This paper describes a method for size optimization of the major design variables for solar water heating systems at the stage of concept design. The widely used RETScreen simulation tool was used for optimization. Currently, the RETScreen tool itself does not provide a function for optimization of the design parameters. In this study, an optimizer was combined with the software. A comparative study was performed to evaluate the RETScreen-based approach with the case study of a solar heating system in an office building. The optimized results using the RETScreen model were compared to previously published results with the TRNSYS model. The objective function of the optimization is the life-cycle cost of the system. The optimized design results from the RETScreen model showed good agreement with the optimized TRNSYS results for the solar collector area and storage volume, but presented a slight difference for the collector slope angle in terms of the converged direction of the solutions. The energy cost, life-cycle cost, and thermal performance regarding collector efficiency, system efficiency, and solar fraction were compared as well, and the RETScreen model showed good agreement with the TRNSYS model for the conditions of the base case and optimized design.