Multicriteria analysis of health, comfort and energy efficiency in buildings

In order to comply with sustainable development policy, the minimum that buildings should achieve are a healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient environment. Criteria for individually assessing each of the many criteria are known: the occupant's perceived health; the provided thermal, visual and acoustical comfort; and the indoor air quality and energy efficiency. A methodology is proposed to perform a global evaluation of a building with regard to all these criteria. This methodology is applied to a sample of 96 apartment buildings and 64 office buildings to determine a set of best buildings and a set of buildings that are not acceptable in terms of comfort, perceived health and energy use. Some significant differences between these two groups of buildings are presented. The very existence of the first set shows that it is possible to design and build office and apartment buildings that are simultaneously energy efficient, healthy and comfortable.