Testing the reliability of deterministic multi-criteria decision-making methods using building performance simulation

Nikoleta Kokaraki, Christina J. Hopfe, Elaine Robinson and Elli Nikolaidou

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2019, vol. 112, issue C, 991-1007

Abstract: The design of a building is a decision problem with multiple stakeholders and several often conflicting criteria. Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods are capable of handling decision problems with the abovementioned specific features. This paper focuses on the application and comparison of some of the most well-known and widely applied MCDM methods; namely AHP, TOPSIS, ELECTRE III, and PROMETHEE II. For this purpose, a framework that incorporates the decision-makers’ preferences and the use of dynamic simulation of the potential building forms is developed and applied to a real-life case study. This procedure provides a holistic approach through which the design team arrives at a more appropriate decision. The examined methods yield similar results, showing broad agreement on the top ten alternatives, amongst which the decision-makers can decide. In particular, the majority of the examined methods (all except TOPSIS) concluded with the same optimal solution, a situation that provides confidence in the final decision. Furthermore, an investigation of four “what-if” scenarios indicates that TOPSIS is the most sensitive method to the examined changes in the subjective preferences.

Keywords: Multi-criteria decision making; AHP; TOPSIS; PROMETHEE II; ELECTRE III; Sensitivity analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:112:y:2019:i:c:p:991-1007

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.06.018

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