Evaluating the alternative solutions of wall insulation by multicriteria methods

Abstract

The economic effect of buildings’ renovation largely depends on implementation of energy saving methods and devices. A very high economic effect is achieved by wall insulation. In this respect, it is even higher than the replacement of windows. The alternative solutions of wall insulation of buildings differ in the materials used, labour expenditure and other aspects. The cost of renovation depends on the solutions made. The criteria describing the available wall insulation alternatives may have different values. Moreover, they may change in different directions, i.e. a higher value of some criteria denotes a better state, while for others they mean a worse situation. In this environment, a compromise variant is required, which can be found by multicriteria evaluation methods. To reduce the effect of various methods on calculation results, it can be recommended to assess the object (or phenomenon) considered by several different methods, with a subsequent determination of the average estimate value. In this way, the disadvantages of some particular multicriteria evaluation methods could be compensated by the advantages of others. The integration of methods will be correct if there is a correlation between the values obtained by different methods.