Analysis of combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems is frequently based on reduction of operating cost without measuring the actual energy use and emissions reduction. CCHP systems can be optimized based on different optimization criterion such as: energy savings, operation cost reduction or minimum environmental impact. In this study, CCHP systems operated following the electric load (FEL) and the thermal load (FTL) strategies are evaluated and optimized based on: primary energy consumption (PEC), operation cost, and carbon dioxide emissions (CDE). This study also includes the analysis and evaluation of an optimized operational strategy in which a CCHP system follows a hybrid electric-thermal load (HETS) during its operation. Results show that CCHP systems operating using any of the optimization criteria have better performance than CCHP systems operating without any optimization criteria. For the evaluated city, the optimum PEC and cost reduction are 7.5% and 4.4%, respectively, for CCHP-FTL, while the optimum CDE reduction is 14.8% for CCHP-FEL. Results also show that the HETS is a good alternative for CCHP systems operation since it gives good reduction of PEC, cost, and CDE. This optimized operation strategy provides a good balance among all the variables considered in this paper. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.