Abstract
Buildings are one of the largest energy consumers in the world, and have great energy saving potential. Thermal systems and lighting systems take most of the energy in a building. Comparing with the optimization solutions developed for a thermal system, the research of improving the lighting system is insufficient. This study aims to improve the lighting environment and reduce the energy by optimizing the building design, which has the largest potential for cutting energy economically compared with the other stages in the life cycle of a building. Although many approaches have been developed for building design optimization, there is still one big problem obstructing their successful practices, in that the designers who take the responsibility of making building designs are not experts in building physics, thus they are not capable of calculating the most appropriate parameters and operating the professional software to optimize their designs. Therefore, this study proposes a user-friendly method for designers to improve building designs. Firstly, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and particle swarm optimization algorithm are applied to build an intelligent optimal design search system. The optimized design from this system can largely use daylighting for internal illumination and save energy. Secondly, different types of lighting control systems are compared and the one which can save maximal energy is added to the selected optimal design. A case study demonstrates that optimized designs generated by the proposed design method can save large amounts of life cycle energy and costs, and is effective and efficient.
Highlights
Buildings account for 40% of the world’s energy [1]
Comparing with the other stages in the life cycle of a building, the design stage has the largest potential for energy conservation with the least extra expenses
Factors which have significant influences on building energy consumption, e.g., types and dimensions of building materials, building envelope, and structure, can all be carefully decided during building design
Summary
Buildings account for 40% of the world’s energy [1]. To reduce the energy consumed by buildings has great impact on mitigating the greenhouse effect. Comparing with the other stages in the life cycle of a building, the design stage has the largest potential for energy conservation with the least extra expenses. Factors which have significant influences on building energy consumption, e.g., types and dimensions of building materials, building envelope, and structure, can all be carefully decided during building design. It has been estimated that the design stage determines about 70% of the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle [2]. Making a reasonable and sustainable building design is beneficial for both the project owners and the environment
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