyses, it has been classified "Poor" only for
one building among the 21 ones analysed by the energy audit. All the other buildings are considered "Good", based
on the IEN evaluation.
Therefore a proposal for new reference IEN values for University buildings in Italy could be developed, by
collecting the results of the energy audits of various Universities, taking into account the geographical position and
deepening the aspects related to the differences between historical and contemporary buildings.
The same model could be experienced all over Europe, finding for each country the most suitable reference
values, also on the basis of the present energy consumption levels.

References

[1] European Parliament. Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010
on the Energy Performance of Buildings (recast). Official Journal of the European Union L153/13, 18.6.2010
[2] EN 15251:2007 Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy performance of
buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics. Bruxelles: European
Committee for Standardization.
[3] Draft EN 16798, European Standard, Energy Performance of Buildings. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization.
[4] Mazzarella L. Energy retrofit of historic and existing buildings. The legislative and regulatory point of view.
Energy and Buildings 2005; 95; 23-31
[5] EN 16247:2014 European Standard Energy audits - Part 2: Buildings. Bruxelles: European Committee for
Standardization.
[6] EN ISO 13790:2008 Energy performance of buildings - Calculation of energy use for space heating and
cooling, Bruxelles: European Committee for Standardization.
[7] UNI/TS 11300 Part 1 “Ventilazione degli edifici - Calcolo delle temperature dei locali, del carico termico e
dell’energia per edifici dotati di impianto di climatizzazione degli ambienti“ (Ventilation for buildings -
Calculation of room temperatures and of load and energy for buildings with room conditioning systems)
[8] ENEA-FIRE Guidelines: "Guida per il contenimento della spesa energetica nelle scuole" (Energy saving
guidelines for schools), Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, S.Maria di Galeria, Roma,
http://www.lexenergetica.it/documenti/download.asp?id=12
[9] Italian Ministry Decree 26.06.15 on the minimum requirements of the energy performance of buildings.