Yard energy data collection

The aim of the research is to develop methods and tools to predict, during the design phase, the construction site need of energy, so to orient technological and operating choices in order to reduce, at the same time, energy consumptions and construction costs. In recent years, following the expectations and deadlines set by the European and International Community, the attention of the construction industry to a more sustainable use of resources has been directed mainly towards the energetic optimization and energy savings during the life cycle of a building, involving every design discipline. However, to date, sustainability isn’t a permanent requirement of the construction site discipline. The current situation of the building sector, by contrast, may act as a fruitful phase in the development of new construction equipment that combine both the goal of energy savings and of energetic self-sufficiency of a yard using semi-industrial systems for the production of renewable energy. The first phase of the research consisted in the data collection of the main European energy distributor (TERNA), of the users (construction companies) and of the producers of construction site equipment. The collection has allowed the identification of a series of building descriptors useful to correlate the operational design with the possibility to save energy during construction. In order to validate the method, the data collection is now going on in the field, by direct observation of consumptions associated with specific works. At the same time the group of research is studying some new construction site equipment sustainability oriented.