Ance addresses the improvement of energy efficiency and security of buildings

The information seminar “Efficient and safe buildings: performance evaluation and training of trainers”, held in Rome on 14 December 2018 at the Ance headquarters, was attended by stakeholders from the construction and training sector, such as representatives of bodies and associations.

The work was opened by Nicola Massaro (head of Technology and Construction Quality area at Ance) who, after the usual greetings, conducted a speech focused on the evolution of the construction sector in terms of energy efficiency and seismic safety. During the presentation, Mr. Massaro provided a brief and operational overview of the evolution of the regulations and of the tools necessary to increase the energy performance of buildings and to carry out the safety interventions.

The second speech was by Nicola Calabrese, head of the laboratory for energy efficiency in buildings and urban development of the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (Enea). During the speech, entitled “Knowledge of the performance of buildings: Condomini+ 4.0, the application for the analysis of the energy-structural vulnerability of condominium buildings”, the functionalities of the application “Condomini+ 4.0”, developed by Enea, have been illustrated. The app allows to measure in a simple way the energy consumption and the structural characteristics of the condominium buildings for an initial evaluation of the interventions of safety, requalification and efficiency. By inserting the information in the appropriate sections of the application, whose use is reserved for qualified technicians (experts, surveyors, architects and engineers) working in the building sector with particular specialization on structural and plant engineering aspects, it is possible to obtain essential information, such as the level of the class of energy merit and the interventions to optimize performance, or even the elements of structural vulnerability and the level to improve the security of the building. The application compares the real consumption of the building with the reference energy requirements for condominium-type buildings, assigning each building a class of merit (good/sufficient/inadequate) for both heating and electrical consumption. In order to identify the areas in which condominiums require the most intervention, Enea has also set up a strategic IT planning platform for a single project for the recovery of existing buildings that also provides for the structural improvement of buildings based on the different territorial, environmental and climatic criticalities.

Energy management of buildings

The floor was then given to Antonio Panvini, linked by videoconference, general manager of the Italian Thermotechnical Committee (CTI). The CTI, a body federated to Italian Standards Board (Ente Italiano di Normazione -UNI-), has, among other things, the purpose of carrying out regulatory and unifying activities in the various sectors of thermal engineering. In the course of his speech, Mr Panvini provided a broad and interesting examination of the technical regulations of the sector, which in recent years has been subject to constant evolution.

The fourth speech was conducted by Michele Macaluso, president of Italian Network of Local Energy Agencies (Renael) that aims to promote contacts and collaborations with other national institutions, to build a critical mass and encourage the exchange of experiences and good practices among members. The network enhances the role of agencies and local authorities, to solicit the participation of all actors, institutional and otherwise, operating at EU, national and local levels, in energy management. In his speech, Mr Macaluso addressed the issue of the interventions of energy agencies for energy efficiency in buildings.

Training: an incentive for the sector

The seminar also addressed the issue of “training of human resources: sector operators and trainers”. The presentation was given by Rosella Martino, co-director of Formedil, with extensive experience in this field.

The penultimate speech was instead by Francesco De Falco, Ance project technician, who presented to the audience the project Bus.Trainers, with the results achieved. Among others, the main objective of the project was illustrated, namely the approval of a new European standard for the sectoral qualification of the trainer, following the methodology of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), oriented to learning outcomes and supported by the principles of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) and the European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET). In addition, the certification of competences will be validated through the ‘Green Tag’, which will guarantee the specific learning acquired in Bus.Trainers platform and the previous knowledge held by the interested parties. In addition, the results of the survey on the “profile of the trainer” were presented.

Tax incentives for Energy Efficiency

The last intervention in the schedule was instead focused on tax incentives for energy and seismic upgrading of buildings, with particular reference to the platform developed jointly by Ance and Deloitte. The tool was created with the aim of managing the transfer of tax incentives, or tax credits, concerning energy efficiency measures of entire buildings (Ecobonus) and seismic safety of buildings (Sismabonus). In addition, the tool is designed to facilitate the meeting between the holders of tax credits and potential third parties investors in a safe environment, after legal and tax verification of all steps. In particular, the Platform assists companies in all phases of credit purchase, which are analyzed, verified and certified so that the investment is risk-free. The practice ends with the credit being inserted in the tax drawer of the acquiring company, which will then be able to start using the credit to offset the taxes due.

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