Energy and environmental refurbishment of the residential complex of Torrevecchia in Rome. Retroftting and Demand Response Activities

The international agreements regarding the containment of global warming updated on the occasion of the COP 28 held recently in Dubai set the common objective: to tripe the world’s renewable energy capacity and doube the rates of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. These goals respond to alarming data that the scientific community attributes to the increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 into the atmosphere. The sector most responsible for air pollution is the residential one, accounting for 40% of total emissions. The proposed contribution focuses on the analysis of the existing building stock to evaluate strategies for improving energy efficiency with a consequent reduction of CO2 emissions. The research was carried out on the Torrevecchia public housing complex in Rome. The intervention proposal focused on multiple aspects, providing for the redevelopment of the building envelope, a new typological configuration of the housing units, and the renovation of the technological systems. The study evaluated the energy consumption of individual residential homes. By simulating thermal and electrical energy consumption, grouped according to similar characteristics in different energy load conditions, it was possible to fix the share of flexible loads. This defined therefore the real conditions that could reduce the hypothetical flexibility potential of various household types in the residential sector can provide to the public network, in order to prepare the activation of a Demand Response (DR) program. The spreadsheet proposed the best feasible redevelopment intervention for each energy load condition, returning an average flexibility potential value of 29.9%. This could be achieved by installing a photovoltaic system with storage and equipping each unit with a heat pump for heating and sanitary water production. This result was evaluated together with compatible architectural choices, such as thermal insulation of the opaque and transparent casing and the inclusion of solar loggias for some homes, to reduce heat exchanges with the outside and improve the liveability of spaces. These interventions can facilitate the complete transition to on-site electricity production from renewable energy sources, reducing CO2 emissions locally and contributing to global emission reduction. The self-production of energy from renewable sources, monitoring of energy consumption, and the participation in DR programs will allow individual users to manage the electricity production and consumption based on system demand and availability, positioning finals users as new active protagonists of the energy market. Multiple energy users aggregated in a smart grid can organize an energy community, where participants could implement common choices for the community’s energy needs that are sustainable for the ecosystem.