Towards high energy performing historical buildings. A methodology focused on operation and users’ engagement strategies

"Historical evidence indicates that when man first considered settlements and the order pertaining the rein, he showed concern for the conservation of this order and of monuments" [1]. Today, the conservation of historical buildings involves also the necessity to adapt them to the current lifestyles and legislation in order to maintain them, wherever possible, as living evidences of the past. One of the most important challenges of adapting historical buildings to future usages is represented by the enhancement of energy performances of these building, that is crucial both for environmental and economic reasons. The aim of this paper is to outline a methodology to investigate the potential energy savings and the enhancement of historical buildings’ livability by acting only on their operation, so that the building fabric could be maintained as much as possible as the original evidence. Furthermore, an example about methodology’s application on a real case study will be described in order to translate the theoretic phases into an operative plan