This study aims to develop a new global multi-objective optimization design for zero energy buildings (ZEBs), integrating the multi-objective optimization technique with the comprehensive evaluation method technique. The study is conducted by adopting two design optimization methods for renewable energy systems in the building, including the multi-objective optimization using NSGA-II(Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II)on the original design in terms of both costs and energy optimal designs, and then the mixture of grey correlation multi-level comprehensive evaluation method is applied to optimal design including the solar energy utilization efficiency, economy, energy conservation and social aspects. According to the selected determination based on global optimal design, the "best" solution, which can be guiding the scheme of practical engineering construction, is presented. In the end, a multi-objective design about a case study located in Tianjin of China is presented. Practice is proved that this method is beneficial to making effective scientific decisions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.