Heritage Energy Living Lab Onsite - HeLLo 2018-2020

HeLLo Project flyer: Improving the energy efficiency of heritage buildings is one of the priorities of the European Commission. Historical buildings play an important role for their cultural value and social identity within the vast real estate heritage. Only by carefully planning the energy refurbishment of these buildings is it possible to improve users’ comfort while preserving the architectural features for which they are protected. The HeLLo project aims at spreading the awareness of professionals (architects, public administrations, superintendents, end-users) and the knowledge of the real potential of some retrofit solutions in the case of intervention on historic buildings. Today’s construction market offers many varied technologies designed specifically for new buildings. However, it is not always possible to make these generalizations due to potential incompatibilities or criticalities that are difficult to foresee during the design phase. The project intends to create a true experimental laboratory, in which to test directly on a historical case study the performance of some insulating materials in order to obtain real data, useful for the design of the interventions. In situ tests will be conducted in Palazzo Tassoni Estense in Ferrara (headquarters of the Department of Architecture), a monumental building of considerable architectural interest. The laboratory will open the doors to various stakeholders offering an “experimental experience”, also for those outside the academic sector. Through an intense dissemination plan (conferences, courses and technical meetings) the results of the experimental tests will be shared with a wide audience of potential users: professionals interested in applying retrofit solutions, students who want to deepen some application details, PhD students wishing to know the field of experimental research, as well as those representing the entities responsible for approving the interventions (Public Administrations and Superintendence).