Manfren Massimiliano

Researcher

Manfren Massimiliano is a PhD Engineer and Tenure Track Researcher (RTT) in the Energy and Built Environment Research Group at Politecnico di Milano (IT) and previously Lecturer B in the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG) of the University of Southampton (UK). His present research interest focuses on analytics and predictive models for buildings, districts and urban areas. He graduated in Civil Engineering (Ingegneria Edile V.O.) at the University of Padua in 2006. His PhD research at Politecnico di Milano (2007–2010) focused on urban-scale policies and technology integration for high-efficiency multi-energy systems. His research aims to combine scientific knowledge across energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, building physics, and building services engineering by leveraging recent advancements in data analytics and operations research techniques, and employing an integrated approach involving simulation, optimization, statistics, and machine learning.

Career

Master’s Degree Civil Engineering, University of Padua, year 2006.

Doctor of Philosophy in “Programming, maintenance, rehabilitation of buildings and urban systems", Polytechnic of Milan, year 2010.

Research

Research work centres on energy systems in the built environment, energy transitions, and data-driven modelling and optimisation for sustainable energy solutions. With a focus on analytics, modeling, and decarbonization strategies, the research spans both building-scale and urban-scale systems.

Core Research Areas & Themes:

1. Energy Systems Analytics & Predictive Modelling – Development and application of analytical and predictive models for energy use in buildings and communities, focusing on model calibration, verification and uncertainty under real operating conditions.

2. Energy Efficiency & Building Performance – Investigating methods to improve energy efficiency in the built environment, including interpretability in building energy modelling and performance normalisation.

3. Renewable Energy Technologies & Integration – Tools and strategies for integrating renewables (e.g. photovoltaics) with buildings and micro-grids for sustainable energy provision and decarbonization.

4. Techno-Economic Optimisation – Multi-objective optimisation of energy systems design and operation at multiple scales, from individual buildings to urban districts, including prosumer-based and grid-connected systems.

5. Open Data, Open Source & Energy Modelling – Promotion of open standards and open science practices in energy research to enhance transparency, reproducibility, and scalability.

6. Decarbonisation & Energy Transition Processes – Analysing pathways, narratives, and methods that support energy transition, including probabilistic demand modelling and tracking decarbonisation at district and urban scales. Overall, research activity integrates engineering modelling, data science, and energy policy insights to support sustainable and decarbonised energy systems in buildings and urban contexts.

Selected Publications

[1] Manfren M, Liao R, Nastasi B. Enhancing interpretability and automation in data-driven energy modelling: An analytical approach to change-point regression models. Appl Energy 2026;404:127150.

[2] Manfren M, Gonzalez-Carreon KM. Tracking decarbonisation: Scalable and interpretable data-driven methods for district energy systems. Appl Energy 2025;391:125883.

[3] Turner PAD, Rushby TW, Manfren M, James PAB, Gauthier S, Bahaj AS, et al. Embedding energy flexibility capability in air source heat pumps via third-party control: Insights from a field trial on residential buildings in England. Appl Energy 2025;389:125705.

[4] Manfren M, Gonzalez-Carreon KM, James PAB. Interpretable Data-Driven Methods for Building Energy Modelling - A Review of Critical Connections and Gaps. Energies (Basel) 2024;17.

[5] Manfren M, James PAB, Aragon V, Tronchin L. Lean and interpretable digital twins for building energy monitoring – A case study with smart thermostatic radiator valves and gas absorption heat pumps. Energy and AI 2023;14:100304.

[6] Manfren M, Nastasi B, Tronchin L, Groppi D, Garcia DA. Techno-economic analysis and energy modelling as a key enablers for smart energy services and technologies in buildings. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2021;150:111490.

[7] Manfren M, Nastasi B, Groppi D, Astiaso Garcia D. Open data and energy analytics - An analysis of essential information for energy system planning, design and operation. Energy 2020;213.

[8] Manfren M, Aste N, Leonforte F, Del Pero C, Buzzetti M, Adhikari RS, et al. Parametric energy performance analysis and monitoring of buildings—HEART project platform case study. Sustain Cities Soc 2020;61:102296.

[9] Manfren M, Aste N, Moshksar R. Calibration and uncertainty analysis for computer models – A meta-model based approach for integrated building energy simulation. Appl Energy 2013;103:627–41.

[10] Manfren M, Caputo P, Costa G. Paradigm shift in urban energy systems through distributed generation: Methods and models. Appl Energy 2011;88:1032–48.

Grants, awards and Honours

Best Paper Award 2018 nella rivista Energies, edita da MDPI, Impact Factor 3.0, CiteScore 6.2 per l’articolo "On the Effects of Variation of Thermal Conductivity in Buildings in the Italian Construction Sector".

Most Cited SDEWES 2017 Paper Award alla 17th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems SDEWES 2022, Paphos, Cipro per l’articolo "On the Effects of Variation of Thermal Conductivity in Buildings in the Italian Construction Sector".

World's Top 2% Scientists nelle categorie “Energy” e “Building & Construction” nella classifica pubblicata da Stanford University “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators”, Elsevier Data Repository, categorie “single-year” e “career”, anno di riferimento 2021.

Community Service

Subject Editor, section Environment and Environment for the ENERGY magazine published by ELSEVIER, Q1 magazine in the sector, from 06/06/2025 to now.

Review Editor of the Editorial Board of SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, specialty section of FRONTIERS IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT, published by FRONTIERS, from 03/22/2021 to now.

Member of the Editorial board of ENERGIES, published by MDPI, from 10/11/2020 to now.