Optimizing building energy solutions: A guideline for choosing proper multi criteria decision making methods in energy problems

Seyyed Shahabaddin Hosseini Dehshiri and Bahar Firoozabadi

Energy, 2025, vol. 317, issue C

Abstract: Improving building energy efficiency is one of the most efficient ways of reducing carbon emissions. Building performance may be enhanced through a variety of sustainable solutions, such as low-carbon technology and energy reduction measures. The assessment of such phenomena is very complex and must be considered from different sustainability criteria. MCDM methods are a proper tool to solve such problems. However, this tool suffers from the Rank Reversal (RR). In this phenomenon, the preference of the options changes as the option was added or removed. In this regard, in the present study, the rank reversal in six commonly MCDM approaches in energy sector including VIKOR, COPRAS, SAW, TOPSIS, EDAS and WASPAS was evaluated. In the present evaluation, 324,000 random problems were solved by six MCDM methods in terms of the probability of the RR occurrence. The results showed that the quantity of options and criteria has a significant effect on the probability of RR occurrence. Also, the RR occurrence was the lowest in WASPAS and the highest in TOPSIS. Finally, due to the nonlinear behavior of RR occurrence, a guidance chart was presented, based on which, for each number of options-criteria, the appropriate methods was proposed.

Keywords: Energy; Building sector; Multi-criteria decision making; Number of alternative; Guidance chart (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:317:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225002403

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134598

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