Lexicon

The envelope's tightness against air infiltration, measured with the blower-door test; good airtightness cuts losses and the risk of condensation.

The permit issued by the Municipality for the most significant works (new construction, urban redevelopment), under the Consolidated Building Act.

For construction products, it attests that performance is determined under harmonised specifications: not a quality mark, but a declared, verifiable performance.

Dividing a building into compartments bounded by fire-resistant elements, to confine fire and smoke within an area for a given time.

The document by which a manufacturer declares a construction product's performance against the essential characteristics; it is the basis of CE marking.

The mass per unit volume of a material; it affects insulation, thermal inertia and self-weight.

A verified document quantifying a product's environmental impacts under common rules (UNI EN 15804); an objective basis for comparison and for the CAM.

The document certifying a building's energy performance on a class scale; mandatory for sales and rentals.

The European structural-design standards (actions, concrete, steel, timber, seismic, fire); in Italy they are applied together with the NTC.

A document attesting the performance of a product not covered by a harmonised standard, drawn up on a European Assessment Document (EAD); it enables CE marking.

How long an element keeps load-bearing capacity (R), integrity (E) and insulation (I) during a fire; classified by UNI EN 13501-2.

The certification, via a notice at completion of works, that a building meets the safety, hygiene, health and energy-saving conditions for use.

The set of policies by which the public sector uses its purchasing to cut environmental impact; in construction it is implemented through the CAM.

A European technical specification defining the essential characteristics and assessment methods of a product family; it is the basis of CE marking.

Water forming inside a wall build-up when vapour reaches dew point: it is prevented by a correct sequence of layers.

The environmental requirements mandatory in public contracts, set for construction by the Ministerial Decree of 23/06/2022; they steer materials, site and end of life.

A building with very low energy demand, significantly covered by renewables; the standard for new buildings, evolving towards the ZEB (zero-emission building).

How much a material contributes to a fire; in Europe it is classified with the Euroclasses (A1–F) under UNI EN 13501-1.

The share of recycled or recovered material in a product; a key parameter of the CAM and of the new construction products regulation.

Certified Notice of Start of Activity: the permit for works affecting structures or restoration, certified by a professional (D.P.R. 380/2001).

A partition's ability to reduce sound transmission between spaces; the passive acoustic requirements of buildings are set by D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997.

A point of the envelope where heat escapes more easily (junctions, projections, dissimilar materials): it causes losses and a risk of condensation and mould.

The heat that passes through a material per unit thickness and temperature difference: the lower it is, the better the material insulates.

A building's ability to store heat and release it with a delay, damping indoor temperature swings; it depends on the envelope's mass and specific heat.

The delay, in hours, with which outdoor heat reaches the interior through a component: a high lag improves summer comfort.

The heat flow through a building component (wall, floor) per square metre and degree of difference: it measures how much an envelope element loses.

The process by which a Member State turns an EU directive into national law within a set deadline; until then the directive does not bind individuals.

A material's tendency to let water vapour pass through it; the μ coefficient expresses its resistance relative to that of air.