The Integrated Renovation Process: experiences and future developments needed

The Integrated Renovation Process (IRP) is a user customized methodology based on judiciously selected constructivist and interactive multi-criteria decision making methods (Galiotto, Heiselberg, & Knudstrup, 2014 (expected)). The IRP supports, informs and reassures building owners to decide on a sustainable renovation of their building while getting the corresponding associated benefits and therefore a building more adapted to user’s needs and behaviours. The IRP also helps the building experts to be more structured for the quantitative analyses and the generation of the renovation scenarios so they get more time for the cost optimization and the qualitative analysis of the users’ needs and behaviours.

In order to reach a fossil free energy building stock within an acceptable time frame, it is primordial that researchers, politicians and the building industry work hand in hand. Indeed, in order to overcome the financial barriers to energy renovation and bring a new type of building experts in the building renovation sector, cost optimization tools for building renovation have been and can be developed but new legislation and politico-economic supports are still much needed. We present in this report a new contribution from the research and industry sides and results reached with the newly developed methodology, but without a significant contribution from the politico-economic and legislation sides . The experiences met during application of the Integrated Renovation Process are described and developments still needed in the future are introduced.