Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
A Thesis
Presented to
The Academic Faculty
by
JAESUK PARK
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in the
School of Architecture
Approved by:
Professor. Godfried Augenbroe, Advisor
School of Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Jason Brown
School of Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
IV
LIST OF TABLES
VI
LIST OF FIGURES
IX
SUMMARY
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
PRESENT VALUE
11
13
14
14
15
23
BUILDING TYPES
23
CLIMATE ZONES
25
26
37
37
39
ENERGY COSTS
42
iv
COST-RELATED FACTORS
45
48
ENERGY SAVINGS
48
LCC RESULTS
51
57
Chapter 7 CONCLUSION
61
63
67
REFERENCES
70
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1 UPV* factors adjusted for fuel price escalation
10
24
26
Table 4 Summary of HVAC system of base case for each building type
27
Table 5 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Miami and Houston 31
Table 6 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Phoenix and Atlanta32
Table 7 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Las Vegas and San
Francisco
33
Table 8 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Baltimore and
Albuquerque
34
Table 9 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Seattle and Chicago 35
Table 10 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Boulder
36
38
38
39
40
41
41
Table 17 Annual Energy Use Intensity of electricity in kWh/m2/year for base cases
42
Table 18 Annual Energy Use Intensity of natural gas in kWh/m2/year for base cases
43
vi
Table 19 Annual Energy Use Intensity of electricity in kWh/m2/year for VRF systems 43
Table 20 Annual Energy Use Intensity of natural gas in kWh/m2/year for VRF systems
44
Table 21 Energy Prices for each climate zone
45
46
49
49
Table 25 Potential HVAC only energy savings from VRF systems compared to other
systems
50
51
52
Table 28 Total life-cycle costs of base cases (reference buildings) per location
52
53
53
Table 31 Simple payback time for all building types and location
54
Table 32 Discounted payback time for all building types and location
54
55
55
57
58
Table 37 Difference in simple payback (subtracting national prices from regional prices)
58
Table 38 Differences in net savings, by subtracting constant values from various values59
vii
60
60
63
Table 42 Specific information of VRF system and the base case for LCC
63
64
64
65
65
66
67
67
68
68
69
69
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1 Buildings site energy consumption by end use in 2010
11
12
12
13
25
28
30
47
ix
SUMMARY
As concern for the environment has been dramatically raised over the recent
decade, all fields have increased their efforts to reduce impact on environment. The field
of construction has responded and started to develop the building performance strategies
as well as regulations to reduce the impact on the environment. HVAC systems are
obviously one of the key factors of building energy consumption. This study investigates
the system performance and economic value of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems
relative to conventional HVAC systems by comparing life-cycle cost of VRF systems to
that of conventional HVAC systems.
VRF systems consist mainly of one outdoor unit and several indoor units. The
outdoor unit provides all indoor units with cooled or heated refrigerant; with these
refrigerants, each indoor unit serves one zone, delivering either heating or cooling. Due
to its special configuration, the VRF system can cool some zones and heat other zones
simultaneously.
This comparative analysis covers six building typesmedium office, standalone
retail, primary school, hotel, hospital, and apartmentin eleven climate zones1A
Miami, 2A Houston, 2B Phoenix, 3A Atlanta, 3B Las Vegas, 3C San Francisco, 4A
Baltimore, 4B Albuquerque, 4C Seattle, 5A Chicago, and 5B Boulder. Energy
simulations conducted by EnergyPlus are done for each building type in each climate
zone. Base cases for each simulation are the reference models that U.S. Department of
Energy has developed, whereas the alternative case is the same building in the same
location with a VRF system. The life-cycle cost analysis provides Net Savings, Savingto-Investment ratio, and payback years. The major findings are that the VRF system has
an average of thirty-nine percent HVAC energy consumption savings. As for the results
of the life-cycle cost analysis, the average of simple payback period is twelve years.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Green building is part of the larger concept of sustainable development,
characterized by Sara Parkin of British environmental initiative, as a process that
enables all people to realize their potential and improve their quality of life in ways that
protect and enhance the Earths life support systems. (Means, 2006) There is a variety of
strategies to reach the goals of the green building such as energy conscious design
strategies, changing to energy-efficient systems or materials, educating appropriate ways
of operation, etc. This study focuses on the energy consumption aspect of the buildings.
Buildings consume forty percent of total energy consumption in the United States:
consumptions of commercial and those of residential buildings are marked by nineteen
percent and twenty-two percent in 2010, respectively.1 This high portion out of total
energy consumption of buildings indicates buildings should get significant attention in
energy savings. In detail, breakdown of energy consumption of buildings is shown in
Figure 1.
Many energy-efficient systems tend to have a higher initial cost but consume less
energy during operation. When it comes to economic evaluation, these strategies must be
evaluated over their entire life-cycle. This study adopts life-cycle cost analysis for
comparing VRF systems to the conventional systems. Since the life-cycle cost analysis is
a straightforward method of economic analysis and evaluates entire costs through the lifecycle of the system, it is an appropriate method to compare economic effectiveness of
VRF systems to conventional HVAC systems. This is further supported by Figure 2,
which shows that the life-cycle sum of utilities, maintenance, and replacement cost of the
same order of magnitude as the initial investment.
Utilities
28%
Initial
Project
Cost
58%
Maintenance
6%
Service
4%
System
Replacements
4%
CHAPTER 2
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
reduced future cost obligations. LCC analysis provides a significantly better assessment
of the long-term cost effectiveness of a project than alternative economic methods that
focus only on first costs or on operating-related costs in the short run(Fuller & Petersen,
1996). LCC analysis takes into account all costs of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and
disposing of a building or building system. The LCC concept requires that all costs and
savings be calculated over a common study period and discounted to present value before
they can be meaningfully compared(Means, 2006). Figure 3 shows the scheme of how to
calculate LCC, converting future costs to present values.
Code of Federal Regulations, 10 CPR 436, Subpart A, Federal Energy Management and Planning
Programs; Life Cycle Cost Methodology and Procedures
5
(Fuller & Petersen, 1996)
Discount Rate
Because of inflation and the real earning power of money, a dollar paid or
received today is not valued the same as a dollar paid or received at some future date. For
this reason, costs and savings occurring over time must be discounted. Discounting
adjusts cash flows to a common time, often the present, when an analysis is performed, or
a decision has to be made. The conversion of all costs and savings to time-equivalent
present values allows them to be added and compared in a meaningful way. To make
cash flows time-equivalent, the LCC method converts them to present values by
discounting them to a common point in time, usually the base date. The interest rate used
for discounting is a rate that reflects an investors opportunity cost of money over time,
meaning that an investor wants to achieve a return at least as high as that of her next best
investment. Hence, the discount rate represents the investors minimum acceptable rate of
return(Means, 2006).
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) determines each year the discount rate to
be used in the LCCA of energy conservation, water conservation, and renewable energy
projects(Fuller, 2005). This discount rate is used for calculating factors that convert
future cost amounts to present values. LCC in this study is calculated with the real
discount rate DOE has established. The discount and inflation rates for 2012 are as
follows:
Real rate (excluding general price inflation):
3.0 %
3.5 %
0.5%
Mathematics of Discounting
Our method of calculation follows the description laid out in the Life-cycle
Costing Manual for federal Energy Management Program(Fuller & Petersen, 1996) The
future cash amount, P! , after t years at a rate of interest, i, would be
P! = ! (1 + )!
(2.1)
!
! = (!!!)
!
(2.2)
The discount rate is a special type of interest rate that makes the investor
indifferent between cash amounts received at different points in time. The mathematics of
discounting is identical to the mathematics of compound interest. The discount rate, d, is
used like the interest rate, i, shown in equations 2.1 and 2.2 to find the present value, PV,
of a cash amount received or paid at a future point in time(Fuller & Petersen, 1996). Then,
present value, PV, of the future amount at the end of t years, ! , can be computed
according to the equation 2.3, the same formula as for compounded interest.
!
!
PV = (!!!)
!
(2.3)
Inflation
Inflation is a rise of the level of prices of goods in an economy over a period time
reflecting a reduction in the purchasing power. Inflation reduces the value or purchasing
power of money over time. It is a result of the gradual increase in the cost of goods and
services due to economic activity(Reidy et al., 2005). There are two approaches for
dealing with inflation in the LCC: one is to compute LCC with current dollars the other is
to calculate LCC with constant dollars. Current dollars are dollars of any one years
purchasing power, inclusive of inflation. That is, they reflect changes in the purchasing
power of the dollar from year to year. In contrast, constant dollars are dollars of uniform
purchasing power, exclusive of inflation. Constant dollars indicate what the same good or
service would cost at different times if there were no change in the general price level
no general inflation or deflationto change the purchasing power of the dollar(Fuller &
Petersen, 1996). The two methods of dealing with inflation are as follows:
Constant dollar method: estimate future costs and savings in constant dollars and
discount with a real discount rate, i.e., a discount rate that excludes inflation.
Current dollar method: estimate future costs and savings in current dollars
discount with a nominal discount rate, i.e., a discount rate that includes inflation.
