Navigating the Trade-Off Between Decarbonization and Thermal Comfort: A Simulation-Driven Optimization for Office Buildings Under Health Constraints

Office buildings are significant contributors to energy consumption and carbon emissions due to high occupancy density and prolonged operation. To balance decarbonization with indoor environmental quality, this study proposes a simulation-driven multi-strategy optimization framework for a three-story office building in Jinan. This study integrates EnergyPlus 23.2, jEPlus+EA 2.3.2, and the NSGA-II algorithm to co-optimize building performance. We evaluate the synergistic effects of roof photovoltaic coverage ratio, night ventilation turn-on temperature difference, and HVAC control strategies on carbon emissions and thermal comfort, while ensuring that CO2 concentrations remain within health thresholds. The results indicate that the night ventilation temperature turn-on temperature difference is the most influential parameter. It yields standardized regression coefficients (SRCs) of 0.7456 for carbon emissions and 0.5325 for thermal discomfort. The Pareto-optimal solution achieves a carbon footprint of approximately 477 tCO2, with only 8.8% indoor discomfort hours. This framework provides a robust, practical approach for the low-carbon and healthy operation of office buildings.