Multi-objective optimization of the energy performance of residential buildings in tropical climates

Abstract

Until recently, the energy performance aspect was overlooked during the design and construction of residential buildings, particularly in developing countries. In the wake of global climate change, many countries have adopted new building regulations that emphasize energy-efficient designs. This new paradigm has urged designers and architects to consider more than one objective simultaneously when designing buildings. In this context, this paper uses a multi-objective approach to optimize the energy performance of a residential building in a tropical island. Three objective functions, namely, the life-cycle cost, environmental impact and thermal comfort, are considered. A combination of building design and energy performance simulation packages was used to design a typical residential building for the island of Mauritius, determine its annual electricity consumption, perform parametric analysis on several optimization parameters and model the objective functions mathematically. Results showed that all objective functions were optimized and an overall decrease of 10.2% in energy consumption was noted. Modifications in building envelope and orientation curtailed the energy required for cooling purposes by 6.3% while replacing CFL lights by LED resulted in a further reduction of 3.9%.