Enhanced building envelope material selection: a BIM-MCDM integrated approach

Worldwide, the Construction industry consumes the highest amount of energy as well as has major CO2 emissions. Residential buildings consume almost one-third of the primary energy. The study combines Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) (specifically TOPSIS) to evaluate building material performance. This integrated approach allows for a holistic assessment of cost, operational energy, and embodied energy, which is more comprehensive than traditional cost-centric methods. The study creates a comprehensive 30-combination matrix of wall and window materials, providing a broad spectrum of options for decision-makers. The analysis considers key window glass properties like visible transmittance (VT), solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and U-value, which are critical for thermal performance in Pune's climate. Five wall materials: red clay brick, fly ash bricks, AAC blocks, table-molded brick (TBM), Fal-G, and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA) bricks—are the basis for the matrix's development. With five glass varieties that have different visible transmittance (VT), solar heat gain coefficients, and U values, the matrix is created based on possibilities for five wall materials: red clay brick, fly ash bricks, AAC block, table moulded brick (TBM), Fal-G, and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA) bricks. Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches, TOPSIS is used to determine the best material combination out of the thirty options and priorities it. Specifically, SBA + W1 achieves the highest score (0.91012) and thus ranks first. FAL G + W1 exhibits the lowest Score (0.37837) and ranks tenth, indicating it deviates the most from the ideal solution. This suggests that FAL G + W1 is the least suitable material among the considered options for the intended application. This method of decision-making will assist in selecting the best wall and glass solution to provide advantages for a project such as reduced costs, energy use, and CO2 emissions. As a result, the AEC sector will be able to provide energy-flexible, low-carbon buildings at the best possible price by lowering energy consumption and CO2 emissions.