Sensitivity analysis of design parameters and optimal design for zero/low energy buildings in subtropical regions

Hangxin Li, Shengwei Wang and Howard Cheung

Applied Energy, 2018, vol. 228, issue C, 1280-1291

Abstract: To reduce building energy use and mitigate CO2 emissions, zero/low energy buildings have attracted increasing attention. However, the impacts of the main design parameters and optimal design for zero/low energy buildings only provided with cooling in subtropical regions are seldom studied, and the objectives for building performance assessment and design optimization in such particular situations are not addressed sufficiently. In this study, the impacts of the main design parameters and optimal design for zero/low energy buildings in subtropical regions are studied. A holistic approach integrating sensitivity analysis and design optimization is developed for zero/low energy buildings. A new optimization objective is proposed, which considers annual energy consumption and winter thermal discomfort, for buildings without heating provision. A multi-stage sensitivity analysis approach is proposed to identify the key design parameters for design optimization. The key building design parameters are optimized to minimize the optimization objective using the genetic algorithm. A case study is conducted, using the zero carbon building (ZCB) in Hong Kong as a reference building, to illustrate the implementation steps and effectiveness of the proposed approach. This paper presents the identification of the key influential design parameters in the subtropical climate and the design optimization method of zero/low energy buildings as well as the procedures and the results of the case study.

Keywords: Zero/low energy building; Design optimization; Sensitivity analysis; Energy efficiency; Subtropical region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (35)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191831050X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:228:y:2018:i:c:p:1280-1291

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.07.023

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().