## 1 Introduction and Background
### Hypothesis and Research Thesis  
Despite the growing number of LCA applications in rural buildings, few studies provide detailed experimental validation of retrofit scenarios in real livestock structures. Most rely on simulated data or focus on material production rather than operational energy flows. Furthermore, the integration of PV systems is often evaluated without considering climate-adaptive strategies based on local monitoring. As observed in the preceding paragraphs, the sustainable management of agricultural buildings plays a crucial role in strategies aimed at reducing environmental impacts and improving energy efficiency. This is particularly relevant given the high energy consumption of such structures and their frequent placement in environmentally and scenically valuable contexts. The adoption of life cycle assessment (LCA) methods, as briefly outlined in Section 2.2, allows for a comprehensive evaluation of a building's entire life cycle--from construction and operation to decommissioning--by identifying the most critical phases in terms of environmental impact. This, in turn, enables the development of strategies to mitigate energy consumption [52]. Within this framework, the hypothesis underlying this investigative work is that integrating renewable energy sources, along with potential technological and material modifications to the building envelope of agricultural structures, can significantly reduce the environmental impact of livestock buildings compared to current construction standards [53]. Specifically, this study, through a direct experimental approach, aims to test the hypothesis that implementing photovoltaic systems for energy storage can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector, thereby lowering primary energy consumption without compromising indoor air quality, the overall functionality of the building, or animal welfare [54]. The central thesis of this research is based on the conviction that transitioning to renewable energy sources in livestock facilities not only generates environmental benefits by reducing global warming potential (GWP) and other impact indicators, but also provides economic advantages directly proportional to lower operational costs. The objective is to demonstrate that, despite the increased environmental impact associated with the production, installation, and maintenance of photovoltaic panels, the overall operational impact is significantly reduced compared to the measured baseline standard. The findings from this study are intended to address the research questions driving this investigation, which are summarized in Table 1 below. From this perspective, this paper aims to contribute to the state of the art in scientific research on energy efficiency within a specific sector--namely, the rural environment--by demonstrating how the use of renewable energy sources represents a viable solution for ensuring the sustainability of livestock farms. This analysis considers the entire life cycle of agricultural production facilities, emphasizing long-term sustainability for such structures. The theoretical and contextual premises outlined above converge on the hypothesis that photovoltaic integration can be a key lever for reducing operational environmental impacts in high-consumption livestock facilities, such as poultry tunnels. The following sections present the experimental methodology adopted to test this assumption. The contextual and scientific premises discussed above establish the framework within which this research is positioned and justify the methodological choices outlined in the next section.