Optimization-based scheme for nearly-zero energy multi-storied residential buildings with architectural design elements

Abstract Global energy consumption has significantly increased as a result of the rise in appliance and equipment usage, which has been driven by technological improvements and economic expansion, particularly noticeable in the infrastructure and building industries. Among these, residential construction emerges as a prominent energy consumer in infrastructure development. Therefore, architects and engineers must prioritize the adoption of energy-efficient strategies in both planning and execution to create buildings that achieve net-zero or nearly-zero energy consumption levels. This study focuses on unconditioned residential building located in a warm–humid Indian climate. Energy consumption is minimized through a metamodel based genetic algorithm optimization framework that fine-tunes envelope parameters like orientation, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), shading depth, and shading angle to enhance daylight penetration, reduce artificial lighting requirements, and mitigate internal and solar heat gains. Here, a parametric model is created utilizing four architectural design variables: orientation, WWR, shading depth, and shading angle that generates a large number of options for the analysis of the building’s energy consumption. The outcomes of the case study demonstrate a significant decrease of 34.63% in energy consumption compared to the reference design, achieved through the optimal selection of design variables.