Prioritization of energy retrofit strategies in public housing: An AHP model

Abstract

The design and implementation of buildings energy retrofit strategies is a complex process involving a great number of decision variables and actors, especially when public housing is concerned. This complexity is exacerbated by stringent public budget constraints and lack of financial resources that make public housing energy retrofit currently a critical issue in Italy. In this context, multiple objectives related to energy saving, thermal comfort and conservation compatibility need to be pursued and multiple criteria approaches provide a proper theoretical and methodological framework to address economic, technical, social and environmental issues that characterize investments in energy saving and retrofit strategies. In this paper, we analyze different energy efficiency measures to be implemented in public housing and we propose an AHP (relative) model for multi-criteria prioritization of energy-retrofit strategies on public-housing existing stock.