Karatas, A and El-Rayes, K (2014) Optimal trade-offs between social quality of life and life-cycle cost in housing units. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 140(12): 04014058, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The social quality of life (SQOL) for single-family housing residents can be improved by enhancing their thermal comfort, indoor lighting quality, indoor air quality, and locating the housing unit in high-quality and safe neighborhoods. Accomplishing these SQOL improvements often leads to an increase in the life-cycle cost (LCC) of the housing unit. This paper presents a multiobjective optimization model that is capable of generating optimal trade-offs between the two conflicting objectives of maximizing the SQOL for single-family housing residents and minimizing the LCC of single-family housing units. The model is designed to maximize the SQOL for housing residents by improving their thermal comfort, indoor lighting quality, indoor air quality, and neighborhood quality. The model is also designed to minimize the LCC of housing units by minimizing the initial housing unit cost as well as its annual energy, utility, and maintenance costs. The model is developed in three main stages that focus on (1) identifying relevant criteria and metrics to measure the performance of these two optimization objectives; (2) modeling all decision variables, objective functions, and constraints; and (3) implementing a multiobjective genetic algorithm model to evaluate its performance. An application example of a housing unit is analyzed to illustrate the use of the developed model and demonstrate its capabilities in identifying optimal configurations of single-family housing design and construction decisions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | housing, unit cost, indoor air quality, configuration, quality of life, single-family housing, genetic algorithm, modelling, maintenance cost, thermal comfort, design and construction |
| Subjects: | financial and cost management, analytical methods, contractual arrangements, construction type, environmental health, systems engineering, environmental engineering, algorithms, public and environmental health, financial management |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Procurement, Health and Safety, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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