'SECHURBA approach: modeling feasibility for reducing energy consumption in listed buildings'

In the European urban planning processes, the priority given to the preservation and protection of historic towns and buildings of cultural interest in conjunction with the complex legislation framework have restricted the possible applications offered by the discoveries of technological development in the direction of environmental sustainability to be applied to heritage buildings. The exclusion of buildings of historical importance in the Energy performance in Building Directive (EPBD) gave a strong pull in this direction. First published in 2002, the EPBD introduced incentives and obligations for the public and private sector to save energy and reduce running costs, to put in legislation and methodology to calculate energy use in buildings, and to issue energy performance certificates. This was very challenging, and represented a great opportunity to reduce the Union's energy dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. However there were certain key exclusions in the directive - these requirements did not have to be met if buildings were specifically protected because of their special architectural or historic merit, nor if they were places of worship, such as churches, cathedrals and temporary buildings. Nevertheless, efficiency, energy saving and environmental sustainability have been the strategic objectives of the European Union for years, and issues about which it has launched and promoted numerous research programs. The new strategies of urban regeneration expressed through the "Declaration of Toledo" and endorsed by the European Ministers in June 2010, point out that European cities need to be socially inclusive, smart, economically competitive and environmentally sustainable. In this context, the great potential for the development of energy saving measures in historic buildings and areas of excellence should be emphasized. On these themes, the Built Heritage Lab (BHLab) of the Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage (National Research Council-CNR), has been conducting research for many years, aimed at a deeper understanding of the characteristics, context, places, architecture and construction techniques related to local tradition, to enable a critical choice of compatible solutions which would be able to improve the energy efficiency of buildings of high historical value without affecting the quality of their original appearance.