Toward Energy Transition: New Paths, Tools and Technologies Applied to Buildings and Urban Context

Dear Colleagues,

In the era of energy transition, modern society faces new challenges in its attempt to make the modern world more sustainable and less impactful on the environment from an energy perspective, while ensuring the regular conduct of human activities and its ongoing growth. Within these challenges, the building sector plays a fundamental role, accounting for over 30% of final energy consumption, when compared to all energy sectors. Aside from representing about one-third of the total consumption, this sector also significantly contributes to emissions of climate-altering substances, which have led, in recent years, to an increase in global average temperatures. Notably, the past months have been characterized by the highest average environmental temperatures ever recorded. Therefore, researchers and scientists have been called upon to develop various technologies and strategies, aimed at improving the energy performance of buildings and their interconnections in the energy systems of densely populated cities. Specifically, various themes related to the promotion of energy communities and the achievement of the goal of zero/positive energy/emission districts are accepted in this Special Issue. Particular interest is also paid to the development and study of interactions between energy distribution networks (electric and/or thermal) and buildings, and to the development of the strategies aimed at maximizing the bidirectionality of such interactions, with the aim of reducing energy dependence on fossil sources.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Innovative building energy systems;
• Passive strategies for building energy saving;
• Building integration renewable energy technologies;
• District heating and cooling systems;
• Buildings cluster modeling;
• Positive energy districts;
• Renewable energy communities;
• Energy flexibility in city;
• Urban energy systems;
• User and building system interaction;
• Building and grid interaction.

Dr. Giovanni Barone
Dr. Giovanni Francesco Giuzio
Dr. Laura Pompei
Dr. Roberto Stasi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• building energy efficiency
• smart cities
• energy communities
• building cluster
• key performance indicators
• renewable energy technologies
• building energy retrofit