Life Cycle Costing Emphasizing Energy Conservation Guidelines For Investment Analysis

摘要

Life-cycle costing is a method of expenditure that recognizes the sum total of all costs associated with the expenditure during the time it is in use; it is an input for decision making. The purpose of this guidebook is to provide applicable study parameters for capital expenditures emphasizing energy conservation. These parameters quantify such features as discount rates, energy escalation rates, study period, salvage value, Btu measurement, and analysis techniques. By using these analysis concepts, budget requests for energy conservation programs will be standardized and result in a common measurement basis. The format and measurement statistics requested allow a comparable ranking of budget contenders, thus assuring maximum benefit for the funds expended. The guidebook also serves to allow the magnitude and complexity of each individual project to dictate the level of analysis required. Finally, this document is designed to serve as a working desk guide. Its overriding message is to balance accuracy with simplicity. The methodology is geared towards ease of calculation and it is anticipated that the techniques described herein will be adequate to handle over 90 percent of the economic analysis situations confronting facility engineers. Life-cycle costing is a tool which synthesizes data and contributes to making a logical decision, but it is not an end in itself. (ERA citation 02:017448)