In this article, a powerful approach for the multi-variable optimization
of the building energy consumption was introduced. In
order to implement the simulation-based optimization, the
multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) code was
programmed in MATLAB environment and coupled with Energy-
Plus program through jEPlus parametric simulation manager tool
as an EnergyPlus input file creation interface. In the presented optimization
problem, the design parameters were the room orientation,
the shading overhang specifications, the window size, the
glazing and the wall specifications. In addition, three objective
functions were taken into account including the annual cooling,
heating, and lighting electricity consumption that are entirely nonlinear
and coupled. The suggested method was applied to a single
room model by taking into account four climatic regions of Iran
including warm–humid, warm–dry, mild, and cold. In the optimization
part, both mono- and multi-objective optimization analyses
were studied with the purpose of realization of the cost
function interactions. The results of the mono-criterion optimization
problems were compared with the baseline model. In addition,
the achieved optimum solutions from the multi-objective optimization
problem were reported as Pareto-optimal fronts. The
triple-objective optimization results indicated that using the
weighted sum method, the annual cooling consumption reduces
19.8–33.3% in comparison to the basic model depends on the climate
region. In contrast, the annual heating and lighting electricity
consumption increased 1.7–4.8% and 0.5–2.6%, respectively. As a
result, the final optimum configuration leads to 1.6–11.3% reduction
of the annual total building electricity consumption for four
climate regions of Iran. In addition, based on the results, the climate
demonstrates a significant effect on the building annual cooling
and heating energy consumption, while its effect on the annual
lighting electricity demand is negligible. Therefore, it is obvious
that architectural design parameters of the building, as well as
the climate conditions are important and critical in determining
the building energy performance, so that the building energy consumption
can be highly reduced by selecting appropriate architectural
design parameters in early phases of a building design to
improve its energy performance.