Assessing the Climate Resilience of Passive Cooling Solutions for Italian Residential Buildings

One of the most significant repercussions of greenhouse gas concentration increase has been the global rise in temperature, resulting in drastic changes in the climate. According to this background, buildings are not only contributing to climate change, but they are also being affected by it, as climate change will raise the risk of overheating and cooling demand in buildings. Therefore, assessing and communicating resilient cooling and overheating protection solutions is inexorable. This paper aims to analyse the energy efficiency and climate resiliency of three passive cooling solutions for Italian residential buildings in future climates. Simulations have been performed using EnergyPlus for the pre-retrofitted condition (without insulation and conventional heating and cooling systems) and the retrofitted building (with insulation and a reversible heat pump for heating and cooling). Results show that buildings will be subject to an increase in cooling loads, electrical energy consumption for cooling, and overheating risk due to climate change. The ultra-selective double-glazed window is found to be more climate-resilient in comparison with roller blind and cool roof tiles. Besides, combining these three cooling technologies can guarantee the best future energy performance for each period. However, the overheating risk during the power outage still exists, especially for the post-retrofitted building. These findings have significant implications for understanding how analyzing multiple factors is essential to guarantee the climate resilience of cooling systems in a holistic way.