SOLE project is supporting owners and managers of public buildings to improve them by designing effective energy rehabilitation strategies and increasing the use of renewable energies.

In Italy, the pilot action concerns a nursery school and playground – Borgo San Paolo, located in the municipality of Prato (Tuscany Region). The intervention deals with the setting up of effective technical solutions to improve the building energy efficiency. In particular, the pilot provides for the replacement of the fixtures and the realization of external insulation, thus adapting this structure to the energy features in compliance with current legislation.

The building has been realized in the 1960s. The existing fixtures were made of wood, simple glass at very low thermo-acoustic performance. There is a thermal system for heating the environments. The building's heating system is served by a thermal power plant powered by methane gas placed in a room obtained in the volume of the building. From the thermal power station, there is only one circuit intended for heating, equipped with an electric pump, with a climatic regulation system, which powers the thermal internal systems. The thermal power plant has recently undergone redevelopment through the setting up of a functioning regulation and control system in remote control and a solar thermal system for the production of domestic hot water.

The main interventions foreseen will be made by improving the thermo-hygrometric characteristics of all the opaque and transparent vertical structures of the building envelope and one portion of the floor; in addition, parts of the heating system will be improved with the use of home automation and monitoring system that will optimize the need for the energy required by the structure. Another planned intervention is the replacement of the current lighting bodies with ceiling lights equipped with high efficiency LED lamps together with the installation of an energy meter for monitoring consumption.

The intervention provides for total funding of 275,000 Euros of which 90% financed by the ENI CBC Med Program and the remaining 10% financed through the National Rotation Fund. The loan will be assigned and disbursed to the Municipality of Prato through an agreement with ANCI Toscana.

About SOLE project

SOLE (High Energy efficiency for the pubLIc stOck buildingS in the Mediterranean) is a European Project under the ENI CBC Med Programme, which aims at designing effective energy rehabilitation strategies in public buildings across the Mediterranean.

Partners: Anci Toscana (Lead Partner), Regional Agency Resource Recovery (Italy), National Technical University of Athens (Greece), Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (Egypt), Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (Egypt), Royal Scientific Society (Jordan), Municipality of Jounieh (Lebanon), Andalusian Energy Agency (Spain), National Federation of Tunisian Municipalities (Tunisia), Municipality of Mnihla (Tunisia).