Improving sustainability and energy efficiency in buildings: A road to zero-emission buildings in Italy

An increase in energy consumption both in residential and commercial buildings has been registered for the past couple of decades. In the context of this crisis, a strategic plan has been developed by the European Union involving the environmental sustainability of buildings. This study provides an overview of the implementation strategy of the Italian building strategy and draws attention to promoting sustainable design in building architecture and the energy-efficient built environment. This research presents the results and analysis of the solar energy integration in the urban and rural building environments in Italy, in the form of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) systems, Photovoltaic Shading Devices (PVSDs) integrated with Phase Change Materials (PCM). Moreover, this research also evaluates the zero-emission building framework for building. The variability of different climatic conditions in Italy is also kept in mind. The experimental simulations have been done using Energy Plus software, which has demonstrated the building envelopes of the building and energy saving for different cases.