*Ordine degli Ingegneri della Provincia di Roma, Rome, Italy

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to report the results achieved by the Electrical and Energy Commissions of the Association of Professional Engineers of Rome and proposals for further energy-saving activities.

The primary objectives of these Commissions are:

• to study energy problems and promote awareness of such problems;
• to inform technicians and consumers;
• to improve standards and regulations.

The Commissions try to achieve these goals through:

• open meetings;
• working groups of experts and issue of technical reports;
• training courses for technicians concerned;
• subcommittees to propose standards and regulations;
• definition of the Italian Energy Manager's tasks;
• implementation of better coordination with municipal technicians;
• means of communication, i.e. the bulletin of the Association, the Association Secretariat Mail Box, Television Teletex and Internet www.angelfire.com/al/CommissioneElettrica

The paper ends with a description of renewable energy sources in the Rome area.

INTRODUCTION

The Association of the Professional Engineers of Rome is a public institution with approximately 13,000 members that provides a service to colleagues and a guarantee to customers. It has created the Electrical and Energy Commissions to discuss problems related to energy, technological development, regulations, economic aspects and environment protection.

The "energy question" is of prime importance in all countries. The rationalization and saving of energy of all types and reduction in the use of fossil fuels are absolutely essential. Technicians can and must intervene in the war against the waste of energy.

Italian laws and international agreements

The main Italian laws regarding energy (L. 10/91, 1991) and safety of systems (L. 46/90, 1990) were issued in the early nineties. The objectives are:

• improvement of the efficiency of energy processes;
• reduction of energy consumption;
• better environmental compatibility in the utilization of energy without detriment to the service rendered and the quality of life;
• sustainable development.

For the correct application of the laws, detailed regulations and explanatory circulars have been issued. Fig. 1 shows the sectors covered by Law 10/91.

For the correct application of the laws, detailed regulations and explanatory circulars have been issued. Fig. 1 shows the sectors covered by Law 10/91.

Fig. 1. - Italian Law No. 10/91 (16/01/1991)

The correct application of the energy-saving law is a basic contribution towards meeting the under-mentioned international agreements on the reduction of air pollution.

1. Earth Summit of Rio (1992): The United Nations declared the intention to limit, by the year 2000, polluting emissions to the same levels of 1990.
2. Third World-wide Conference on Climatic Changes, Kyoto protocol (1997): the developed countries proposed reducing the emissions of the six main gases considered responsible for the "greenhouse effect" (CO2, NOx, CH4, SF6, HFC, PFC) by 5% within the year 2010. At the European level, the obligation of the EU is even greater (-8%). Italy should reduce such emissions by 6.5%.

THE COMMISSIONS' ACTIVITIES

The Energy and Electrical Commissions have organized several courses and prepared specialized handbooks. An "Electrical and Energy Information Window" has been set up in the Rome Headquarters to supply free information to interested colleagues.

Furthermore, the Commissions' proposals for better management of energy systems, with the main objective of reducing harmful emissions and improving safety, have been forwarded to the competent bodies.

Finally, free information is given to students who have chosen the rational use of energy and the utilization of alternative energy as the subject of their thesis.

THE ITALIAN ENERGY MANAGER

Article 19 of Law 10/91 envisages the introduction of "a person responsible for the conservation and rational use of energy", in other words, an Energy Manager. This professional appointment is mandatory for large energy consumers, such as municipalities, industries, and so on. The Commissions have defined the main duties of the Energy Manager, as follows:

1. to measure and monitor all types of energy, specifying for each one of them power, modality of use, load diagram, etc;
2. to control all energy consumption and compare this with consumption of past years;
3. to set up a control plan for the operating conditions of each energy user;
4. to develop, implement and verify the organization's or company's energy plan;
5. to identify and evaluate the possibilities of optimization of energy use;
6. to set up a maintenance program for each energy user;
7. to carry out a technical-economic analysis of possible improvements in order to optimize the use of energy;
8. to analyze the possible use of renewable energy technologies; this is mandatory for public buildings;
9. to carry out a periodic check of energy consumption for each user to evaluate the efficacy of energy-saving systems;
10. to review periodically electrical and thermal energy supply contracts;
11. to prepare energy budgets, taking into account energy costs and final uses;
12. to recommend suitable preliminary designs for profitable energy-saving systems;
13. to prepare, in accordance with national and European standards, specifications and tenders for the construction and/or operation of thermal and electrical systems;
14. to prepare documentation and energy data requested by the Ministry of Industry in order to obtain public contributions in accordance with Law 10/91;
15. to carry out courses on the application of Law 10/91;
16. to prepare procedures for the verification of technical reports which energy consumers must present to the municipality before the beginning of installation work.

