Developing a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process for choosing the energetically optimal solution at the early design phase of a building

Abstract

Reducing the energy consumption of households and making them more energy efficient are indispensable for fulfilling the European Union's energy strategy since more than one-third of total EU energy use is consumed by households. Our research here focuses on the development of building design methods since, decisions made during the early design phase significantly affect the energy consumption and energy efficiency of the building. In Hungary, current simulation methods are not sufficiently effective in evaluating potential alternatives in the early design process; therefore, in our research, we look for new solutions based on decision support systems. In our view, either a classic AHP or a Hybrid Fuzzy AHP based system could fulfil this task. In this article, we will demonstrate the structure and use of the developed systems, and we will compare them to the simulation methods commonly used nowadays. Further, we will test and evaluate the performance of the decision support system based models developed by us, applying them to four typical buildings in Hungary. Lastly, we will propose opportunities for further development.