ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 316

A Framework for Integrated Analysis of Building Designs Using Life Cycle

Assessment and Energy Simulation
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Peeraya INYIM1 and Yimin ZHU2

1
Ph.D. Candidate, OHL School of Construction, College of Engineering and
Computing, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA, 33174, PH (1)
305-3483172, Email: pinyi001@fiu.edu
2
Associate Professor, Department of Construction Management, College of
Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA,
33174, PH (1) 305-3483517, Email: zhuy@fiu.edu

ABSTRACT

The building and construction industry has been steadily adopting the concept
of sustainable design. Consequently the design phase of a building project has become
a critical stage in determining how sustainability goals of a project will be
accomplished. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a quantitative method to determine
environment impacts of materials, products, processes or buildings. However, it is
often a challenge to quantify use phase building energy consumption in life cycle
assessment due to the dynamic nature of this phase. Energy consumption is an
important factor in the life cycle of a building project. Many researches acknowledge
that buildings are responsible for a significant amount of energy consumption in the
USA and around the world country. There is currently an increasing demand from both
public and private sectors to deliver buildings that are energy efficient. A feasible set
of tools in dealing with the energy efficiency analysis during design are energy
simulation programs, which allow the evaluation of energy performance of different
building designs and the selection of the most appropriate alternatives. This research is
focused on developing a framework for integrated analysis of building designs using
life cycle assessment and energy simulation by extending the existing SimulEICon.
Such a framework allows tracking design parameters such as energy consumption and
costs during the entire design phase of a project. Construction and building life cycle
related data are stored in an alternatives database, which includes the probability
distributions of individual parameters and the possible combinations among such
parameters. Monte Carlo simulation is used to address data uncertainty and availability.
The energy simulation software, Energy Plus is used in order to calculate use phase
energy consumption. Genetic algorithm optimization is applied to address the issue of
selecting optimal solutions from a large number of possible design alternatives during
the decision-making process at the design phase. A case study is presented to
demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the framework.

INTRODUCTION

Public concerns regarding the environmental impacts that human activities

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 317

have on the natural environment have been increasing for the last decades. There is
substantial evidence that a large amount of this environmental impact is generated by
the construction industry, which has led to increasing interest and adoption of
sustainable construction. Environmental Impact of a certain activity is commonly
measured by its greenhouse gas emission (GHG). Greenhouse gases, such as carbon
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

dioxide (CO2), are considered to be the most significant cause of global warming.
PBL Netherland’s Environmental Assessment Agency reported that global emission
of (CO2) had increased by 3%, or approximately 34 billion tons in 2011 (Olivier et al.
2012). China’s CO2 emissions account for 29 percent of the world’s total, followed
with 16 and 11 percent from the United States and the European Union respectively.
In the United States the construction industry accounts for 1.7 percent of that
country’s total GHG emissions (Truitt 2009). The increasing demand for sustainable
buildings has led to adoption of the sustainable design concept, consequently the
design phase of a construction project has become a critical stage in determining how
the sustainability goals of the project will be met. Design of sustainable projects
entails the selection of multiple construction alternatives, components, techniques
and activities that must result in the optimum solution for a given project, this
becomes increasingly challenging for the construction professional as the project’s
complexity increases. For example, a small house with 10 simple activities related to
sustainability goals, each activity has at least 2 design alternatives, this very simple
house presents the designer with 1024 possible solutions from which the optimal
must be chosen. Given the fact that most construction projects can have over that a
million possible solutions the need for computation algorithms capable of tackling
this problem becomes evident. In this paper, genetic algorithms are presented as an
optimization method for the selection process.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a quantitative method to determine the
environmental impact of materials, products, processes or buildings. Energy
consumption is an important factor in the life cycle of a building project as
energy-related activities are a major source of GHG emissions. Many researches
acknowledge that buildings are responsible for a significant amount of energy
consumption in the USA and in the world. For example in the United States, the
buildings sector, commercial and residential, is responsible for 40 percentages of
energy consumptions (U.S. Department of Energy 2012). Life cycle assessment is
essential in understanding and optimizing energy consumption in buildings and
construction projects. However, it is often challenging to quantify the energy
consumption of a building during the use phase due to its dynamic nature. A
feasible set of tools in dealing with the energy efficiency problem during design
are energy simulation programs, which allow the evaluation of energy
performance of different building designs and the selection of the most
appropriate alternatives.
The objective of this paper is to introduce a framework for integrated analysis
of building designs using life cycle assessment and energy simulation. This work
analyzes SimulEICon as a tool for optimization of building designs with the goal of
improving the capability of energy simulation as a decision-making tool. To address
the uncertainty and availability of data, Monte Carlo simulation technique is included

