A four-year study of San Anton Palace, coming to an end this year, could soon be providing insight into ways of improving energy efficiency of heritage buildings.

Addressing those attending a seminar at the palace on Friday, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said that commitment to cultural heritage is a duty of every member of society, insisting a project like this one was the perfect example of such efforts.

The project, spearheaded by Architect Amber Wismayer and carried out in collaboration with the University of Bath and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, involves the use of high-tech equipment to monitor the environmental parameters of San Anton Palace.

The final outcome will be a prototype for improving energy efficiency in other heritage buildings, both local and international.

Commitment to cultural heritage is a duty of every member of society

According to Ms Wismayer, the palace’s passive design features – integral parts of the building that were incorporated into its initial design – were aimed at achieving a comfortable living environment.

“That applies to energy efficiency because if we can achieve a comfortable environment, then we don’t need to depend on using artificial means of cooling and heating, wasting useless energy,” the architect said.

Once the results are concluded, Ms Wismayer believes that they can be applied to similar buildings, even those of a smaller size, such as residential houses.

“Hopefully, this research will give us a framework for a strategy for energy saving at a national level and possibly also be applicable outside the country,” Ms Wismayer added.

While admitting that the processes might not be an easy venture, Ms Wismayer said that by collecting this data from San Anton Palace – speaking to office users, guards, kitchen staff and those residing there – researchers will be better equipped with information that would enable them to apply elsewhere.

During the seminar, attendees were given a tour of the palace and asked to answer a series of questions on their experience as part of the study.

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