The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) accepts the LCC calculated in
both constant dollars and current dollars, but the LCC computed in constant dollars is
preferred. These two methods result in the same present value so that they can conclude
the same result of LCC. However, the convenience of the calculation of LCC, being able
to apply the constant cost to each year, the constant dollar method is used in this study.
The constant dollar method has the advantage of not requiring an estimate of the rate of
inflation for the years in the study period; alternative financing studies are usually
performed in current dollars if the analyst wants to compare contract payments with
actual operational or energy cost savings from year to year (Fuller, 2013).
Price Escalation
Since not all item prices, especially energy price, change at the rate of the general
inflation, a rate of discount for those items should to calculate LCC would be vary in the
LCC calculation. Figure 5 shows the rate of general inflation and rate of price escalation
for the years 1970 through 1994. According to Figure 5, the rate of price change of
energy price, fuel oil, only significantly differ from the rate of the general inflation. Even
though the time period of the Figure 5 (Fuller & Petersen, 1996) is in the past, it is clear
enough to explain the deviation profile of energy price from the rate of general inflation.
RATE OF CHANGE
0.60
0.40
0.20
-0.20
-0.40
72
74
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
YEAR
All items
M&R
Const. Materials
Fuel oil
Consequently, for energy-related costs, the FEMP LCC methodology requires the
use of DOE-projected real escalation rates by fuel type as published in the Annual
Supplement to Handbook 135(Fuller & Petersen, 1996). These real escalation rates and
the real DOE discount rate are used to calculate the modified uniform present value
(UPV*) factors for energy costs in FEMP LCC analyses. (Fuller, 2005) These UPV*
factors enable the energy cost that deviates from the general inflation to be converted to
the present value, based on the discounting concept. This study applies the UPV* factors
published in 2012 according to the base date of the LCC analysis. The Table 1 shows the
U.S. average UPV* factors of electricity and natural gas for both commercial and
residential use. The source of the data in the Table 1 is derived from (Rushing, Kneifel, &
Lippiatt, 2012). This source includes detailed information about how to compute these
factors.
N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Electricity
Residential
Commercial
0.94
0.91
1.86
1.81
2.78
2.7
3.68
3.55
4.54
4.37
5.39
5.18
6.21
5.97
7.02
6.74
7.79
7.48
8.55
8.21
9.29
8.92
10.01
9.61
10.71
10.29
11.39
10.95
12.05
11.59
12.7
12.21
13.32
12.82
13.94
13.42
14.54
14.01
15.13
14.58
15.71
15.15
16.28
15.71
16.83
16.25
17.37
16.79
17.9
17.31
18.42
17.82
18.92
18.32
19.42
18.81
19.9
19.29
20.37
19.76
(Rushing, 1992)
10
Natural Gas
Residential
Commercial
1.02
1.05
2.03
2.12
3
3.16
3.92
4.16
4.82
5.14
5.71
6.1
6.57
7.04
7.41
7.96
8.23
8.85
9.04
9.73
9.83
10.59
10.6
11.44
11.36
12.27
12.1
13.07
12.81
13.85
13.52
14.62
14.21
15.38
14.89
16.13
15.57
16.88
16.24
17.62
16.91
18.36
17.57
19.08
18.22
19.8
18.85
20.5
19.47
21.18
20.08
21.86
20.68
22.52
21.27
23.18
21.85
23.82
22.41
24.45
Present Value
Estimating a project cost during a certain period of time requires the same cash
value because cost in the future is not the same as the current cost value. Thus, future
cash amount is converted to a present value that is equivalent to the future cash amount.
There are four types of present value formula in a LCC analysis: one-time amounts,
annually recurring uniform amounts, annually recurring non-uniform amounts, and
annually recurring energy costs.
Present Value for One-time Amounts8
The single present value (SPV) factor is used to calculate the present value, PV,
of a future cash amount occurring at the end of year t, ! , given a discount rate, d.
1
(1 + )!
Present value can be calculated with the SPV factor.
PV = !
PV = ! (!,!)
Ft
SPV
PV
PV = !
!!!
8
9
1
(1 + )! 1
=
!
(1 + )!
(1 + )!
11
UPV
A0
A0
A0
PV = !
!!!
1+ !
1+
1+
(
) = !
(1
)
1+
1+
UPV
A1
A2
A3
UPV*
PV
A2
A3
A1
Figure 9 PV diagram of annually recurring energy costs
The LCC method provides a consistent means of accounting for all costs related
to a particular building function, building system, or related project over a given study
period. In general, an LCCA is needed to demonstrate that the additional investment cost
for a project alternative is more than offset by its corresponding reduction in operating
and maintenance costs (including energy and water costs), relative to the base case. The
following are key points which should be recognized when using the LCC method for
project evaluation(Fuller & Petersen, 1996):
Choose among two or more mutually exclusive alternatives on the basis of lowest
LCC.
All alternatives must be evaluated using the same base date, service date, study
period, and discount rate.
present values for each cost, e.g. initial investment and energy prices. These present
values yield the life-cycle cost by accumulating them all.
13
CHAPTER 3
CALCULATING LIFE-CYCLE COST
Calculation of Life-cycle Cost
This study is to compare a VRF system with conventional HVAC system through
a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Therefore, the required methods of measurement in
this study are life-cycle method and associated measures: Net Savings, Saving-toInvestment Ratio, and Payback. This chapter introduces how to calculate these measures
Life-cycle Cost Calculation
General Formula for LCC10
The general formula for the LCC present-value is as follows:
!
=
!!!
where
!
(1 + )!
LCC
= Sum of all relevant costs, including initial and future costs, less any
positive cash flows, occurring
10
14
Repl
Res
11
15
2006). Since LCC analyses provide objective result of the comparison among alternatives,
supplementary measures derived from the LCC analysis supply the apparent ramification
of economic comparison.
Net Saving
The Net Savings measure is a variation of the Net Benefits (NB) measure of
economic performance of a project. The NB method measures the difference between
present-value benefits and present-value costs for a particular investment over the
designated study period. The NB measure is generally applied when positive cash flows
are intended to justify the investment in a project. The NS method is applied when
benefits occur primarily in the form of future operational cost reductions(Fuller &
Petersen, 1996).
General Formula for Net Savings12
Net savings can be calculated using individual cost differences by applying the
following general formula:
!
!:!" =
!!!
where:
!
(1 + )!
!!!
!
(1 + )!
!:!" = Net Saving, in present value dollars, of the alternative (A), relative to
the base case (BC),
12
16
OM&R
Repl
Res
13
17
Saving-to-Investment Ratio
The SIR is a measure of economic performance for a project alternative that
expresses the relationship between its savings and its increased investment cost (in
present value terms) as a ratio. It is a variation of the Benefit-to-Cost Ratio for use when
benefits occur primarily as reductions in operation-related costs. Like the NS measure,
SIR is a relative measure of performance; that is, it can only be computed with respect to
a designated base case. This means that the same base date, study period, and discount
rate must be used for both the base case and the alternative(Fuller & Petersen, 1996).
General Formula for SIR14
The general formula for the SIR is comprised of the same terms used in the
differential cost formula for the NS computation and is as follows:
!:!"
14
!
+ )!
=
!
!
!!! (1 + )!
!
!!! (1
18
where
!:!" = Ratio of PV savings to additional PV investment costs of the
alternative relative to the base case.
!
+ + &
! +
where
!:!"
OM&R
Repl
Res
15
19
Summary of SIR
An alternative can be considered cost-efficient compared to the base case when
the SIR value is higher than 1.0. The value 1.0 of SIR means no cost benefit in a assigned
study period. In other words, the savings in operation offsets the additional investment
cost with the exact same cash amounts. Thus, the SIR, greater than 1.0, represents the
equivalent conclusion to the Net Savings greater than zero does.
Payback
There are two type of the payback method frequently used in the economic
analysis: simple payback (SPB) and discounted payback (DPB). These payback methods
provide the number of year that additional investment will be fully offset by the savings
in operation. SPB, which is more frequently used, does not use discounted cash flows in
the payback calculation. In most practical applications the SPB also ignores any changes
in prices (e.g., energy price escalation) during the payback period. The acceptable SPB
for a project is also typically set at an arbitrary time period often considerably less than
its expected service period. The SPB for a project will generally be shorter than its DPB
since undiscounted cash flows are greater than their discounted counterparts (assuming a
positive discount rate). DPB is the preferred method of computing the payback
period for a project because it requires that cash flows occurring each year be
discounted to present value before accumulating them as savings and costs. If the
DPB is less than the length of the service period used in the analysis, the project is
generally cost effective(Fuller & Petersen, 1996).
20
!!!
(! ! )
!
(1 + )!
where
y
= Minimum length of time (usually years) over which future net cash
flows have to be accumulated to offset initial investment costs,
S!
I!
I!
= Discount rate.
!!!
(! + ! + &! ! + ! )
!
(1 + )!
where
16
17
21
OM&R
Repl
Res
= Discount rate.
Summary of Payback
In both general formula and formula for building-related projects, simple payback
and discounted payback are calculated; when discount rate, d, is zero, the minimum year
is considered as a simple payback, and when discount rate has a certain value, the
minimum year represents a discounted payback.
