A deep three-years survey of the existing social housing stock in Emilia Romagna, Italy, has been completed helping to accomplish a full acknowledgement of more than 70 buildings in terms of both their envelopes and heating system characteristics. Analysing the outcome data, a simplified parametric calculation protocol has been created to operate a preliminary audit and energy retrofit simulation on the entire social housing stock of the Region. The results of the study, initial data about the energy state-of-the-art of the building cluster and feasible retrofit solutions, are useful to identify where to focus for a further and more accurate energy diagnosis. This paper represents a synthesis of a three-years research work, demonstrating the potential of the parametric assessment method in terms of evaluating environmental and energy benefits, deriving from scheduled retrofit actions, to assist technicians in endeavouring interventions priority. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.