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Most of the Catalonian population and urban areas are located along the Mediterranean coastal zone and for this analysis three largest Catalonia’s cities are chosen: Barcelona, Terrassa and Tarragona. Each city is a geographical representative of a different climate type according to the re-analysed Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the effects of regional climate variations on the potential of natural ventilation (NV) application in building design. The first part of the article presents the availability of NV corresponding to yearly climate conditions applying the methodology “Climate Potential for Natural Ventilation” (CPNV). In continuation, the second analysis is calculated with building energy simulation software and displays possible refrigeration energy savings in three geographical locations. Mixed-mode (or hybrid-mode) and night-ventilation techniques are applied for the cooling process of a hypothetical low-rise office building model. Peer Reviewed

Most of the Catalonian population and urban areas are located along the Mediterranean coastal zone and for this analysis three largest Catalonia’s cities are chosen: Barcelona, Terrassa and Tarragona. Each city is a geographical representative of a different climate type according to the re-analysed Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the effects of regional climate variations on the potential of natural ventilation (NV) application in building design. The first part of the article presents the availability of NV corresponding to yearly climate conditions applying the methodology “Climate Potential for Natural Ventilation” (CPNV). In continuation, the second analysis is calculated with building energy simulation software and displays possible refrigeration energy savings in three geographical locations. Mixed-mode (or hybrid-mode) and night-ventilation techniques are applied for the cooling process of a hypothetical low-rise office building model. Peer Reviewed

The EU-funded project called SEAM4US (Sustainable Energy mAnageMent for Underground Stations) is targeted to define advanced control systems for cost-effective management of subway stations, which will be applied to the pilot Peer Reviewed

The EU-funded project called SEAM4US (Sustainable Energy mAnageMent for Underground Stations) is targeted to define advanced control systems for cost-effective management of subway stations, which will be applied to the pilot Peer Reviewed

Large scale mitigation strategies showed to represent promising solutions for enhancing liveability in dense urban contexts. Therefore, most of the researches are focused on assessing the effect of high albedo surfaces and greenery. The paper deals with a numerical and experimental analysis of these evapotranspiration and high-reflectance surfaces in a full scale experimental set-up where more than 20 cubicles are monitored in a Mediterranean continental climate. The experimental set-up itself covers an intermediate inter-building perspective between the lab scale and the real urban contexts, which compromises the possibility to generalize final results. This scale is able to better control geometry of area, but allows real microclimate monitoring and calibration of CFD models. Starting from a validated model, this study simulated alternative scenarios with gradually varying the presence of common mitigation strategies with the scope to evaluate their effect to this aim. Results showed that high albedo solutions best mitigate summer overheating reducing the air temperature, while greenery was more effective in the densest configurations with low albedo envelopes, showing how geometry related variables may play a key role in determining the optima configurations of microclimate mitigation strategies, also important for the best exploitation of renewables in the built environment. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Large scale mitigation strategies showed to represent promising solutions for enhancing liveability in dense urban contexts. Therefore, most of the researches are focused on assessing the effect of high albedo surfaces and greenery. The paper deals with a numerical and experimental analysis of these evapotranspiration and high-reflectance surfaces in a full scale experimental set-up where more than 20 cubicles are monitored in a Mediterranean continental climate. The experimental set-up itself covers an intermediate inter-building perspective between the lab scale and the real urban contexts, which compromises the possibility to generalize final results. This scale is able to better control geometry of area, but allows real microclimate monitoring and calibration of CFD models. Starting from a validated model, this study simulated alternative scenarios with gradually varying the presence of common mitigation strategies with the scope to evaluate their effect to this aim. Results showed that high albedo solutions best mitigate summer overheating reducing the air temperature, while greenery was more effective in the densest configurations with low albedo envelopes, showing how geometry related variables may play a key role in determining the optima configurations of microclimate mitigation strategies, also important for the best exploitation of renewables in the built environment. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd