PEOPLECristian Pozza

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Cristian Pozza

Senior Researcher
Institute for Renewable Energy

T +39 0471 055 756

cristian.pozza@eurac.edu

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1220-7047

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About

Main research activities:

Active energy systems in buildings
Smart buildings
Non-energy benefits

Short CV:

Cristian Pozza is Senior Researcher in the Energy Efficient Buildings group – Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research in Bolzano, Italy. Degree in Electrical Engineering - Automation, PhD in Industrial Engineering. He contributed in several research projects and technology transfer/startup initiatives related to energy efficiency in buildings, HVAC system development, innovative processes for production and recycling of PV modules.

Scientific Publications

Conference proceedings article2025

BREEZE Project: Advancing PV Implementation in Building Renovations

Celik D, Stierstorfer J, Morin C, Garabetian T, Pozza C, Babich F, Gupta A, Raul Morantes Quintana G,

Daniele Antonucci, Francesco Babich, Cristian Pozza, Laura Maturi, Akshit Gupta

Project: EU LIFE BREEZE - Building Renovation Efforts for Zero Emission Buildings

BREEZE (Building Renovation Efforts for Zero Emission Buildings) aims to accelerate the integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems into new and renovated buildings across EU Member States in line with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The project supports national implementation of the Solar Mandate by addressing key technical, financial, and regulatory barriers to large-scale PV deployment. BREEZE focuses on the effective use of rooftop PV, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and balcony PV to improve building energy performance while maintaining architectural quality. By developing standardized tools and practical frameworks, the project promotes cost-effective PV integration in renovation projects and strengthens the link between energy efficiency and on-site renewable generation. Pilot activities in Poland, Italy, and France will test PV deployment strategies under different building types, climates, and regulatory conditions, generating insights applicable across the EU. In parallel, BREEZE advances energy performance assessment methods to ensure compliance with EPBD targets and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) standards. Through capacity-building activities, policy guidance, and best practice development, the project equips policymakers, designers, and industry professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to support a coordinated, sustainable, and scalable approach to solar energy integration in Europe’s building sector.

DOI

DOI: 10.4229/EUPVSEC2025/5DV.3.42

Journal article2024

Optimizing Energy Renovation in Building Portfolios: Approach and Decision-Making Platform

Castagna M, Somova O, Pozza C, De Michele G, Garzia F, Antonucci D, Pernetti R

Daniele Antonucci, Marco Castagna, Federico Garzia, Cristian Pozza, Olga Somova, Giuseppe De Michele

Project: IT BZ WAVE - Development of integrated innovative approaches to ensure a high level of energy saving, healthiness of indoor environments and safety in terms of redevelopment of public building stock

The building sector contributes significantly to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, with many buildings being energy inefficient. In response, the European Green Deal promotes improving energy efficiency to support decarbonization goals. However, managing energy consumption and integrating data from multiple sources presents challenges, especially for large building portfolios. This study introduces a novel methodology designed to optimize energy renovation strategies, balancing technical, financial, and maintenance considerations. The methodology is implemented in CERPlan 1.0, a web-based decision-support platform that combines data on building energy performance, renovation costs, and maintenance needs. Through simulations, CERPlan 1.0 helps decision-makers prioritize retrofit interventions based on economic criteria while leveraging synergies between energy improvements and regular maintenance. Application of this methodology to real estate portfolios reveals opportunities to enhance cost-effectiveness and energy savings. The results show that integrating maintenance into renovation planning reduces payback times and allows for more comprehensive renovation strategies. The conclusions highlight CERPlan 1.0’s potential to improve decision-making, making building renovations more efficient and sustainable.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/en17225537

Inbook2024

Synthetic data on buildings

Antonucci D, Conselvan F, Mascherbauer P, Harringer D, Pozza C

Daniele Antonucci, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU HEU MODERATE - MARKETABLE OPEN DATA SOLUTIONS FOR OPTIMIZED BUILDING-RELATED ENERGY SERVICES

The data-driven approach to building evaluation is gaining significant popularity. Policies related to the adoption of new energy-saving technologies are now rooted in their actual effects on reducing energy consumption. The pandemic and subsequent war have emphasized the crucial significance of various building aspects, including air quality, indoor comfort (thermal, light, and acoustic), and energy efficiency. Evaluating these aspects necessitates the use of real data, which, unfortunately, is often inaccessible, of low quality, or incomplete. Yet, even in the energy and building fields, data anonymization methods like normalization and aggregation limit the information that can be shared. Therefore, finding more effective ways to collaborate on data without compromising privacy is critical for both data owners and data analysts. According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, synthetic data will play a crucial role in enabling AI. This type of data serves as a unifying bridge between policy support and computational models, unlocking the potential of data that may be hidden in silos. Consequently, it becomes the primary catalyst for AI adoption in business and policy applications across Europe. Additionally, the resulting data not only can be freely shared but also aids in rebalancing under-represented classes in research studies through over-sampling, making it an ideal input for machine learning and AI models. One of the fundamental elements involves developing AI models that can accurately and faithfully reproduce various types of building data, considering factors such as climatic conditions, building and system types, occupancy profiles, and intended use. The present study aims to evaluate potential scenarios and applications of AI models for generating valuable data for both building energy assessments and economic evaluations.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-47909-0_7