22
CHAPTER 4
ENERGY MODELS
This chapter focuses on the energy consumption component in the LCC analysis.
Energy consumptions differ by regions and building types, so selection of climate zones
and standard building types is the first step in conducting an energy consumption
assessment, e.g. through energy simulation. This chapter introduces the building types,
climate zones, and HVAC systems used in the comparative LCC analysis.
Building Types
We use DOE published reference buildings (with their published EnergyPlus
energy models) as the conventional base cases. The alternative of each base case is the
same building but now equipped with a VRF system.
The DOE reference building models represent reasonably realistic building
characteristics and construction practices. Fifteen commercial building types and one
multifamily residential building were determined by consensus between DOE, the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The purpose of these models is to represent new
and existing buildings. The reference building models are used for many types of
building research, e.g. to assess new technologies; optimize designs; analyze advanced
controls; develop energy codes and standards; and to conduct lighting, daylighting,
ventilation, and indoor air quality studies. They also provide a common starting point to
measure the progress of DOE energy efficiency goals for commercial buildings(M Deru
et al., 2011).
Since these reference models are able to represent almost seventy percent of all
commercial buildings, assigning these models as the base case for our LCC analysis
means that the results apply to a large section of building environment. This study applies
23
the LCC analysis to six types of building out of the fifteen commercial reference building
types developed by DOE. The Table 2 shows the building types used in this study.
Table 2 Reference building types
Building Type
Model
Specification
Medium Office
Office
53,630sf
3 floors
Primary School
Education
73,960sf
2 floors
Small Hotel
Lodging
43,200sf
4 floors
Standalone Retail
Retail
24,689sf
1 floor
Mid-rise Apartment
Multifamily residential
33,600sf
4 floors
Hospital
24
Climate Zones
Climate zones have been already developed by U.S. Department of Energy to be
applied for the analysis of energy efficiency. These zones were developed according to
the several criteria in order to include all types of climate in the USA. The biggest
criterion for the classification of climate zones is population because it represents the
distribution of building across the entire country. Briggs et al. (2003) developed a climate
zone classification system for DOE and ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 based on
SAMSON (NCDC 1993) weather data(M Deru et al., 2011).Figure 1 shows the all
classification of climate zones in the United States. Major divisions are hot, cold, warm,
and mixed climate, and subdivisions are moist, dry, and marine climate. Plus, PNNL has
developed a list of representative cities for each climate zone
18
25
Since the VRF system has been shown to have no significant energy saving in the
totally heating dominant (cold) climate zone, this study targets eleven selected climate
zones and representative cities from above classifications. Selected climate zones are
shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Climate zones and representative cities
Climate Zone
Location
Characteristic
1A
Miami, Florida
2A
Houston, Texas
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
3B
3C
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
4B
4C
Seattle, Washington
5A
Chicago, Illinois
5B
Boulder, Colorado
26
EnergyPlus, and have used workarounds for modeling of the outdoor air supply and
potential heat recovery. This will be discussed later.
HVAC System of Base Case
In accordance with the building types section, the reference models developed by
DOE are used as the base cases for the LCC analysis for each building type. All building
parameters required for the energy simulation are identical to the parameters in the
reference buildings, established by DOE. Detailed information are found in (M Deru et
al., 2011). Table 4 shows the summary of HVAC systems of the base cases, i.e. for each
building type.
Table 4 Summary of HVAC system of base case for each building type
Building Type
Medium
Office
Standalone
Retail
Small Hotel
Primary
School
Mid-rise
Apartment
Hospital
PACU
Furnace
PACU
SZ CAV
IRAC, PACU
SZ CAV
Boiler
PACU
CAV
Furnace
PACU-SS
SZ CAV
Boiler
Chiller-water cooled
where
PACU = Packaged air-conditioning unit
ISH
= Multi zones
SZ
= Single zone
Distribution
MZ VAV with
electricity reheat
= Split system
27
VRF System
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are used in this study as the alternative
for each building type. VRF systems consist mainly of a compressor unit, also known as
outdoor unit, and several indoor fan coil units. The compressor unit is normally installed
on the roof or in other suitable building attached outdoor area. It provides cooled and
heated refrigerant through relatively small piping for space cooling and space heating.
Typically, VRF systems are air-cooled systems, but they also come as water-cooled
system. Simplified diagram of the VRF system is shown in Figure 11.
VR F
Outdoor
Unit
Building
Refrigerant Flow
2nd
Floor
Indoor
Unit
Zone
1
Off
Zone
2
Cooling
Zone
3
Cooling
1st Floor
Zone
4
Heating
Zone
7
Heating
Zone
5
Cooling
Zone
6
Off
Zone
8
Cooling
The major beneficial feature is to cool some zones and heat the other zones
simultaneously by transferring heat surpluses from a zone that needs cooling to a zone
that needs heating. VRF systems allow heat recovery to be applied between cooling
requiring zones and heating requiring zones with additional energy consumption. The
compressor unit uses variable refrigerant flow and is controlled by a variable-speed drive,
which may operate more efficiently than conventional compressors of similar size; the
complexity of the variable refrigerant flow compressor and controls results in
28
system (DOAS) will be used. DOAS are not unique to VRF systems and are used with
many different types of systems, especially systems that do not deliver heating and
cooling using air from a central source but use water or refrigerant. This includes chilled
and hot water fan coils, WSHPs, radiant cooling and heating, and conventional split
systems(Thornton & Wagner, 2012). The current EnergyPlus, version 8.0, enables VRF
system itself to supply outdoor air, assuming VRF systems have an internal unit
conveying outdoor air into conditioned zones. Figure 12 indicates how to supply outdoor
air by the VRF system with DOAS or sole VRF system. Plus, the method that adds
DOAS to VRF systems requires a bunch of additional work. After all, if both methods
yield the same results, the method, allows VRF systems to supply outdoor air, would be
the fast way of modeling, shortening by a large amount the effort and time for modeling
the systems. Therefore, comparing one option to the other option is the prior work to
decide outdoor-air system.
This comparison analysis is done in standalone retail building type because it has
the smallest number of zones. The Table 5, Table 6, Table 7, Table 8, Table 9, and Table
10 shows the results of the comparison of VRF with DOAS and VRF only in each
assigned climate zone. Each comparative analysis includes EUI of electric heating,
electric cooling, total electricity, and gas heating.
30
Table 5 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Miami and Houston
Climate
Zones
Comparative
Charts
Elec.
Cooling
8
0.04
6
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
0.05
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
1A
Miami
Month
20
Gas.
Heating
0.0004
BTU/sf
0.0003
10
0.0002
0.0001
0.0000
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
VRF
+
DOAS
Month
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
VRF only
Month
Elec. Heating
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
9
8
6
5
3
2
-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
2A
Houston
Gas. Heating
25
BTU/sf
20
15
10
5
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
VRF
only
31
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
Elec. Cooling
2.50
BTU/sf
0.0005
15
BTU/sf
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Table 6 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Phoenix and Atlanta
Climate
Zones
Comparative
Charts
Elec.
Cooling
8
1.20
6
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
1.60
0.80
0.40
5
3
2
0.00
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
2B
Phoenix
Month
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
0.0045
15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
20
10
5
-
0.0030
0.0015
0.0000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
Month
VRF only
Elec.
Cooling
5
3.20
4
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
4.00
2.40
1.60
0.80
3
2
1
0.00
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
3A
Atlanta
BTU/sf
20
15
10
5
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Gas. Heating
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
VRF only
32
Table 7 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Las Vegas and San Francisco
Climate
Zones
Comparative
Charts
2.50
Elec. Heating
Elec. Cooling
1.50
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
2.00
1.00
0.50
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
6
5
4
3
2
1
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
3B
Las
Vegas
Month
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
0.05
0.04
15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
20
10
5
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
Month
VRF only
Elec.
Cooling
0.20
1.20
0.15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
1.60
0.80
0.40
0.10
0.05
0.00
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
3C
San
Francisco
12
11
11
10
10
9
9
0.80
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
1.00
Gas. Heating
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
VRF only
33
Table 8 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Baltimore and Albuquerque
Climate
Zones
Comparative
Charts
Elec.
Cooling
4.50
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
3.60
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec. Heating
2.70
1.80
0.90
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
4A
Baltimore
Gas.
Heating
0.45
0.36
15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
20
Month
10
5
0.27
0.18
0.09
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
Month
VRF only
Elec.
Cooling
2.50
2.80
2.00
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
3.50
2.10
1.40
1.50
1.00
0.70
0.50
0.00
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
4B
Albuquerque
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
0.08
10
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
15
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
VRF only
34
Month
Table 9 Results of comparison of VRF + DOAS with VRF only in Seattle and Chicago
Climate
Zones
Comparative
Charts
Elec.
Cooling
0.35
1.50
0.28
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
2.00
1.00
0.50
0.21
0.14
0.07
0.00
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
4C
Seattle
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
0.012
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
4
2
-
0.009
0.006
0.003
0.000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
Month
VRF only
Elec.
