A Multi-Criteria decision analysis framework to determine the optimal combination of energy efficiency and indoor air quality schemes for English school classrooms

Maintaining good Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in English schools in terms of overheating and air quality is important for the health and educational performance of children. Improving energy efficiency in school buildings is also a key part of UK's carbon emissions reduction strategy. To address the trade-offs between energy efficiency and IEQ, a Multi–Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework based on an English classroom stock model was used. The aim was to determine robust optimal school building interventions across a set of criteria (including child health, educational attainment and building energy consumption) and settings (comprising different climate scenarios, construction eras, geographical regions and school geographical orientations). Each intervention was made up of the pairwise combination of an energy efficiency retrofit scheme and an IEQ improvement scheme. The MCDA framework was applied to the school building stock in England. This study shows that the framework represents a transparent approach to support decision making in determining the optimal school building intervention from different perspectives. The optimal interventions included measures that improved IEQ and resulting indoor learning environments, such as external shading, or increased albedo and internal blinds, for the particular set of interventions, criteria and stakeholders in this study. The results of the MCDA analysis were sensitive to the preferences elicited from stakeholders on the relative importance of the criteria and to the range of interventions and criteria selected for evaluation.