Journal article2024

Use of Machine Learning Techniques on Aerial Imagery for the Extraction of Photovoltaic Data within the Urban Morphology

Giussani F, Wilczynski E, Zandonella Callegher C, Dalle Nogare G, Pozza C, Novelli A, Pezzutto S

Giovanni Dalle Nogare, Simon Pezzutto, Eric Wilczynski, Cristian Pozza, Fabio Giussani, Claudio Zandonella Callegher

Project: EU HEU MODERATE - MARKETABLE OPEN DATA SOLUTIONS FOR OPTIMIZED BUILDING-RELATED ENERGY SERVICES

Locating and quantifying photovoltaic (PV) installations is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, but it is necessary for monitoring their distribution. In the absence of existing data, the use of aerial imagery and automated detection algorithms can improve the efficiency and accuracy of the data collection process. This study presents a machine learning approach for the analysis of PV installations in urban areas based on less complex and resource-intensive models to target the challenge of data scarcity. The first objective of this work is to develop a model that can automatically detect PV installations from aerial imagery and test it based on the case study of Crevillent, Spain. Subsequently, the work estimates the PV capacity in Crevillent, and it compares the distribution of PV installations between residential and industrial areas. The analysis utilizes machine learning techniques and existing bottom-up data to assess land use and building typology for PV installations, identifying deployment patterns across the town. The proposed approach achieves an accuracy of 67% in detecting existing PV installations. These findings demonstrate that simple machine learning models still provide a reliable and cost-effective way to obtain data for decision-making in the fields of energy and urban planning, particularly in areas with limited access to existing data. Combining this technology with bottom-up data can lead to more comprehensive insights and better outcomes for urban areas seeking to optimize and decarbonize their energy supply while minimizing economic resources.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/su16052020

Journal article2023

Meeting User Needs through Building Automation and Control Systems: A Review of Impacts and Benefits in Office Environments

Garzia F, Verbeke S, Pozza C, Audenaert A

Federico Garzia, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU HE BuildON: Affordable and digital solutions to Build the next generatiON of smart EU buildings

Smart building technologies and building automation and control systems (BACS) can offer a range of additional benefits beyond energy savings, in particular by improving building responsiveness to user needs. Although in recent years these technologies have gained popularity as a means of reducing energy consumption and improving building performance, a clear picture of the role of BACS in providing a wider range of benefits is still missing. This review identifies and collects BACS impacts in office buildings with a special emphasis on improving indoor environmental quality by adapting building operation to changing conditions and guaranteeing feedback and real-time interaction with occupants. The resulting benefits, such as increased employee productivity, fewer occurrences of sick leave, and lower rates of absenteeism are highlighted. Offices represent an interesting field of application, as small improvements in the built environment can have a significant impact on labour costs which are the predominant share of the total operating costs. Furthermore, quantitative relationships between physical factors of the indoor environment and benefits have been displayed where available. This literature review aims at establishing an approach that comprehensively evaluates BACS across their entire spectrum, leading to the promotion of novel business cases.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/buildings13102530

Other2023

Understanding Positive Energy Buildings and Neighbourhoods - towards a common definition

Belleri A, Lollini R, Pozza C, Luque Sugura I, Pistore L, Türk A, Ala-Juusela M, ur Rehman H,

Annamaria Belleri, Roberto Lollini, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU H2020 CULTURAL-E: Climate and cultural based design and market valuable technology solutions for Plus Energy Houses

Positive Energy Buildings (PEBs) represent a step forward from Net Zero Energy Buildings. In particular, they shall contribute by decarbonizing the built environment, including surrounding buildings, exchanging energy among them or with the grid. Thus, they can reduce the energy grid congestion and provide a flexible energy asset that allows buildings and energy communities to act as an integrated part of the energy system, while ensuring healthy and comfortable indoor environment, embracing occupants’ diversities and needs, supporting users’ energy-related practices and their flexibility and minimizing their own carbon footprint. In this direction, a consolidated definition is needed in order to enable the design, assessment, and documentation of PEBs in different contexts, climates, cultures, and markets. This paper aims to present a joint understanding of the essence and benefits of Positive Energy Buildings applied to the residential sector, as discussed within the three sister projects Cultural-E (https://www.cultural-e.eu/ led by Eurac Research), EXCESS (https://positive-energy-buildings.eu/ led by Joanneum Research), and syn.ikia (https://www.synikia.eu/ led by NTNU), which were funded under the Programme H2020-EU.2.1.5.2/Call topic2. The joint work also led to the identification of barriers and drivers for an increased acceptance and adoption of PEBs and to the definition of a list of recommendations for policy makers.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7640333.svg

Conference proceedings article2022

Co-benefits of building automation and control systems

Garzia F, Van Thillo L, Verbeke S, Pozza C, Audenaert A

Federico Garzia, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU H2020 SMARTBUILT4EU - The EU Smart Building Innovation Platform