Cooling
4.00
6.00
3.20
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
7.50
4.50
3.00
1.50
2.40
1.60
0.80
0.00
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
5A
Chicago
Month
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
1.20
15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
20
10
5
-
35
0.30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Month
VRF
only
0.60
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
VRF
+
DOAS
0.90
Month
Comparative
Charts
Elec.
Cooling
2.00
4.50
1.60
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
Elec.
Heating
6.00
3.00
1.50
1.20
0.80
0.40
0.00
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
Month
5B
Boulder
Elec.
Total
Energy
Gas.
Heating
0.80
15
BTU/sf
BTU/sf
20
10
5
-
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
VRF
+
DOAS
VRF only
Month
Charts in all climate zones show tiny differences in heating, cooling, and total
electricity. Some cities have almost identical profiles. However, there is a big difference
during the heating season. This is because that the sole VRF system does not use gas, for
cooling nor for heating. However, in the VRF system with DOAS case, the supply of
outdoor can apply pre-heating by gas. Even though there seems to be a big difference in
the charts of gas heating, the actual EUI values of gas heating are very minor relative to
those of electricity. Hence, the difference in gas heating is negligible in total.
Consequently, it is concluded that virtual outdoor air systems perform almost identical to
DOAS so that the modeling method, in which VRF systems includes virtual outdoor air
system, can be used all alternatives compared in this study.
36
CHAPTER 5
COST DATA FOR LCC ANALYSIS
According to the chapter 3, an LCC analysis requires initial investment costs,
energy costs, water costs, OM&R costs, and residual value of both the base case,
conventional HVAC systems, and the alternative, VRF system. Our LCC does not
include water costs. Although energy savings lead to potential water usage reductions at
the power plant generation side, these reductions are not directly visible as cost savings
for the individual building owner.
Initial Investment Cost
In LCCA studies, the cost differences between alternatives are usually important,
not the absolute costs. Initial costs therefore only need to be developed for the
components that vary between considered alternatives(Reidy et al., 2005). The initial
investment costs for this study will therefore only include the installation costs of HVAC
systems. The installation costs of HVAC systems are derived from (RS Means square
foot cost data, 2012). The cost figures in this square foot cost section were derived from
approximately 11,200 projects contained in the RSMeans database of completed
construction projects; they include the contractors overhead and profit, but do not
generally include architectural fees or land costs (Balboni & Company, 2003). Square
foot costs in the (RS Means, 2012) provide three costs: , median, and , shown in
Table 11. The 14 column shows the cost point where 25% of the projects had lower costs
and 75% had higher. The 34 column shows the cost point where 75% of the projects had
lower costs and 25% had higher. The median column shows that 50% of the projects had
lower costs and 50% had higher(Balboni & Company, 2003). Since current cost data
sources do not include cost data of VRF systems because VRF systems are new in the
United States, the initial costs of reference buildings can refer to those sources. Medium
37
costs are used for initial costs because they can be applied to different locations fairly
accurately by multiplying with location factor explained next section in this chapter.
Table 11 Initial investment costs of base cases per building type19
Types
1/4
MEDIAN
3/4
Office
13.35
16.25
19.45
Retail
12.05
15.8
33.35
School
9.65
11.9
16
Hotel
9.1
14.5
20.5
Apartment
24.5
31
43.5
Hospital
15.1
20.8
39.65
AS for the VRF system case, since more important than total initial cost is
incremental cost for the VRF system relative to the base cases (Thornton & Wagner,
2012), adding incremental costs to the initial costs of base cases, introduced in Table 11
is used to establish initial costs of VRF systems. Several preceding studies conducted to
figure out the incremental costs from the conventional systems. Table 12 shows the
incremental costs of VRF systems relative to the other systems.
Table 12 Incremental costs of VRF systems from other systems20
Chilled
Water VAV
Packaged
VAV
Notes
Source
0% to 22%
Goetzler, 2007
5% to 20%
$2.68/ft !
$2/ft !
BPA 2012b
$3.50/ft !
BPA 2012c
19
20
38
According to the Table 12, incremental costs vary with system type and building
characteristics. Hence, for this study, an average value of the incremental costs from
Table 12 is calculated. This average cost is in the range from $ 2.2/ft ! to $ 3/ft ! , which
matches the range of extra costs compared to the chilled water VAV. As stated in
(Thornton, 2012), since LCC analyses are to compare the difference between the base
case and the alternative, a calculated average of incremental costs can be applied to our
LCC analysis. The initial costs of the VRF system are computed by adding the
incremental costs, $ 3/ft ! , to the initial costs of the reference systems. Table 13 shows the
initial costs of both alternatives, VRF systems, and base cases buildings, that this study
utilizes for LCC.
Table 13 Initial costs of both VRF and base cases
Office
Alternative (VRF)
$/ft !
19.25
Base cases
$/ft !
16.25
Retail
18.8
15.8
School
14.9
11.9
Hotel
17.5
14.5
Apartment
34
31
Hospital
23.8
20.8
Types
39
office (48,000 ft2) for which an LCC analysis was conducted. The VRF system is
assumed to have a DOAS using a constant air volume roof top unit with gas heat.
Maintenance and repair costs for VRF system are estimated to be 0.2 $/ft2/yr (Thornton
& Wagner, 2012).
Maintenance Component
Frequency Years
# of Cost Event
20
20
10
Refrigerant replacement
10
Incremental Replacement
15
OM&R costs for the base cases are derived from existing studies. The data from
these preceding studies are calculated as dollar values at the time these studies were
conducted. Thus, they need to be converted to the dollar value of 2012 using the custom
price index (CPI) factor that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a CPI every
year. The CPI is a time series measure of the price level of consumer goods and services.
The cost data in a past year has to be adjusted to the current year when conducting the
LCC analysis. The accompanying calculator (to be introduced later) contains the CPI data
and converts costs data to the current year automatically (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2013). Table 15 indicates the CPI factor used for this conversion. Both past dollar values
from the used studies and their translation to current dollar values are shown in Table 16.
40
Year
CPI Factors
1983 average
99.6
1999 average
166.6
2000 average
172.2
2012 average
229.6
Study
Converted to 2012
$/ft2
0.20
0.27
0.21
0.28
0.29
0.29
0.25
0.25
Standard maintenance for a VRF system is similar to that of any DX system and
consists mainly of changing filters and cleaning coils; because there are no water pumps
to maintain or air ducts to be cleaned in a VRF system, less maintenance is required
compared to other technologies (A.Bhatia, 2011). According to this statement, the value
of the ASHRAE Owning and Operating Costa Database, $ 0.25/ft2, is used in the LCCA,
which is a bit higher than that of VRF systems.
21
Source: U.S. Department Of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 Consumer Price
Index
22
Source from http://xp20.ashrae.org/publicdatabase/default.asp, ASHRAE Owing and Operating Cost
Database, Equipment Life/Maintenance Cost Survey, ASHRAE Research Project 1237-TRP
41
Energy Costs
Operational energy costs is the key component in the life-cycle cost of HVAC
systems. In order to establish the energy cost data for the LCC, 132 energy models, at
first, are created for the 6 building types, 11 climates zones, and 2different HVAC
systems as explained in chapter 4. These simulations provide annual energy consumption
per m! of both electricity and natural gas (kWh/m! /year.) Table 17 and Table 18 show
the outcomes of the simulations for the base cases, i.e. annual energy use intensities of
electricity and natural gas for base cases, respectively; Table 19 and Table 20 show the
results for the VRF variants.
