Energy Behavior of Compact Urban Fabric (chapter 9.2. Energy Efficiency in Building Renovation)

Nowadays energy and energetic fluxes can be considered as main drivers of building regeneration with a relevant influence on the configuration of transformations. In the same way, the long-history towns of Mediterranean area show strict links between urban morphology and climate conditions. Meanwhile the interventions on new constructions seem to be in the line of a continuous progress in technique and science [2], contrariwise, the intervening in historic towns requires, on the one hand, investigating and recognizing the past energy cultures and, on the other hand, the interpretation of building performance in the dense city. Thus, a strategy of urban renovation and maintenance—based on a sustainable approach—obliges shifting the focus from the buildings to the urban textures. The purpose of this chapter is to guide into the possibility of representing by different models specific aspects of performances and behavior of urban textures such as energy use and the urban heat island (UHI).The structure of the paper is the following: 1.1 Building Fabric Energy Analysis: The Role of the Urban Texture in Building Renovation Strategies 1.2 The Heritage-Informed Improvement in Buildings Behavior as a Tool for the Energy Management of Historic Built Heritage 2 Identification and Characterization of the Urban Fabric 2.1 Morphology of the Urban Fabric 2.2 The Built Compact Urban Textures 3 Urban Energy Modeling in the Compact City 3.1 An Overview on a New Approach 3.2 Urban Morphology Indicators 3.3 Data Input 3.4 Energy Analysis and Results Validation 3.5 Recommendations 4 Urban Heat Island in the Compact City 4.1 Impact of UHI Intensity on Energy Demand and Comfort in the Compact City 4.2 Urban Climate and Morphology of Canyons and Urban Textures 4.3 Urban Morphology Parameters for Urban Climate Analysis 4.4 Recommendations