The more and more widespread availability and implementation of building automation and control systems (BACS) is revealing how building monitoring, control, and real-time data, can support building users' well-being, providing additional co-benefits, besides the positive energetic impacts. Therefore, these technologies will play an important role in the transition towards a smart built environment, reducing energy consumption, enhancing comfort and interacting with a smart grid and building users. The Standard EN15232 with the BAC factor method introduces smart control efficiency classes and provides quantitative data for estimating the energy savings associated with the installation of smart controls. Although this method is not very detailed, it aims to provide a rough estimation in the early design stages. Assessment methods for BACS (such as the European Smart Readiness Indicator, the French SBA' Ready to Service label's) also stress the importance of non-energetic impacts of BACS. At present, these methods mostly rely on qualitative assessments or use ordinal scores, since investigation on non-energetic benefits and quantitative data are largely lacking. This paper analyses the multiple co-benefits of smart controls in office buildings in greater detail. By means of data reported in literature and building simulations, the most important co-benefits are identified and to the extent possible also quantified. A contemporary office building is used as case study to apply and demonstrate the proposed analysis framework.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.34641/clima.2022.316

Journal article2022

Plus energy building: Operational definition and assessment

Hawila A, Pernetti R, Pozza C, Belleri A

Annamaria Belleri, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU H2020 CULTURAL-E: Climate and cultural based design and market valuable technology solutions for Plus Energy Houses

Considering the amount of existing buildings, decarbonizing the building stock requires new buildings designed to reach the highest performance. The nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) standard needs to be overtaken by Plus Energy Buildings (PEB) that presents the potential to produce more energy than the consumption over a specific period. Several studies investigated the potential of a building to achieve a plus energy balance, however, there is still a lack of a comprehensive and shared framework for designing and assessing the performance of a PEB. To cope with this issue, the authors identified a series of key aspects that needs to be stated in a consistent framework for PEB, and in particular: i) the balance contributions, ii) the physical boundaries, iii) the time span for the balance assessment, iv) the metrics for evaluating PEBs, v) the approach for evaluating load matching and grid interaction, vi) Indoor Environmental Quality and user satisfaction as added values of a PEB. The authors performed a comprehensive review identifying 82 papers dealing with PEB and deducing how the key aspects have been addressed. The literature overview provides the background for proposing an approach for the PEB definition and to introduce an operational assessment focused on providing the main statements focusing on PEB performance evaluation both during the design and operative phase.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2022.112069

Conference proceedings article2021

Workshop on Positive Energy Buildings—Definition

Ala-Juusela M, Pozza C, Salom J, Luque Segura I, Tuerk A, Lollini R, Gaitani N, Belleri A

Annamaria Belleri, Roberto Lollini, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU H2020 CULTURAL-E: Climate and cultural based design and market valuable technology solutions for Plus Energy Houses

The building sector plays an important role in the transition to a climate-neutral society. The international interest in low, zero energy, or zero-emission buildings has grown as a potential means for this transition. A more ambitious step from zero energy buildings is the concept of Positive Energy Buildings (PEB), which are also contributing to the decarbonization of the surrounding built environment, not just minimizing their own carbon footprint. A shared PEB definition is needed in order to enable the design, assessment, and documentation of positive energy buildings. This article describes the ongoing discussions, concentrating on the most essential points.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/environsciproc2021011026

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Inbook2024

Synthetic data on buildings

Antonucci D, Conselvan F, Mascherbauer P, Harringer D, Pozza C

Daniele Antonucci, Cristian Pozza

Project: EU HEU MODERATE - MARKETABLE OPEN DATA SOLUTIONS FOR OPTIMIZED BUILDING-RELATED ENERGY SERVICES

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-47909-0_7

Cristian Pozza

About

Scientific Publications

BREEZE Project: Advancing PV Implementation in Building Renovations

Optimizing Energy Renovation in Building Portfolios: Approach and Decision-Making Platform

Synthetic data on buildings

Use of Machine Learning Techniques on Aerial Imagery for the Extraction of Photovoltaic Data within the Urban Morphology

Meeting User Needs through Building Automation and Control Systems: A Review of Impacts and Benefits in Office Environments

Understanding Positive Energy Buildings and Neighbourhoods - towards a common definition

Co-benefits of building automation and control systems

Plus energy building: Operational definition and assessment

Workshop on Positive Energy Buildings—Definition

Science Shots Eurac Research Newsletter

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Scientific Publications

BREEZE Project: Advancing PV Implementation in Building Renovations

Optimizing Energy Renovation in Building Portfolios: Approach and Decision-Making Platform

Synthetic data on buildings

Use of Machine Learning Techniques on Aerial Imagery for the Extraction of Photovoltaic Data within the Urban Morphology

Meeting User Needs through Building Automation and Control Systems: A Review of Impacts and Benefits in Office Environments

Understanding Positive Energy Buildings and Neighbourhoods - towards a common definition

Co-benefits of building automation and control systems

Plus energy building: Operational definition and assessment

Workshop on Positive Energy Buildings—Definition