In addition, the Energy Manager must:

1. organize procedures to check the heating systems of blocks of flats in towns with more than 40,000 inhabitants;
2. prepare renewable energy plans for towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

INTEGRATION OF BUILDINGS AND HEATING SYSTEMS

The Commissions are trying to promote better collaboration with civil engineers and architects from the beginning of the preliminary design phase of public and private works and during the whole life-cycle of the building, including renovation work.

A good design must include the following.

System zoning

The general principle is to reduce heating to the minimum, both in terms of space and duration, while maintaining comfortable conditions in occupied rooms. Exposure must also be taken into account.

Zoning is a typical example of integration between architecture and heating/electrical systems.

The principle of zoning must also apply to lighting.

The "single designer principle" must give way to the "design team principle", which must include at least experts in:

- structures;

- thermal and plumbing systems;

- electrical systems.

To maintain greatest efficiency, a boiler must operate close to maximum power. Therefore, it is better to split the heating power in at least in two boilers depending on consumer demand.

A well-designed heating system cannot achieve the desired performance if not properly operated. It is necessary to put into practice the energy-saving system capabilities that were designed and installed: to shut off the unoccupied heated zones; and be "flexible" in partially occupied zones, that is, transfer the few people in one zone to another occupied zone and shut off the "emptied" zone.

It is, however, advisable that there be at least one person with specific technical knowledge, a sort of "Energy Manager" (even if not required by law) who takes care of all types of energy saving: heating, hot water, lighting, thermal insulation, use of solar radiation when possible, etc.

RENEWABLES SOURCES IN ROME

For many years and in many countries, the generation of electricity was centralized in a few large power-stations, near primary energy sources or far from densely populated areas.

Nowadays, this tendency has been reversed (Spena, 1997), with the widespread use of small to medium-sized power-stations to meet the energy demand of the "local" environment, more or less on a regional scale.

Renewable energy sources may be considered a technically reliable, economically viable and environmentally friendly alternative. Technological improvements in this field have enabled small and medium industrial operators to produce and distribute electricity at competitive costs.

A study carried out in 1995 (Various Authors, 1995) estimated a generation of energy from renewable sources at about 8% of primary energy consumption for the city of Rome.

At present, the main renewable energy source in Rome is hydroelectric power from natural and artificial water, such as drinking-water distribution systems. Rome has three-power stations for a total of 25 MW supplied by spring water. Other hydroelectric power-stations have been installed on the rivers Tiber and Aniene within the city of Rome.

Potential solar energy in Rome is substantial. In fact, there is sun for more than six months a year, with an average annual power of 1,600 kWh/m². The average air temperature is 16 °C (Cracas, 1996).

Rome’s climate therefore favours the use of sun collectors and photovoltaic energy, but high installation and maintenance costs are the greatest obstacle to the utilization of this type of energy. However, Italian and European financial incentives should encourage new installations, helping to decrease production costs.

In the Rome area, thermal energy obtained from forestry residues and agricultural waste, such as straw, is very limited and difficult to utilize because of the high percentage of humidity present in the "combustible" and harvesting and transportation costs.

Last, but not least, energy may be produced by combustion of urban solid waste. Public utilities should take care of this type of energy generation because they are generally responsible for the energy and waste services of the municipality.

Another source of interest is bio-gas, which is collected at solid waste dumping sites; an example is in Guidonia, north of Rome.

CONCLUSIONS

Italy's laws and standards in the energy field must be enforced by supervisory bodies, applied by technicians and observed by consumers.

The Commissions are aware that the current global market mostly ignores social and environmental costs and risks associated with the use of fossil fuels.

An organization can only effectively manage energy consumption and contain costs by appointing a specialist responsible for such matters.

The activities and initiatives of the Energy and Electrical Commissions are aimed at implementing the recommendations of the international community in order to achieve sustainable development in the Rome area.

Finally the Commissions are developing the following activities:

• preparation of the Italian Energy Manager's Handbook;
• organization of an annual award to be given for outstanding participation in energy saving programs and/or implementation of renewable energy technologies.

REFERENCES

Cracas, G., M. Fiori, and C. Turella (1996). The renewable energy sources: hypothesis for the Municipality of Rome's Energy Plan. Congress Città-Ambiente-Territorio - Aspetti energetici e qualità della vita, Milano.

Italian Government (1991). Laws No. 9 and No. 10, Ordinary Supplement of the Official Italian Gazette No. 13, 16/01/1991

Italian Government (1990). Law No. 46: Standards for safety systems, Official Italian Gazette No. 59, 12/03/1990

Spena, A.(1996). Fondamenti di Energetica, Vol. I, ed. CEDAM. Padua, Italy.

Various Authors. (1995). Ricerca per l'attuazione del Piano Energetico Ambientale del Comune di Roma. Ambiente Italia Research Institute, Milano.