ORME: A multicriteria rating methodology for buildings

To check the compliance of a building with regulations, evaluate the efficiency of retrofit, or even label a building one would in most cases perform a comparison of a number of building qualities. Within the framework of the European Joule–Thermie OFFICE project, a multicriteria rating methodology was developed for this purpose, based on a rating method that uses principal component analysis, and a ranking method that uses a partial aggregation technique. The aim of this methodology is to rate or to rank office buildings and retrofit scenarios of the same building according to an extended list of parameters, including: • energy use for heating, cooling and other appliances, • impact on external environment, • indoor environment quality, • cost. The paper presents the principles used in the methodology, and some examples of application to actual buildings. More information is given in a complete report (ORME—Office building rating methodology for Europe, Office Project Report, University of Athens, 1999).