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 318

in the framework. Genetic algorithm optimization is applied to address the issue of

selecting optimal solutions from a large number of possible design alternatives
during the decision-making process at the design phase based on three objective
functions which are initial construction cost, project duration and CO2 emissions as
representation of environmental impact.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Applications of genetic algorithms and monte carlo simulation. Design of

construction projects involves decision-making regarding the selection of building
components in order to satisfy multiple objectives, for example, construction time,
construction cost, quality and environmental impact. In the early 1990s, traditional
decision-making model had only one objective function, which was to minimize the
cost of the project. By the end of the twentieth century, decision-making models were
able to handle two objective function, such as time and cost, cost and quality. In 2005,
El-Rayes and Kandil (2005) reported that there is a need for multiple objective
decision making models. They presented the development of two-dimensional
trade-off analysis of time and cost to three-dimensional trade of by considering quality
as another objective. With increasing interest in sustainable construction it has become
necessary to include sustainability related objectives in the design phase of
construction projects (Pena-Mora et al. 2009). Building project design needs to
consider multiple criteria such as energy efficiency and air pollutants. Genetic
algorithms (GAs) are optimization models that have been successfully used in many
researches. Wang et al. (2005) employed GAs to find optimal design solution for green
buildings because GAs can be used in conflicting multi-objectives combinatorial
problem and it can also solve both discrete and continuous variables at the same time.
Jun and El-Rayes (2010) developed multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and
applied it in labor shifts optimization. They considered three objectives, which are to
minimize duration, minimize cost, and minimize negative impacts of labor schedule.
MOGA can generate a set of optimal solution within only one run, and its results
satisfy all those objectives. Wang et al. proved that GAs are a capable method to solve
multiple objectives in pavement networks (Wang et al. 2007). A Monte Carlo
simulation is adopted to account for data uncertainty, reliability, risk, and availability.
It is applied with GAs in several researches. Monte Carlo is utilized to deal with
stochastic data in model and GAs is added to optimize Knowledge management
budget in other’s evaluation framework (Kuah et al. 2012). Application of Genetic
Algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation is also used in plant design and plant logistic
management (Cantoni et al. 2000; Marseguerra and Zio 2000).

Building energy simulation. Building energy simulation was developed in the mid
1960’s for the purpose of energy consumption calculation in buildings (Van der Veken
et al. 2004). The first simulation methods used at that time neglected the building and
the system synergy. By the end of 1970s, Building energy simulation programs were
further developed, examples of simulation methods are EPW, TRANSYS, ESP-r,
DOE-2, and BLAST (Spencer 2010). In the United States, congress authorized the

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 319

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to support the construction of

zero-net-energy buildings by 2030 (Kassab 2008). This encourages the use of energy
simulation in construction projects. There has been improvement in energy simulation
tools, for instance DOE-2 and BLAST features were taken to develop a new building
simulation tool called EnergyPlus. EnergyPlus was completely rewritten new in
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fortran 90 language. Crawley et al. (2001) stated the significant of this new program
over DOE-2 and BLAST such as realistic system controls, and radiant heating and
cooling system. DOE-2 and BLAST are step sequential simulation while EnergyPlus
is integrated system simulation. It is not only a combination of previous features, but
also development of computation techniques and program, structures. Ma et al. (2011)
studied model predictive control (MPC) using EnergyPlus and a co-simulation
program, the building controls virtual test bed (BCVTB), in system framework in
order to indicate effectiveness of reducibility in energy cost and demand cost in the
model. EnergyPlus was used, compared and integrated with computer algorithms in
various researches (Andolsun 2011; Kämpf et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2009; Zhu 2006).
Another energy simulation program that is commonly applied in building energy
simulation is eQUEST, this program was developed to be user friendly while
incorporating features from DOE-2.2, the latest version, eQUEST version 3.64 was
released in 2010. Yu et al. (2008) mentioned that eQUEST also has expansion
capabilities beyond DOE-2.2. He applied eQUEST in residential building analysis for
different climate zones in China. eQUEST can provide energy savings results as the
effects of envelope factors. Sclafani (2010) also used eQUEST to predict future
energy consumption based upon historical weather data. He focused on the effect of
weather data and energy performance.

