Innovations for Energy Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability

The Bioclimatic Engineering Laboratory at the University of Salento, within the LIEMP regional laboratory network, focuses on technological innovation for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Main research areas include:
Geothermal and Heat Exchangers: Development and validation of geothermal heat exchangers for heat pumps, with innovative configurations such as the “Slinky” exchanger, to improve energy efficiency in buildings and solar greenhouses.
Building Optimization: Thermodynamic analysis and modeling of near-zero energy buildings (NZEB), including interventions to reduce energy consumption and adapt to future climatic conditions with emphasis on cost with multi-objective (cost-optimal) analysis.
Natural and Mechanical Ventilation: Study of the integration of natural and mechanical ventilation to improve air quality and reduce energy costs, especially in agricultural environments such as solar greenhouses.
Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems: Multi-objective optimization of hybrid systems combining renewable energies (photovoltaic and wind) for the production and management of renewable energy and thermal and electrical storage.
Climate Change: among the most relevant studies conducted at the Bioclimatic Engineering Laboratory are predictive analyses of long-term building performance considering future climate conditions. These studies use dynamic models to assess the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings, identifying innovative solutions such as the integration of air-to-ground heat exchangers and the adoption of passive cooling materials and technologies, which are particularly important in warm climate regions.
The studies also examine how climate change will affect natural and mechanical ventilation, and the need to adapt air conditioning and insulation systems to ensure living comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.