Table 17 Annual Energy Use Intensity of electricity in kWh/m2 /year for base cases
Climate Zones
Electricity
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
1A
Miami, Florida
159.82
190.61
167.67
181.32
352.53
102.91
2A
Houston, Texas
156.69
173.05
151.94
166.90
337.22
91.30
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
162.09
177.53
158.67
171.88
306.56
99.11
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
146.02
151.92
135.82
155.09
317.13
82.18
3B
150.76
147.88
141.32
156.41
309.48
86.96
3C
138.73
115.21
119.93
138.11
277.64
70.15
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
151.06
143.80
129.87
148.05
313.05
76.95
4B
143.53
138.34
127.34
145.71
313.05
75.83
4C
Seattle, Washington
141.18
123.68
115.77
134.20
275.82
68.02
5A
Chicago, Illinois
154.91
139.64
125.15
146.15
300.94
74.54
5B
Boulder, Colorado
143.15
133.66
120.91
141.29
284.75
72.02
42
Table 18 Annual Energy Use Intensity of natural gas in kWh/m2 /year for base cases
Climate Zones
Natural Gas
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
1A
Miami, Florida
1.27
0.40
14.66
31.04
145.89
14.55
2A
Houston, Texas
1.80
20.29
26.39
40.75
166.45
25.62
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
1.39
16.14
23.10
36.40
199.86
19.85
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
3.71
43.00
38.12
49.37
162.71
34.94
3B
1.84
35.30
29.92
43.56
154.12
26.52
3C
1.86
42.44
38.66
50.43
197.56
29.46
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
7.11
82.93
60.68
61.91
194.94
52.42
4B
3.41
59.13
45.37
54.01
194.94
40.25
4C
Seattle, Washington
3.20
82.69
52.04
61.28
193.42
48.01
5A
Chicago, Illinois
13.52
124.08
83.68
75.04
207.10
74.51
5B
Boulder, Colorado
7.06
89.08
61.86
64.35
154.08
56.48
Table 19 Annual Energy Use Intensity of electricity in kWh/m2 /year for VRF systems
Climate Zones
Electricity
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
4,982
2,294
6,871
4,014
22,422
3,135
1A
Miami, Florida
139.93
155.57
136.37
143.20
238.60
87.48
2A
Houston, Texas
133.55
150.25
130.92
137.20
228.27
84.19
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
136.92
151.15
130.95
139.63
230.55
86.95
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
126.67
140.93
125.99
131.71
228.88
80.59
3B
129.70
140.10
125.74
133.76
217.68
80.43
3C
115.94
121.86
115.89
122.17
195.43
69.50
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
126.65
147.31
125.20
130.91
213.44
83.12
4B
123.61
135.91
121.86
127.67
209.97
77.79
4C
Seattle, Washington
119.01
133.04
118.54
124.25
199.48
76.67
5A
Chicago, Illinois
127.54
151.67
125.92
134.12
216.85
85.37
5B
Boulder, Colorado
122.47
141.50
122.08
129.02
211.31
76.71
43
Table 20 Annual Energy Use Intensity of natural gas in kWh/m2 /year for VRF systems
Climate Zones
Natural Gas
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
4,982
2,294
6,871
4,014
22,422
3,135
1A
Miami, Florida
1.27
0.00
13.85
30.49
22.47
22.47
2A
Houston, Texas
1.94
0.36
14.80
33.96
23.59
23.59
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
1.40
0.01
14.33
31.97
22.95
22.95
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
3.81
3.07
15.66
37.29
24.67
24.67
3B
1.97
0.21
14.96
34.37
23.72
23.72
3C
1.86
16.15
39.50
25.39
25.39
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
8.25
2.78
16.35
39.92
25.52
25.52
4B
5.26
0.39
16.22
39.42
25.36
25.36
4C
Seattle, Washington
3.24
0.03
16.63
41.28
25.96
25.96
5A
Chicago, Illinois
14.91
9.53
16.94
42.22
26.26
26.26
5B
Boulder, Colorado
9.48
4.27
16.89
42.10
61.49
61.49
Energy costs are calculated by multiplying the energy use intensity with building
floor area and energy prices for electricity and natural gas. There are two methods of
applying energy prices: one is to use constant energy prices over all states with the U.S.
average of electricity and natural gas, and the other is to apply various local energy
prices for each state. The latter method leads to more regionalized and therefore more
realistic results than the former does. This study utilizes the latter method, various energy
prices. Different unit prices of electricity and natural gas for each climate zone are shown
in Table 21 (U.S. Energy Information Administration).
44
Climate Zone
Representative City
Electricity ($/KWh)
Residential
Commercial
Residential
Commercial
1A
Miami, Florida
0.13
0.12
1.76
1.09
2A
Houston, Texas
0.11
0.1
0.96
0.72
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
0.11
0.09
1.49
0.87
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
0.11
0.11
1.54
0.94
3B
0.1
0.09
0.95
0.63
3C
0.14
0.14
1.00
0.76
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
0.12
0.12
1.29
1.05
4B
0.13
0.12
0.94
0.67
4C
Seattle, Washington
0.07
0.07
1.16
0.93
5A
Chicago, Illinois
0.11
0.1
0.95
0.82
5B
Boulder, Colorado
0.12
0.11
0.82
0.73
Cost-Related Factors
Costs vary with locations, building size, and year. According to the description
from the RS Means Square Foot Cost book, the median figures, when multiplied by the
total city construction cost index figures and then multiplied by the project size modifier,
should present a fairly accurate base figure, which should then have to be adjusted in
view of the estimators experience, local economic conditions, code requirements, and
the owners particular requirement (Balboni & Company, 2003). Thus, in order to
estimate as close to as possible to reality, this study adopts two cost-related factors: city
cost indexes and size modifier factors.
23
45
Since this study compares LCC cost between different climate zones and uses the
average costs for LCC analysis, adjusting the average costs to the specific local markets
and situations is necessary. As changes occur in local material prices, labor, rates, and
equipment rental rates, the impact of these changes should be accurately measured by the
change in the city cost index for each particular city as compared to the average
(Mossman, Babbitt, Baker, Balboni, & Chiang, 2010). The city cost indexes allow initial
investment costs and OM&R costs to be applied to the LCC analysis to obtain fairly
accurate values. Table 22 indicates the city cost indexes of representative cities, used for
this LCC analysis. The simple calculation of the cost at a specific city is as follow:
=
100
1A
Miami, Florida
82.3
2A
Houston, Texas
86.2
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
88.5
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
88.5
3B
86.8
3C
123.4
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
93.3
4B
87.7
4C
Seattle, Washington
104.2
5A
Chicago, Illinois
116.6
5B
Boulder, Colorado
91.7
46
The size factors account for the fact that a the larger buildings, typically, have
lower costs per square foot. This is due mainly to the decreasing in contribution of the
exterior walls plus the economy of scale usually achievable in larger buildings (Mossman
et al., 2010). The size factor is derived by dividing the proposed building size by the
typical building, and using this ratio to find the cost multiplier value from the cost
modifier curve, illustrated in Figure 13.
24
47
CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS FROM LCC ANALYSIS AND ENERGY SAVINGS
ASSESSMENT
Energy Savings
With the results of simulations according to the models explained in Chapter 4,
the reference buildings equipped with conventional HVAC systems and alternative VRF
system are compared with respect to delivered energy consumptions by end energy type,
i.e. electricity and natural gas. Because VRF systems generate heat with electricity
instead of natural gas, which most reference systems use for heating, comparing savings
by end uses separately may illustrate large gaps between electricity and natural gas. In
order to perform a more appropriate comparison between VRF systems and reference
systems, source energy, also known as primary energy, is computed. Source energy
represents the total amount of raw fuel that is required to operate the building; the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that source energy is the most
equitable unit for evaluation (STAR, 2011). Site energy consumption in the form of
electricity and natural gas are converted into source energies multiplied by 3.34 and
1.047, respectively as derived from (STAR, 2011).
Using these factors, an overall comparison of the average savings in energy
consumption of VRF systems over conventional systems can be calculated and averaged
over all building types and locations. The resulting number is 39.6 percent, where the
average per building types over all locations ranges from 29.2 percent, in stand-alone
retail, to 59.9 percent, in hospital. The average saving in total building energy
consumption (taken over al energy consumption in the building) is 16.4 percent, where
48
average for each building types over all locations from 12.5 percent to 38.2 percent.
Percentages of energy savings for each building type are shown in Table 23 and Table 24.
Table 23 Percentages of energy savings in HVAC consumption
Climate Zone
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
1A Miami
32.1%
34.0%
47.9%
47.1%
57.6%
33.4%
2A Houston
40.7%
31.8%
46.9%
47.1%
61.2%
33.5%
2B Pheonix
40.1%
33.3%
52.2%
46.5%
52.1%
31.7%
3A Atlanta
42.8%
31.2%
43.2%
48.4%
55.7%
38.1%
3B Las Vegas
42.1%
27.1%
48.3%
44.7%
58.5%
37.8%
3C Sanfancisco
65.2%
18.7%
52.8%
52.6%
75.8%
37.4%
4A Baltimore
46.8%
26.2%
46.5%
46.1%
66.2%
45.1%
4B Albuquerque
46.2%
32.0%
45.9%
48.4%
68.5%
41.1%
4C Seattle
57.7%
28.7%
38.3%
44.8%
71.8%
43.4%
5A Chicago
46.5%
25.6%
47.3%
41.0%
62.4%
58.7%
5B Boulder
21.5%
32.8%
14.3%
20.0%
29.4%
31.0%
Average
43.8%
29.2%
43.9%
44.2%
59.9%
39.2%
Climate Zone
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
1A Miami
12.4%
18.4%
18.3%
20.0%
38.3%
14.5%
2A Houston
14.7%
16.2%
15.4%
17.7%
39.5%
13.1%
2B Pheonix
15.5%
17.2%
18.4%
18.4%
35.6%
13.4%
3A Atlanta
13.1%
14.2%
11.4%
15.9%
35.7%
13.5%
3B Las Vegas
13.9%
11.8%
13.5%
15.0%
37.1%
13.4%
3C Sanfancisco
16.4%
5.2%
8.4%
12.6%
40.1%
6.2%
4A Baltimore
15.7%
12.7%
12.5%
14.4%
40.8%
18.5%
4B Albuquerque
13.4%
13.3%
10.3%
13.9%
41.8%
13.2%
4C Seattle
15.6%
11.1%
6.3%
10.6%
38.3%
11.3%
5A Chicago
16.9%
13.4%
13.3%
13.2%
38.5%
29.9%
5B Boulder
13.7%
11.6%
9.2%
11.9%
34.1%
23.2%
Average
14.7%
13.2%
12.5%
14.9%
38.2%
15.5%
49
Source
Chilled
Water, VAV
Hart and
Campbell, 2012
LG, 2011
36%
Goetzler, 2007
34%
EES
Consulting,
2011 - from
Aynur 2010,
Amarnath and
Blatt, 2008
33%
EES, 2011
Packaged
VAV
Pakaged
CAV
Air-Source
Heat Pump
62%
39%
49%
49%
13%
29%
33%
43%
23%
LG, 2012
55%
Average
38.3%
WaterSource Heat
Pump
As the table shows, the reported energy savings range from 13 percent to 55
percent. Our study shows similar ranges in resulting energy saving, i.e. ranging from 29.2
percent to 59.9 percent. Moreover, our average is close to the average found in other
studies.