SYSTEM FRAMEWORK

Simulation of Environmental Impact in Construction or SimulEICon is

designed to help professionals in construction projects to find the optimal or near
optimal solutions during the selection process of a building’s components based on
multiple objectives. The first prototype of SimulEICon is a BIM-based tool, which is
designed as an add-on application for Autodesk Revit Architecture, with a Microsoft
Access database for storing information. Currently, development of SimulEICon is
being done in MATLAB to take advantage of that platform’s many functions and
procedures. Data availability can be an issue in construction projects, while data such
as life cycle assessment and cost of materials and labor can be estimated or obtained,
there is a large amount of data such as weather conditions, crew productivity, soil
conditions, etc. that cannot be reliably obtained or estimated. Optimization models
do not capture uncertainty and reliability of the input data, which is a key factor in
obtaining robust and accurate optimal results. To address this issue SimulEICon
implements Monte Carlo simulation, a stochastic procedure that allows consideration
of uncertainty in the input data.
SimulEICon database presently consists of component quantity, initial
construction cost, such as material cost, labor cost, and equipment cost, daily
productivity, and environmental emissions, GHG or CO2 emission. SimulEICon

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 320

applies Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate data from the database and results from
this simulation are used as an input for the optimization algorithms. Currently, this
process is performed at the lowest level, which is material level. Monte Carlo
simulation starts with randomly generated initial parameters and obtains unit cost,
productivity per day and emission per unit using suitable cumulative probability
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

distributions, this process is repeated for n number of iterations to obtain final input
data. Probability distribution data can be found from the literature review. For
example, Schexnayder et al. (2005) proposed that the beta distribution is the best
suited for modeling construction durations. Other researches confirm this
recommendation (AbouRizk et al. 1991; Fente et al. 1999). Beta distribution based
on three points of data, mean, lowest and highest point is recommended for
representing cost cumulative distribution (Wang 2002; Touran and Wiser 1992).
There are other distributions shapes that are recommended for cost data, such as
normal distribution and log normal distribution. Penn-Mora and others (2009)
assumed normal distribution for CO2 emission.
SimulEICon uses Genetic Algorithms (GAs) as an optimization model. As
stated before, GAs are especially effective when dealing with multiple objectives.
Three objective functions are set as fitness function for the GAs, initial construction
cost, construction time and environmental impact. Total construction cost and CO2
emission are calculated cumulatively, project duration is determined using the
Critical Path Method (CPM). This study utilizes a MATLAB Toolbox for Genetic
Algorithms, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) toolbox
developed by Kanpur Genetic Algorithms Laboratory. The NSGA-II results consist
of a set of optimal solutions.
SimulEICon analysis is expanded to integrate energy simulation. Hence, the
framework can display how much energy will be consumed with the selected optimal
design alternatives. Over half of the total energy consumed by buildings stems from
its use or operation phase, specifically by heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems. Building energy simulations are capable of estimating energy
performance based on design parameters, the energy simulation software EnergyPlus
is used in order to calculate energy consumption during the use phase. EnergyPlus is
written in a different programming language than SimulEICon and requires the use
of a specific input file, co-simulation is required to overcome this issues. The
building controls virtual test bed (BCVTB) and MLE+ were chosen for performing
the co-simulation, they allow collaboration of EnergyPlus with MATLAB. MLE+
has some features that allow full integration with MATLAB, such as code debugging,
and it’s easier to use than BCVTB (Bernal et al. 2012). However, BCVTB is required
in order to run the EnergyPlus program. With the co-simulation, data from
MATLAB can be transferred to EnergyPlus. Consequently, EnergyPlus offers annual
energy consumption at the whole building analysis level. That data can be transferred
back to MATLAB via co-simulation. With optimal solution including information
about construction time, construction cost and environmental impact combined with
energy consumption, SimulEICon can be a great contribution for the construction
professional during the design phase. A whole framework for Integrated Analysis of
Building Design is shown in Figure 1.

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 321

Database
SimulEICon
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Genetic
Monte Carlo
Algorithms
Simulation
(NSGA-II)

Results Optimal Solutions

Co-Simulation

Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB)

MLE+

Energy
Input Data File
Consumption

Energy Simulation

Figure 1.Framework for integrated analysis of building design.

