Refurbishment and insulation of San Benedetto del Tronto hospital
San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche, Italy
The various buildings of the complex were built in different periods, starting with an Art Nouveau villa which was, following a donation, the first nucleus from which, over time, the entire hospital complex evolved, from the blocks of the 60s to the more recent ones dating back to the 80s and 90s. The same buildings, over time, have also undergone partial renovations and changes in volume and distribution of internal spaces, as well as their intended use. The thermal power plant is unique for the whole building complex and the heat generation is carried out with three boilers, one of which is intended for the production of steam not related to air conditioning processes. In addition, there is a co-generator for the combined production of heat and electricity, operating mainly during the winter period, with methane gas supply.
The improvement scenarios concern the envelope of the entire volume, except for the outer walls of art nouveau villa; in it in the which the outer thermal coat does not appear to be a choice practicable due to law restrictions.
The works have been assigned through EPC contract, with the Energy Plus service system.
Benefits
The intervention on the envelope allows a strong reduction in energy primary need for the Hospital, able to reach 77% including the replacement of the obsolete boilers with a new, centralised one. The refurbishment of all the complex allows to reach a unity difficult to be seen before.
The payback period is quite long due to the application of EPC contract, where the ESCo needs to return back of the investment made. This application has the advantage to allow the intervention with an initial investment close to zero. The refurbishment is still ongoing, due to bureaucracy and need to keep the building working.
The training aspect allowed to broaden the interest in replicability. Three seminars have been organized in the Marche Region for technicians to replicate the procedure also in future refurbishments.