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Amorocho, J A P and Hartmann, T (2020) Decision-Making Process to Select Energy-Efficient Renovation Alternatives for Residential Buildings: Two Case Studies. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, UK, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 635-644.

  • Type: Conference Proceedings
  • Keywords: building renovation, energy efficiency, decision-making, case study
  • ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-9955463-3-2
  • URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/00be537f9a7c6728ff82339933c0eaf9.pdf
  • Abstract:

    In the EU, buildings consume 41% of the final energy and are responsible for almost half of CO2 emissions. Since new buildings account just for 1% of the stock, the largest opportunity to implement energy efficiency in urban areas comes from the renovation of existing buildings. Approximately 75% of them are considered energy-inefficient. Therefore, it is necessary to support stakeholders to choose suitable renovation alternatives. Most of the decision-making frameworks for choosing renovation strategies are based on literature reviews, researches suggestions, individual experts or certification schemes (originally developed for new buildings). While decisions in new buildings involve just a few stakeholders, one particularity in renovation projects is the involvement of final users, building manager and many others. They play a relevant role, in some cases are responsible for voting to approve the renovation strategy. Therefore, a closer study of the decision-making process in practical renovation cases is required. It is necessary to understand who participates, what criteria decision-makers consider, how they assess the alternatives, and what methods they implement to choose the final solution. This paper studies how decision-making is performed in renovation projects. We conducted semi-structured interviews to analyze three real residential case studies: a group of 12 multi-family apartment blocks in Spain, a building in Germany, and a four-building complex in France. The main findings are used to identify a timeline of the decision-making process, stakeholders involved, common objectives, criteria, and alternatives assessment methods. Then, we contrast these elements with the approaches presented in the literature to identify gaps that may be covered by a decision-making framework closer to renovation projects. This analysis may help to support the development of decision-making tools aligned with common practices of decision-makers, the information and criteria they have access to, and strategies to consider the preference of the multiple stakeholders involved.