An Optimization Approach for Integrating Different Roof Functions with Environmental Impacts Constraint: "A Hybrid Framework".

The roof, as part of the building envelope, is one of the most important areas in the development of sustainable buildings. Various roof design strategies have been developed for reducing building energy usage, generating energy, improving water retention, and waterproofing. Integrating different roof functions such as green roofs, cool roofs, and PV systems is of building practitioners’ interests in order to meet certain criteria in terms of energy efficiency, cost effectiveness, and environmental impact. The key question which should be considered is what are the best and/or optimal strategies of utilizing roof areas in commercial buildings to achieve sustainability goals such as NZEBs or Carbon-Neutral buildings. This requires creating a quantitative analysis between spectrums of roof performance factors. The main aim of this research is to develop a framework which includes a mathematical optimization model as a core that is fed primarily by energy, cost, and environmental analyses. It integrates multiple roof functions and optimizes desired roof performances. The hybrid framework, introduced in this paper, is realized as a tool “Roof Function Optimizer (RFO)” as a way of providing useful decision making process for designing sustainable roofs in terms of energy efficiency, cost effectiveness, and environmental impact.

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