Open AccessHistoric Indoor Microclimate, the role of HVAC in heritage buildings’ restoration: the case of the Palace of Venaria Reale
Author(s) -
Anna Bonora,
Kristian Fabbri,
Marco Pretelli
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/2069/1/012078
Subject(s) - microclimate , hvac , architectural engineering , indoor air , environmental science , thermal comfort , computer science , building science , civil engineering , engineering , meteorology , air conditioning , geography , archaeology , mechanical engineering
The paper is aimed to illustrate how the study of the indoor microclimate, supported by the virtual simulation and by the knowledge of the historical evolutions of the building (managerial, usage and architectonical changes over the years), represents a preventive practice which allows to evaluate and predict the interactions between the object and the environment. To do that the authors present a case-study: room 33 in the Palace of Venaria Reale, in Turin, Italy. We have reproduced a virtual building model which presents the same indoor and outdoor microclimatic conditions of the original building. Moreover, we evaluated an alternative scenario that simulates the indoor microclimate of room 33 considering the HVAC systems continuously off. The comparison between the two virtual buildings allowed to estimate the impact of the HVAC system on the preventive conservation of the historical building, of the artefacts and of the occupants’ thermal comfort. Those simulations clarified which indoor microclimatic conditions could be guaranteed by the building itself, after the restoration project of the whole Palace started in 2001.