NZED – NEARLY NERO ENERGY DISTRICT AT POLIZZI GENEROSA A village of the inner mountain Madonie Park in Sicily

Abstract

In the heart of Sicily, the Madonie Park boasts 21 villages, inner areas for the National Strategy for Inner Areas, with a rich valuable architectural and natural heritage. However, depopulation, lack of employment opportunities, limited development, and an increasingly wider gap compared to the bustling lifestyles of major cities have left these villages facing significant challenges. Through the implementation of a smart system for energy conservation and comfort improvement, it is possible to reassess the built heritage of these small villages and bring them into a more contemporary living context, creating nZED (nearly Zero Energy Districts), specifically by enhancing the building heritage with conventional energy-saving systems, including heating and cooling systems, and the use of renewable sources with integrated storage, also using building automation systems and monitoring indoor comfort. This leads to a reduction in energy consumption and more efficient, sustainable construction, and to the development of the entire urban districts. The goal is to promote collaboration and collective energy savings rather than individual ones. Italian villages offer a new opportunity to rethink a different way of life with a specific emphasis on energy sustainability. An energy district has the potential to contribute to repopulating these regions, ensuring the reuse of existing architecture in a sustainable way, and promoting SMART territory management through collective self-consumption.