50
LCC Results
Using the cost (adjustment) factors explained in the previous chapters, and using a
life span of 20 years, the life-cycle cost analysis generates five outputs: total life-cycle
costs in study year, net savings, simple payback, discounted payback, and saving-toinvestment ratios. A summary of the factors applying to is shown in Table 26.
Table 26 Summary of general information for LCC
Building Type
6 building types
Building Location
Climate Zone
City
Building Area
Life cycle study period
11 climate zones
According to the climate zones
According to the building types
20 years
Discount rate
Electricity unit rate
Natural gas unit rate
Typical SF
Size Factor
3.0%
Locator Factor
Additional information for the base cases and alternative VRF cases, such as
energy consumption data, generated by the EnergyPlus simulations, initial investment
costs, and simplified OM&R costs, which are embedded to LCC calculations. The results
of total life-cycle cost, net savings, simple payback, and discounted payback, are
illustrated in following tables. These results are calculated with various energy prices for
each climate zone.
51
Retail
VRF System
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$2,165,140
$979,396
$2,968,324
$2,076,443
$1,194,378
$16,695,465
2A
Houston, Texas
$1,944,950
$867,224
$2,662,793
$1,887,851
$1,105,283
$14,916,714
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$1,890,346
$826,042
$2,565,670
$1,851,073
$1,148,376
$14,424,965
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$2,019,862
$896,478
$2,792,699
$1,985,936
$1,131,495
$15,986,280
3B
$1,822,682
$784,611
$2,479,864
$1,784,984
$1,050,940
$13,828,012
3C
$2,562,512
$1,084,815
$3,535,671
$2,535,588
$1,408,960
$19,466,357
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$2,182,205
$991,755
$2,994,154
$2,131,878
$1,217,030
$16,564,672
4B
$2,079,757
$918,195
$2,846,047
$2,007,694
$1,167,229
$15,848,600
4C
Seattle, Washington
$1,759,309
$737,318
$2,437,828
$1,818,413
$1,068,603
$13,403,439
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$2,255,772
$1,001,940
$3,062,092
$2,241,616
$1,346,371
$17,006,860
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$2,028,436
$911,585
$2,784,025
$1,994,256
$1,150,716
$15,855,671
$2,064,634
$909,033
$2,829,924
$2,028,703
Average
Office
$1,180,853 $15,817,912
Table 28 Total life-cycle costs of base cases (reference buildings) per location
Climate Zone
Representative City
Office
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$2,254,500
$1,086,028
$3,233,909
$2,278,121
$1,231,452
$22,720,261
2A
Houston, Texas
$2,024,077
$922,657
$2,777,668
$1,997,119
$1,092,088
$19,554,890
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$1,963,493
$883,194
$2,715,292
$1,951,509
$1,158,068
$18,314,282
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$2,082,342
$943,731
$2,846,984
$2,083,373
$1,110,565
$20,552,415
3B
$1,869,322
$794,493
$2,524,401
$1,838,464
$1,031,766
$17,291,201
3C
$2,667,027
$1,032,563
$3,463,900
$2,571,000
$1,331,110
$24,499,391
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$2,297,225
$1,040,935
$3,086,518
$2,220,153
$1,175,763
$22,500,242
4B
$2,159,771
$935,884
$2,850,616
$2,077,208
$1,117,002
$21,118,944
4C
Seattle, Washington
$1,760,305
$763,411
$2,379,797
$1,802,195
$1,007,165
$16,736,404
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$2,329,981
$1,025,279
$3,082,976
$2,263,651
$1,282,572
$21,237,209
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$2,093,680
$916,390
$2,751,830
$2,024,702
$1,098,346
$19,043,918
$2,136,520
$940,415
$2,883,081
$2,100,681
Average
52
$1,148,718 $20,324,469
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$89,359
$106,633
$265,586
$201,678
$37,074
$6,024,797
2A
Houston, Texas
$79,127
$55,433
$114,875
$109,268
($13,195)
$4,638,175
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$73,147
$57,152
$149,622
$100,436
$9,692
$3,889,316
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$62,480
$47,254
$54,285
$97,437
($20,931)
$4,566,136
3B
$46,640
$9,882
$44,538
$53,480
($19,174)
$3,463,189
3C
$104,515
($52,252)
($71,771)
$35,412
($77,850)
$5,033,034
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$115,020
$49,179
$92,364
$88,275
($41,267)
$5,935,571
4B
$80,015
$17,689
$4,569
$69,513
($50,227)
$5,270,344
4C
Seattle, Washington
$996
$26,093
($58,031)
($16,218)
($61,437)
$3,332,965
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$74,209
$23,339
$20,884
$22,035
($63,799)
$4,230,349
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$65,244
$4,804
($32,195)
$30,446
($52,371)
$3,188,247
$71,887
$31,382
$53,157
$71,978
($32,135)
$4,506,557
Average
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
1.73
2.95
2.52
2.90
1.46
12.30
2A
Houston, Texas
1.62
1.97
1.63
1.98
0.84
9.31
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
1.56
1.97
1.80
1.88
1.11
7.78
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
1.48
1.80
1.29
1.85
0.76
8.96
3B
1.36
1.17
1.24
1.48
0.77
7.16
3C
1.57
0.36
0.73
1.22
0.36
7.30
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
1.83
1.79
1.47
1.73
0.55
10.82
4B
1.62
1.30
1.02
1.61
0.41
10.28
4C
Seattle, Washington
1.01
1.38
0.74
0.88
0.40
5.94
5A
Chicago, Illinois
1.43
1.30
1.08
1.15
0.44
6.60
5B
Boulder, Colorado
1.48
1.08
0.83
1.26
0.42
6.37
1.52
1.55
1.30
1.63
0.68
8.44
Average
53
Table 31 Simple payback time for all building types and location
Climate Zone
Representative City
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
10
2A
Houston, Texas
17
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
13
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
10
12
19
3B
11
13
12
10
19
3C
30+
20
12
30+
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
10
25
4B
12
14
30+
4C
Seattle, Washington
15
11
20
17
30+
5A
Chicago, Illinois
10
12
14
13
29
5B
Boulder, Colorado
10
14
18
12
30+
10
12
13
10
23
Average
Table 32 Discounted payback time for all building types and location
Climate Zone
Representative City
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
10
12
2A
Houston, Texas
11
11
25
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
11
10
17
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
12
10
15
29
3B
13
16
15
12
29
3C
11
30+
30+
15
30+
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
10
13
10
30+
4B
11
15
19
11
30+
4C
Seattle, Washington
20
14
29
24
30+
5A
Chicago, Illinois
13
15
18
17
30+
5B
Boulder, Colorado
12
18
25
15
30+
12
14
17
12
27
Average
In the calculation of payback time, we assumed the results that mark over 30
years as 30 years.
54
Since the results of the hospital case and apartment case deviate quite a bit from
the other cases, we will show the overall averages with these outlier cases
excluded. Below the averages for net savings, simple payback, discounted
payback, and saving-to-investment ratio are shown in Table 33: an average over
all building types (Avg. 1), an average that excludes the hospital (Avg. 2), and an
average that excludes both hospital and apartment values (Avg. 3).
Table 33 Averages of outputs
Output
Avg. 1
Avg. 2
Avg. 3
$ 783,804
$ 39,254
$ 57,101
Simple Payback
12 years
14 years
11 years
Discounted Payback
SIR
14 years
2.52
16 years
1.34
14 years
1.50
Net Savings
The hospital case shows a significant difference compared to the other cases as
shown in Table 34. One explanation is that the EUI of the reference hospital is
308.02 kWh/m! , which is significantly larger than the average of EUI of the other
building types, which is excluding apartment, ranges from 135.85 to 153.19
kWh/m! . This shows that the EUI of the hospital is twice as large as that of the
others. In other words, energy saving amounts are twice as higher as that of the
other building types even by applying the same percentage of energy savings.
Moreover, the energy savings in hospital is the most significant component in the
LCCA. For this reason, the results of hospital case are much better than those of
the other types.
Table 34 HVAC savings of all building types
Average
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Hospital
Apartment
43.8%
29.2%
43.9%
44.2%
59.9%
38.2%
55
The apartment case, on the other hand, shows opposite results, as shown in Table
34. The EUI of the reference apartment is 81.81 kWh/m! , which is relatively low
compared to the other types. Even though there is 43.8 % of energy savings of
HVAC systems in apartment cases, operational costs savings cannot easily offset
the incremental investment costs. As a result, most apartment cases show the
negative values in net savings.