SYSTEM FRAMEWORK

Project descriptions. The Zero Energy Laboratory (Z0E) located at the

University of Northern Texas (UNT) was chosen as a case study. Its 3D model is
shown as Figure 2.
The building has an area of 1,250 square feet, comprised of both living space
and working space. It was designed to be powered by solar energy and photovoltaic
system. This lab is mainly used for energy researches such as energy simulation,
building control system, energy efficiency and performance, etc. For this study, the
building construction was broken down into 16 activities and each activity has a set of

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 322

design alternatives. Example of activities and their options are presented in Table 1.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Figure 2.Case study 3d model.

Table 1.Example of Building Components.

Activity Alternatives Descriptions
Exterior Wall 1 SIP 5.5” Thickness, Steel Stud with Fiberglass
Construction Insulation and 5/8” FR Drywall, Curtain Wall
2 SIP 5.5” Thickness, Curtain Wall
3 Steel Stud with Fiberglass Insulation and 5/8”
FR Drywall, Curtain Wall
Flooring 1 Bamboo Flooring
2 Wood Flooring

The life cycle assessment of materials was obtained from ATHENA impact
estimator for buildings program and the cost and productivity were obtained from
RS Means Building Construction Cost data. All data is analyzed in this building
design framework.

Case results and discussion. The results of using SimulEICon to analyze the case
study can be seen in Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6.
Those graphs show the set of optimum solution determined using the
framework. Values for all three objective functions are plotted against each other.
For this particular case study a solution that exhibits relatively low values of all three
objective functions did not exist. However, the framework generated a set of
solutions that exhibit a trade-off behavior, some solutions exhibit high or medium
values of a particular objective while having low or medium values in others. For
example, the cluster of solutions with the lowest CO2 emission have very high
Duration and Cost, another cluster with low CO2 emission exhibits high cost but also
short duration, solutions with very low cost tend to have medium or high CO2
emissions and duration.

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 323
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Figure 3.The optimal solutions in three-dimension graph.

Figure 4.Graph between project duration and cost.

An interesting observation for this particular case is that no optimal solution

with a medium cost exists. All found solutions exhibit either relatively low or high
cost. These results validate the premise that the selection of appropriate alternatives
during the design process is critical in fulfilling the projects objectives. SimulEICon
allows greater flexibility during the selection process by allowing the construction
professional to consider all possible solutions and selecting the most appropriate.
Moreover, annual energy consumptions of this building were estimated. Figure 7
shows annual energy of heating and cooling between two exterior wall alternatives.
The result emphasizes that different design options have an impact on the energy
consumption of the buildings.

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 324
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Figure 5.Graph between project duration and environmental impact.

Figure 6.Graph between cost and environmental impact.

CONCLUSIONS

The paper aims to present a framework of extension simulation of

environmental impacts of construction tool to analyze building designs based on
multiple objectives with consideration of energy aspects and real-World uncertainty.
Data uncertainty and availability are considered with Monte Carlo simulation

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 325

technique. Computer algorithm aids in the process of finding optimal or near optimal
solutions of combined building designs. This framework focuses on the integration
of the original SimulEICon with the building energy simulation. Co-simulation is
required to achieve communication between programs. Future development of this
framework should be focused on including the energy and operation cost of design
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

alternatives beyond the construction phase and also consideration of the

environmental impact during the usage phase.

Figure 7.Annual energy for heating and cooling.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was financially supported by National Science Foundation

Awards No. 1000136. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the National Science Foundation. The authors would like to thank
Proferssor Yong Tao and Guangyuan Xiong from the University of North Texas for
their helpful information.

REFERENCES

AbouRizk, S., Halpin, D. and Wilson, J. (1991). “Visual interactive fitting of beta
distributions.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 117(4),
589-605.
Andolsun, S. (2011). “EnergyPlus vs. DOE-2.1e: The effect of ground-coupling on
energy use of a code house with basement in a hot-humid climate.” Energy
and Buildings, 43(7), 1663-1675.
Bernal, W., Behl, M., Nghiem, T.X. and Mangharam, R. (2012). “MLE+: A tool for
integrated design and deployment of energy efficient building controls.”
Proceedings of the Fourth ACM Workshop on Embedded Sensing Systems for
Energy-Efficiency in Buildings, ACM, 123-130.

