Numerical methods for optimizing the performance of buildings

many different parties that influence design and control decisions for buildings, such as building owners, users, architects, consulting engineers, contractors, etc, may have different and to some extent contradicting requirements to buildings. Furthermore, national building regulations specify requirements to (among others) the energy performance and quality of the indoor climate, which also must be satisfied. This paper describes numerical methods intended for estimating design decisions that satisfy the given requirements, and that at the same time are optimal in some sense, for instance with respect to the economy, energy performance, or indoor climate. This is addressed by combining building simulation methods with numerical optimization methods. The paper describes a problem formulation that represents optimal design decisions, and the numerical simulation and optimization methods used for solving the problem. The paper furthermore provides a case study regarding a small office building. 1