building energy performances

Roofs are the envelope component more severely hit by solar radiation in summer (1470 kWh/m2 on average in Italy), hence one may expect that using cool materials on the finishing layer of a roof should provide a significant reduction in the heat flow entering the building, with sensible relief in terms of building cooling load.  In this paper a case study is presented, based on the dynamic simulation of an existing office building in Catania (Southern Italy).