English

The main trend in developmental theoriesnowadays is the Sustainable Development theorythat sets environmental protection as a prerequisitefor economical growth. This approachwas established in the conference held in Rio,Brazil in 1992. Thus, after the Conference aninternational framework was created (AGENDA21, Green Bible, Habitat II, Agenda, UrbanAgenda) within which actions, having as commoncharacteristic the developmental model ofsustainable growth, are coordinated.Energy production and its use are consideredresponsible for the largest part of climatechange.

New types of solar energy systems and smallwind turbines efficient in energy conversion andof advanced aesthetics are presented. These systemshave been developed in Physics Departmentof University of Patras and aim to an improvedintegration of RES on buildings. Newsolar water heaters of the Integrated CollectorStorage (ICS) type, thermal colored collectors,hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems,Fresnel lenses with linear multifanctionalabsorbers, and small wind turbines are consideredto be applied as satisfactory solutions forthe built and urban environment.

Since ancient times man has always tried tocontrol the environment in which he lived. Principlesof environmental building design wheredeveloped over the centuries mostly by trial anderror. One early form of environmental designwas the atrium, which can often be seen inhouses of wealthy Romans (Fig. 1). Its one ofthe - if not the- simplest way of keeping the insideof the building warm during the winter,cool during the summer while letting the sun enterinside the building at the same time.

The present work is part of a student projectperformed at the School of Architecture at theUniversity of Patras, Greece and summarizesand discusses principles and design concepts forbuilding integrated photovoltaics. A review forthe several types and properties of the photovoltaicswith regard to integration aspects in thebuilding envelope and their advantages and disadvantagesare included. The work also includesaspects for the new aesthetic items that comefrom these new types of building componentsand suggestions for application requirementsand future perspectives.

This paper attempts to organise examples ofbuilding features for air cooling in historical architecturein categories based on the manner inwhich the air is channelled in or through thebuilding. Contemporary building applicationsthat bear reference to historical methods havealso been searched and presented. This researchhas shown that historical prototypes and contemporaryapplications both can be used to improvenatural ventilation and cooling of buildings.

The present paper describes the developmentand the specifications of a software package thatdelivers useful information on scientific topics,bibliography, achievements and activities relatedto the area of renewable energy sourcesand energy management. The queries and resultsare transmitted over the Internet through asimple graphical interface. The package consistsof a database designed to host this informationand a web-based software application, whichserves the dynamic content.

All habitable spaces must provide the visual andthermal comfort, in order to give the inhabitantsa living in a pleasant environment (Naturallighting, heating and cooling). This can beachieved through thermal protection during winterand through the use of suitable techniquesapplied in the exterior shell of the buildings, inorder to establish the needed insulation and airproofduring summer.The role of the exterior shell is very important,because it protects the building against unpleasantweather conditions, like strong winds,humidity, and extreme solar radiation.

Nowadays, the necessity for the reservation ofcomfortable living conditions as well as energyefficiency in the buildings sector is more andmore emerging. Towards this direction, an expertmodel for the intelligent monitoring of theenergy efficiency in conventional buildings hasbeen developed. A description of this modelwill be the aim of this paper. The general philosophyof the model is based on the principlesof the Building Energy Management Systems(BEMS).

Within the framework of EPBD and as a part ofa wider initiative to reduce energy consumptiona holistic and more complete approach is requiredfor buildings evaluation. The methodologydiscussed below is based on the developmentof an integrated analysis model, whichimplies, apart of the energy aspect, the environmentaland economic evaluation of buildings.The analysis model presented is based onthe synergy of different environmental toolssuch as LCA and ISO 14031 and economic onessuch as LCCA towards buildings compliancewith the new regulations and standards.

The most important problem for a buildingnowadays is the energy and how someone canachieve to reserve it. There is a relation betweenenvironment, energy and economy and the researchto solve the energy problem is continuouslyexpanding through new design ideas, newand smart materials and cost effective energysystems. The bioclimatic design and passive energysystems, the solar thermal collectors andphotovoltaics, the use of biomass and the smallwind turbines are some of the ways to solve theenergy problem of the buildings.