Value-engineering using linear programming: Optimizing indoor air quality (IAQ)

One of the key requirements of a high performance building is to create an efficient, healthy and comfortable indoor environment that provides measurable performance benefits. Unfortunately, traditional value engineering tools often lack the flexibility to efficiently "screen" the seemingly endless combinations of alternatives to those few that are most likely to provide the highest level of performance relative to cost. A mixed integer linear programming tool has been developed to determine optimal IAQ design parameters and equipment specifications for high performance commercial buildings. By expressing the dimensionless linear function of each benefit-cost objective and constraint in relation to one another, the linear model is capable of defining a boundary condition where the productivity benefits of added ventilation are maximized relative to added equipment and O&M costs. By applying operations research to value engineering, a mixed integer linear programming model has demonstrated the ability to select appropriate high performance technologies far more efficiently than conventional time intensive value engineering techniques, especially for those alternatives whose costs and benefits are difficult to quantitatively define.