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Volume 18
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10.3390/en18226026
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Article

Developing an Italian Library of Reference Buildings for Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM): Lessons Learnt from the URBEM Project

by
Martina Ferrando
1,*,
Francesco Causone
1,*,
Alessia Banfi
1,
Vincenzo Corrado
2,
Ilaria Ballarini
2,
Matteo Piro
2,
Angelo Zarrella
3,
Laura Carnieletto
3,4,
Nicola Borgato
3,
Gianpiero Evola
5,
Maurizio Detommaso
5,
Francesco Nicoletti
6,
Andrea Vallati
7 and
Costanza Vittoria Fiorini
7
1
Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milan, Italy
2
Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
3
Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
4
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Mestre, Italy
5
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy
6
Department of Civil, Energy, Environmental and Material Engineering (DICEAM), Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
7
Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2025, 18(22), 6026; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18226026
Submission received: 13 October 2025 / Revised: 10 November 2025 / Accepted: 12 November 2025 / Published: 18 November 2025
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Abstract

Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) plays a critical role in supporting data-driven strategies for the energy transition of cities. However, its application is often hindered by the lack of harmonized, high-quality input data representing the building stock. This paper presents the methodology and outputs of a national research project to construct an Italian library of reference buildings suitable for UBEM applications described with scorecards. The methodological workflow included six key phases: definition of a national data classification framework, acquisition and integration of heterogeneous data sources, data harmonization, statistical analysis and clustering, archetype formalization, and dissemination. The result is a library of 380 scorecards covering residential, educational, office, commercial, and catering buildings across multiple climate zones and construction periods. Each scorecard is based on empirical data from public databases, field surveys, or technical standards, and includes detailed descriptions of geometry, envelope characteristics, HVAC systems, internal gains, and ventilation. The scorecards are shared openly on the project’s website and were built to work with different UBEM platforms. Overall, both the method and the results help bring more consistency to UBEM practice and support better, data-driven urban energy planning.
Keywords: Urban Building Energy Modeling; UBEM; building energy simulation; scorecards; reference buildings; archetypes; prototypes; database Urban Building Energy Modeling; UBEM; building energy simulation; scorecards; reference buildings; archetypes; prototypes; database

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ferrando, M.; Causone, F.; Banfi, A.; Corrado, V.; Ballarini, I.; Piro, M.; Zarrella, A.; Carnieletto, L.; Borgato, N.; Evola, G.; et al. Developing an Italian Library of Reference Buildings for Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM): Lessons Learnt from the URBEM Project. Energies 2025, 18, 6026. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18226026

AMA Style

Ferrando M, Causone F, Banfi A, Corrado V, Ballarini I, Piro M, Zarrella A, Carnieletto L, Borgato N, Evola G, et al. Developing an Italian Library of Reference Buildings for Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM): Lessons Learnt from the URBEM Project. Energies. 2025; 18(22):6026. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18226026

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ferrando, Martina, Francesco Causone, Alessia Banfi, Vincenzo Corrado, Ilaria Ballarini, Matteo Piro, Angelo Zarrella, Laura Carnieletto, Nicola Borgato, Gianpiero Evola, and et al. 2025. "Developing an Italian Library of Reference Buildings for Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM): Lessons Learnt from the URBEM Project" Energies 18, no. 22: 6026. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18226026

APA Style

Ferrando, M., Causone, F., Banfi, A., Corrado, V., Ballarini, I., Piro, M., Zarrella, A., Carnieletto, L., Borgato, N., Evola, G., Detommaso, M., Nicoletti, F., Vallati, A., & Fiorini, C. V. (2025). Developing an Italian Library of Reference Buildings for Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM): Lessons Learnt from the URBEM Project. Energies, 18(22), 6026. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18226026

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