Novel Design Support Methodology Based on a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Approach for Energy Efficient District Retrofitting Projects

Abstract

Districts can be considered as a system of complex interconnections, interactions, relationships and flows. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is essential for effective decision-making with regards to energy efficiency improvement. When addressing interventions with a wider scale, the range of possible interventions is greater, as well as the possibilities of new business models to make bankable the interventions. However certain barriers can appear linked to the interactions among stakeholders, which are usually more complex than when tackling individual actuations. To overcome these barriers it is necessary to establish integrated and systemic methodologies able to support stakeholders to implement better collaboration approaches and carry out more informed decisions. These decisions should be based on a set of relevant indicators, calculated at district level, capturing the different stages that form the retrofitting process (from the diagnosis to the final assessment). This paper presents a holistic design methodology based on the application of a Multi-Criteria Decision Making approach that allows designing optimised solutions. This methodology is based on the evaluation of a set of District Sustainability Indicators while proposing an Integrated Project Delivery method improving the communications among stakeholders and, therefore, the decision-making process.

Keywords

• energy efficiency
• district
• nearly Zero Energy Districts (nZED)
• methodology
• retrofitting
• indicators
• sustainability