In the marine climate zone, San Francisco and Seattle, most building types show
lower values relative to the other climate zones. Since these marine climate zones
require less energy for heating and cooling, energy saving costs from VRF
systems typically cannot offset the incremental investments even though VRF
systems yield high operational energy savings by the HVAC systems around 40%.
Overall, the VRF alternatives show substantial energy savings over all building
types and locations. The reference hospital is an especially favorable case, based on the
fact that it consumes a large amount of energy, which leads to a high return on
investment.
The average of simple payback period over all building types and location is 12
years, which presents a compelling case to choose VRF over conventional system.
56
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
10
11
2A
Houston, Texas
17
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
13
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
11
13
24
3B
10
11
11
18
3C
12
30+
22
15
30+
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
11
13
10
30+
4B
11
11
14
10
30+
4C
Seattle, Washington
11
15
24
15
30+
5A
Chicago, Illinois
10
12
14
13
30+
5B
Boulder, Colorado
11
12
17
12
30+
10
12
14
10
24
Average
25
Office
57
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$53,488
$78,114
$188,237
$147,275
$23,844
$4,646,138
2A
Houston, Texas
$72,877
$54,229
$109,484
$104,141
($12,154)
$4,655,262
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$85,698
$61,435
$165,861
$112,855
$7,667
$3,882,232
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$42,156
$33,148
$24,294
$73,413
($34,177)
$3,901,224
3B
$56,761
$18,054
$63,014
$65,514
($15,004)
$3,951,881
3C
$27,915
($42,746)
($92,555)
($8,232)
($80,436)
$3,866,772
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$72,045
$22,351
$30,799
$49,059
($54,269)
$4,573,682
4B
$43,353
$23,572
$1,600
$46,701
($47,866)
$4,719,501
4C
Seattle, Washington
$45,199
($730)
($91,081)
($8,572)
($87,226)
$3,718,955
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$66,649
$16,532
$5,590
$14,545
($62,015)
$4,051,231
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$43,179
$13,112
($24,533)
$21,904
($41,714)
$2,931,675
$55,393
$25,188
$34,610
$56,237
($36,668)
$4,081,687
Average
Table 37 Difference in simple payback, by subtracting national prices from regional prices
Climate Zone
Representative City
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
2A
Houston, Texas
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(5)
3B
3C
(3)
(2)
(3)
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
(1)
(2)
(3)
(2)
4B
(2)
(1)
4C
Seattle, Washington
(4)
(4)
5A
Chicago, Illinois
5B
Boulder, Colorado
(1)
58
Table 38 Differences in net savings, by subtracting national prices from regional prices
Climate Zone
Representative City
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
35,872
28,519
77,349
54,403
13,230
1,378,658
2A
Houston, Texas
6,250
1,205
5,391
5,128
(1,041)
(17,087)
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
(12,551)
(4,283)
(16,239)
(12,419)
2,026
7,085
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
20,324
14,106
29,991
24,024
13,247
664,911
3B
(10,121)
(8,172)
(18,476)
(12,034)
(4,170)
(488,691)
3C
76,600
(9,506)
20,784
43,643
2,587
1,166,262
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
42,975
26,828
61,565
39,215
13,002
1,361,889
4B
36,662
(5,883)
2,969
22,812
(2,361)
550,843
4C
Seattle, Washington
(44,202)
26,822
33,050
(7,646)
25,789
(385,990)
5A
Chicago, Illinois
7,560
6,806
15,293
7,490
(1,784)
179,118
5B
Boulder, Colorado
22,065
(8,308)
(7,662)
8,542
(10,657)
256,572
59
Table 39 Discounted payback variations depending on investment and OM&R cost factors
OM&R
differences
($/ft ! )
-0.08
-0.05
-0.02
7
7
8
11
12
13
15
18
19
21
25
27
5
6
6
8
9
10
12
13
14
16
18
19
0
0.02
0.05
9
10
12
15
17
21
23
26
30+
30+
30+
30+
7
7
8
11
12
14
16
17
21
21
24
27
Office
Hotel
OM&R
differences
($/ft ! )
-0.08
2.43
1.62
1.22
0.97
3.00
2.00
1.50
1.20
-0.05
2.18
1.45
1.09
0.87
2.75
1.83
1.37
1.10
-0.02
2.07
1.38
1.04
0.83
2.64
1.76
1.32
1.05
1.85
1.24
0.93
0.74
2.42
1.61
1.21
0.97
0.02
1.71
1.14
0.85
0.68
2.27
1.52
1.14
0.91
0.05
1.49
1.00
0.75
0.60
2.06
1.37
1.03
0.82
Office
Hotel
When the additional investment of the office is over $4/ft ! , the discounted
payback is over 20 years, which is similar to the life span of HVAC systems. SIR values
also turn into less than 1, which means that there is no cost beneficial. According to
above tables, the marginal costs that yield the profit by choosing the VRF alternative for
the office case are $4/ft ! incremental costs with $0.02/ft ! lower OM&R costs or $3/ft !
incremental costs with $0.02/ft ! higher OM&R costs. As for the hotel case, $5/ft !
additional investment costs with $0.02/ft ! lower OM&R costs yield a benefit.
60
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
61
than the other types. The LCC outcome confirms that when the absolute energy savings is
low, it is difficult to compensate the additional investment costs.
This study confirms what preceding research has shown, i.e. that, VRF systems
show considerable energy savings over conventional HVAC systems. It has to be
recognized that VRF systems are still poorly supported in whole building simulation
tools. Some caution is warranted in interpreting the outcomes for the VRF cases; the
results may be overly optimistic. There is a need to use the current VRF modules in
calibration exercise on real building data with installed VRF system.
Based on the economic analysis, it is evident that VRF systems can be highly
recommended for buildings that consume a large amount of energy. This is particularly
true for hospitals. Based on the currently available cost data and a simulation models,
VRF systems are also recommended for the other building types, in most climate zones
except for marine climate zones and in general in cold zones with a significant heating
requirement. VRF systems should be carefully considered in heating dominant climate
zones when being compared to systems that generate heat with natural gas.
62
APPENDIX A
LCC EXAMPLE
This appendix presents a framework of life-cycle cost calculation, including
general information, specific information for VRF system and base case, life-cycle
calculations, cash flows, net savings, and SIR.
