Assessment of cost-optimality and technical solutions in high performance multi-residential buildings in the Mediterranean area

tThe European policy framework is focused on reducing energy consumption in the building sector. Therecast of Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) Directive establishes that minimum energy perfor-mance requirements have to be set to achieve cost-optimal levels.A methodology is developed to assess energy and cost effectiveness in new buildings located inthe Mediterranean area. Several energy efficiency technical variants are applied to a multi residentialreference building selected as a representative model of the national building stock. Primary energyconsumption and global costs are evaluated in a number of configurations to derive the cost-optimalsolution.The paper shows how economical high efficient buildings can be obtained at a design stage for a warmclimate. The selected configuration decreases primary energy consumption by 90% and CO2emissions by88% with respect to the baseline building.Results appear useful for comparison with other climates and building types. The paper also pointsout that the methodology is suitable to guide and support the choice of cost effective energy efficiencymeasures in compliance with EU requirements.