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 326

Cantoni, M., Marseguerra, M. and Zio, E. (2000). “Genetic algorithms and Monte
Carlo simulation for optimal plant design.” Reliability Engineering and
System Safety, 68(1), 29-38.
Crawley, D.B., Lawrie, L.K., Winkelmann, F.C., Buhl, W.F., Huang, Y.J., Pedersen,
C.O., Strand, R.K., Liesen, R.J., Fisher, D.E., Witte, M.J. and Glazer, J.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

(2001). “EnergyPlus: Creating a new-generation building energy simulation

program.” Energy and Buildings, 33(4), 319-331.
El-Rayes, K. and Kandil, A. (2005). “Time-cost-quality trade-off analysis for
highway construction.” Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, 131(4), 477-486.
Fente, J., Knutson, K. and Schexnayder, C. (1999). “Defining a beta distribution
function for construction simulation.” Simulation Conference Proceedings, 2,
1010-1015.
Jun, D.H. and El-Rayes, K. (2010). “Optimizing the utilization of multiple labor
shifts in construction projects.” Automation in Construction, 19(2), 109-119.
Kämpf, J.H., Wetter, M. and Robinson, D. (2010). “A comparison of global
optimization algorithms with standard benchmark functions and real-world
applications using EnergyPlus.” Journal of Building Performance Simulation,
3(2), 103-120.
Kassab, M.S.M. (2008). “Enhancing the energy-efficient design of office buildings
using a based-simulation design support system.” Environmental Design,
University of Calgary, Canada.
Kuah, C.T., Wong, K.Y. and Wong, W.P. (2012). “Monte Carlo data envelopment
analysis with genetic algorithm for knowledge management performance
measurement.” Expert System with Applications, 39(10), 9348-9358.
Ma, J.R,, Qin, S.J., Li, B. and Salsbury, T. (2011). “Economic model predictive
control for building energy systems.” Innovative Smart Grid Technologies,
1-6.
Marseguerra, M. and Zio, E. (2000). “Optimizing maintenance and repair policies via
a combination of genetic algorithms and Monte Carlo simulation.” Reliability
Engineering & System Safety, 68(1), 69-83.
Olivier, J.G.J., Janssens-Maenhout, G. and Peters, J.A.H.W. (2012). Trends in global
CO2 emissions 2012 report, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment
Agency, Netherlands.
Pena-Mora, F., Ahn, C., Golparvar-Fard, M., Hajibabai, L., Shiftehfar, S., An, S. and
Aziz, Z. (2009). “A framework for managing emissions from construction
processes.” International Conference and Workshop on Sustainable Green
Building Design and Construction, National Science Foundation.
Schexnayder, C., Knutson, K. and Fente, J. (2005). “Describing a beta probability
distribution function for construction simulation.” Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, 131(2), 221-229.
Sclafani, A. (2010). “Assessing the impact of climate change on long-term energy
savings with eQUEST.” Energy Engineering, 107(4), 8-27.
Spencer, J.S. (2010). Analysis of energyplus for use in residential building energy
optimization, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, U.S.

ICCREM 2013
 ICCREM 2013 © ASCE 2013 327

Touran, A. and Wiser, E.P. (1992). “Monte Carlo technique with correlated random
variables.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 118(2),
258-272.
Truitt, P. (2009). Potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction
sector, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington D.C., U.S.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) on 08/29/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

U.S. Department of Energy. (USDE). (2012). “Buildings energy data book.”

<http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/ChapterIntro1.aspx> (Mar. 4, 2013).
Van der Veken, J., Saelens, D., Verbeeck, G. and Hens, H. (2004). “Comparison of
steady-state and dynamic building energy simulation programs.” Proceedings
of the Conference Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings IX,
Ashrae, Atlanta, U.S.
Wang, K.C.P., Nguyen, V. and Zaniewski, J.P. (2007). “Genetic algorithms-based
network optimization system with multiple objectives.” Transportation
Research Record, 2016(1), 85-96.
Wang, L., Gwilliam, J. and Jones, P. (2009). “Case study of zero energy house design
in UK.” Energy and Buildings, 41(11), 1215-1222.
Wang, W. (2002). “SIM-UTILITY: Model for project ceiling price determination.”
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128(1), 76-84.
Wang, W., Zmeureanu, R. and Rivard, H. (2005). “Applying multi-objective genetic
algorithms in green building design optimization.” Building and Environment,
40(11), 1512-1525.
Yu, J., Yang, C. and Tian, L. (2008). “Low-Energy envelope design of residential
building in hot summer and cold winter zone in China.” Energy and
Buildings, 40(8), 1536-1546.
Zhu, Y. (2006). “Applying computer-based simulation to energy auditing: A case
study.” Energy and Buildings, 38(5), 421-428.

ICCREM 2013