Table 41 General building information for LCC
Building Type
Commercial
Office
53,608 sf
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
4,982 m2
Building Location
Climate Zone
City
Building Area
Life cycle study period
20 yrs
Discount rate
3.0%
0.10 $/kWh
0.81 $/therm
Typical SF
20000
Size Factor
Locator Factor
Parameter
Factor
0.92
0.89
Table 42 Specific information of VRF system and the base case for LCC
VRF systems
Base case
Electricity
Natural Gas
$1,007,837
19,324 $/ton
18.8 $/sf
0%
$847,012
16,240 $/ton
15.8 $/sf
0%
0.20 $/sf/yr
0.25 $/sf/yr
63
Cost Description
Present Value
Factor
Cash Amount
Annually Recurring
Energy costs
Electricity
Natural Gas
Simplified Annual OM&R costs
Present Value
$ 820,581
1.00
$ 820,581
$ 0
0.74
$ 0
$ 63,865
$ 526
15.3
16.85
$ 977,130
$ 8,864
$ 8,730
14.44
$ 126,091
$ 0
0.55
$ 0
1,932,666
Cost Description
Cash Amount
Annually Recurring
Present Value
$ 689,637
1.00
$ 689,637
$ 0
0.74
$ 0
Energy costs
Electricity
Natural Gas
Non-Annually Recurring
Present Value
Factor
$ 73,621
$ 512
15.3
16.85
$ 1,126,405
$ 8,635
$ 10,912
14.44
$ 157,614
$ 0
0.55
$ 0
$
64
1,982,291
delta E
delta OM&R
detla I0
delta Repl
delta Res
$
$
$
$
149,046
31,523
130,944
0
-
Net Savings
49,625
Savings-to-Investment Ratio
1.38
65
energy saving
sum
d=0%
sum
d=3%
$ 2,182
$ 11,828
$ 11,483 $ 11,828
$ 9,659 $ (13)
$ 2,182
$ 11,828
$ 11,149
$ 23,656
$ 9,757 $ (13)
$ 2,182
$ 11,925
$ 10,914
$ 35,581
0.99
$ 9,757 $ (13)
$ 2,182
$ 11,925
$ 10,596
$ 47,507
1.00
1.00
$ 9,757 $ (14)
$ 2,182
$ 11,925
$ 10,287
$ 59,432
0.99
1.01
$ 9,659 $ (14)
$ 2,182
$ 11,828
$ 9,905
$ 71,260
0.98
1.02
$ 9,561 $ (14)
$ 2,182
$ 11,730
$ 9,538
$ 82,990
0.99
1.03
$ 9,659 $ (14)
$ 2,182
$ 11,827
$ 9,337
$ 94,817
0.99
1.06
$ 9,659 $ (14)
$ 2,182
$ 11,827
$ 9,064
$ 106,644
10
0.99
1.09
$ 9,659 $ (15)
$ 2,182
$ 11,827
$ 8,800
$ 118,471
11
1.00
1.12
$ 9,757 $ (15)
$ 2,182
$ 11,924
$ 8,614
$ 130,394
12
1.00
1.14
$ 9,757 $ (15)
$ 2,182
$ 11,923
$ 8,363
$ 142,318
13
1.00
1.15
$ 9,757 $ (16)
$ 2,182
$ 11,923
$ 8,119
$ 154,241
14
0.99
1.17
$ 9,659 $ (16)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 7,818
$ 166,067
15
0.99
1.18
$ 9,659 $ (16)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 7,590
$ 177,892
16
0.99
1.20
$ 9,659 $ (16)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 7,369
$ 189,717
17
0.99
1.21
$ 9,659 $ (16)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 7,154
$ 201,542
18
0.99
1.22
$ 9,659 $ (17)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 6,946
$ 213,367
19
0.99
1.24
$ 9,659 $ (17)
$ 2,182
$ 11,825
$ 6,743
$ 225,191
20
0.99
1.25
$ 9,659 $ (17)
$ 2,182
$ 11,824
$ 6,547
$ 237,016
21
0.99
1.27
$ 9,659 $ (17)
$ 2,182
$ 11,824
$ 6,356
$ 248,840
22
1.00
1.30
$ 9,757 $ (18)
$ 2,182
$ 11,921
$ 6,222
$ 260,761
23
1.01
1.34
$ 9,854 $ (18)
$ 2,182
$ 12,018
$ 6,090
$ 272,779
24
1.02
1.37
$ 9,952 $ (19)
$ 2,182
$ 12,115
$ 5,960
$ 284,895
25
1.03
1.38
$ 10,049 $ (19)
$ 2,182
$ 12,213
$ 5,833
$ 297,107
26
1.04
1.41
$ 10,147 $ (19)
$ 2,182
$ 12,310
$ 5,708
$ 309,418
27
1.05
1.44
$ 10,244 $ (20)
$ 2,182
$ 12,407
$ 5,586
$ 321,825
28
1.06
1.44
$ 10,342 $ (20)
$ 2,182
$ 12,505
$ 5,466
$ 334,329
29
1.06
1.45
$ 10,342 $ (20)
$ 2,182
$ 12,505
$ 5,306
$ 346,834
30
1.06
1.47
$ 10,342 $ (20)
$ 2,182
$ 12,504
$ 5,152
$ 359,338
Year
Elec
NG
Elec
NG
0.99
1.00
$ 9,659 $ (14)
0.99
0.98
1.00
0.99
1.00
annual
OMR
Cumulative
Cumulative
initial
i nvest
d=0%
d=3%
Net
savings
(SPB)
Net
savings
(DPB)
11
13
Energy price indexes are UPV* values for LCC are introduced in order to deal
with price escalation. When the discount rate, d, is 0%, it represents simple LCC
calculation; when discount rate is 3%, LCC calculation includes price escalation with 3%
discount rate. In the net saving columns, SPB indicates simple payback, and DPB means
discounted payback. Plus, when the net saving turns into positive number is the payback
year. For this example, simple payback is 11 years; discounted payback is 13 years.
66
APPENDIX B
Office
Retail
VRF System
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$1,950,816
$931,568
$2,489,178
$1,641,008
$1,509,580
$12,994,438
2A
Houston, Texas
$1,947,736
$932,567
$2,485,658
$1,645,659
$1,545,265
$12,885,600
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$1,996,914
$946,399
$2,513,719
$1,677,008
$1,584,520
$13,088,777
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$1,925,924
$914,507
$2,466,926
$1,639,099
$1,559,582
$13,050,465
3B
$1,925,712
$900,500
$2,440,551
$1,631,113
$1,532,352
$12,566,979
3C
$2,225,830
$1,014,784
$2,808,159
$1,894,096
$1,924,024
$13,960,095
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$1,988,543
$959,297
$2,521,894
$1,681,399
$1,636,953
$12,819,525
4B
$1,897,652
$890,674
$2,415,989
$1,611,597
$1,538,513
$12,377,176
4C
Seattle, Washington
$2,040,471
$960,279
$2,592,877
$1,740,165
$1,735,454
$12,988,366
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$2,266,586
$1,093,924
$2,827,186
$1,910,637
$1,935,749
$14,292,464
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$1,942,576
$933,187
$2,471,166
$1,659,848
$1,586,180
$13,017,360
$2,009,887
$952,517
$2,548,482
$1,702,875
Average
$1,644,379 $13,094,658
Office
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$2,004,304
$1,009,682
$2,677,415
$1,788,283
$1,533,424
$17,640,576
2A
Houston, Texas
$2,020,613
$986,796
$2,595,143
$1,749,800
$1,533,111
$17,540,862
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$2,082,612
$1,007,834
$2,679,580
$1,789,863
$1,592,186
$16,971,008
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$1,968,080
$947,655
$2,491,221
$1,712,512
$1,525,405
$16,951,689
3B
$1,982,474
$918,554
$2,503,565
$1,696,627
$1,517,348
$16,518,860
3C
$2,253,745
$972,038
$2,715,604
$1,885,864
$1,843,588
$17,826,867
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$2,060,589
$981,648
$2,552,694
$1,730,458
$1,582,684
$17,393,207
4B
$1,941,005
$914,245
$2,417,589
$1,658,298
$1,490,648
$17,096,677
4C
Seattle, Washington
$2,085,669
$959,549
$2,501,796
$1,731,592
$1,648,227
$16,707,321
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$2,333,234
$1,110,456
$2,832,776
$1,925,182
$1,873,734
$18,343,694
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$1,985,754
$946,299
$2,446,633
$1,681,752
$1,544,466
$15,949,035
$2,065,280
$977,705
$2,583,092
$1,759,112
Average
67
$1,607,711 $17,176,345
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
$53,488
$78,114
$188,237
$147,275
$23,844
$4,646,138
2A
Houston, Texas
$72,877
$54,229
$109,484
$104,141
($12,154)
$4,655,262
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
$85,698
$61,435
$165,861
$112,855
$7,667
$3,882,232
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
$42,156
$33,148
$24,294
$73,413
($34,177)
$3,901,224
3B
$56,761
$18,054
$63,014
$65,514
($15,004)
$3,951,881
3C
$27,915
($42,746)
($92,555)
($8,232)
($80,436)
$3,866,772
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
$72,045
$22,351
$30,799
$49,059
($54,269)
$4,573,682
4B
$43,353
$23,572
$1,600
$46,701
($47,866)
$4,719,501
4C
Seattle, Washington
$45,199
($730)
($91,081)
($8,572)
($87,226)
$3,718,955
5A
Chicago, Illinois
$66,649
$16,532
$5,590
$14,545
($62,015)
$4,051,231
5B
Boulder, Colorado
$43,179
$13,112
($24,533)
$21,904
($41,714)
$2,931,675
$55,393
$25,188
$34,610
$56,237
($36,668)
$4,081,687
Average
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
1.44
2.43
2.08
2.39
1.30
9.71
2A
Houston, Texas
1.57
1.95
1.60
1.94
0.86
9.34
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
1.65
2.05
1.88
1.99
1.09
7.77
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
1.32
1.56
1.13
1.64
0.61
7.80
3B
1.44
1.31
1.34
1.59
0.82
8.03
3C
1.15
0.48
0.65
0.95
0.33
5.84
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
1.52
1.36
1.16
1.41
0.41
8.57
4B
1.33
1.40
1.01
1.41
0.44
9.31
4C
Seattle, Washington
1.29
0.99
0.59
0.94
0.14
6.51
5A
Chicago, Illinois
1.39
1.21
1.02
1.10
0.46
6.36
5B
Boulder, Colorado
1.32
1.22
0.87
1.19
0.54
5.93
1.40
1.45
1.21
1.50
0.64
7.74
Average
68
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
10
11
2A
Houston, Texas
17
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
13
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
11
13
24
3B
10
11
11
18
3C
12
30+
22
15
30+
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
11
13
10
30+
4B
11
11
14
10
30+
4C
Seattle, Washington
11
15
24
15
30+
5A
Chicago, Illinois
10
12
14
13
30+
5B
Boulder, Colorado
11
12
17
12
30+
10
12
14
10
24
Average
Office
Retail
School
Hotel
Apartment
Hospital
1A
Miami, Florida
12
14
2A
Houston, Texas
11
11
24
2B
Phoenix, Arizona
10
17
3A
Atlanta, Georgia
13
11
17
10
3B
12
14
13
11
26
3C
16
21
4A
Baltimore, Maryland
11
14
16
13
30+
4B
13
13
19
12
30+
4C
Seattle, Washington
14
20
21
30+
5A
Chicago, Illinois
13
16
19
17
30+
5B
Boulder, Colorado
13
16
23
16
30+
13
11
12
13
21
Average
69
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