LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS OF HVAC SYSTEM IN OFFICE

PROJECTS
DISSERTATION – II

Department of Building Engineering and Management

School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi

Submitted by –

Vashuka Ghritalahare
(SPA/NS/BEM/860)

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INTRODUCTION
Energy is consistently reported as an essential resource for modern societies. The population
growth and lifestyle changes have been and still are increasing the energy demand and there
have been various economic (e.g., energy crisis in the 1970’s), environmental (e.g., pollution
from fossil fuels use) and social (e.g., armed conflicts over energy sources control/access)
impacts.
The energy consumed globally in buildings makes up the largest portion, accounting for 40%
of the total energy consumed worldwide (Gruber et al., 2015). This also corresponds to 38%
of the greenhouse gas emissions, reflecting the dimension of the issue both from an economic
and environmental perspectives. Considering that climate changes are forecasted to increase
extreme weather events, namely cold fronts and heat waves, the need for HVAC systems in
building will tend to increase in the future in order to keep the living standards.
Within the various components of a building, an HVAC system is becoming an increasingly
essential one. Nowadays, HVAC systems are present in any type of building, including
commercial, hotels, schools, offices, hospitals or households. These systems not only account
for the largest portion of the building energy consumption in most cases, but they can also
occupy a large space in some cases and have a high initial investment. Therefore, it is
important to have the correct size and design project for the specific needs to contribute to a
successful energy-efficient building.
This research work analyses the life cycle cost of HVAC systems and develop a decision
template to select the best suitable system based on the financial aspect of office projects.
Life cycle cost is cautiously described by the building and construction assets standard
ISO15686 as: “a technique which enables comparative cost assessments to be made over a
specified period of time, taking into account all relevant economic factors both in terms of
initial costs and future operational costs”.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 135, 1996 edition,
defines Life Cycle Cost (LCC) as “the total discounted dollar cost of owning, operating,
maintaining, and disposing of a building or a building system” over a period of time. Life
Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is an economic evaluation technique that determines the total
cost of owning and operating a facility over period of time.
Life cycle costing, as the name suggests, is the total cost of a project during its lifetime. It
includes initial investment cost, operational cost, maintenance & repair cost, replacement cost
and residual value.

1.1 NEED :
Value of money invested is base for making decisions. Value includes cost, but studies
indicate that many times, maintenance and repair cost is much higher than the initial cost.
Thus, decisions made on initial cost consideration are many times misleading. This
strengthens the need for taking into account all the incurred costs on any asset throughout its
life span.

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HVAC systems consume almost 40% of total energy consumed by a building which is a
major part of the capital cost and O&M cost of any project. Improvement upon it, can make a
drastic reduction in energy cost. Therefore, it is critical to choose the best possible option
available to maximise the output in terms of performance and cost.

1.2 RESEARCH GAP : Office buildings are one of the types of buildings where the energy
consumption for heating and cooling makes up a large fraction of the total. Considering the
influence of thermal comfort on productivity, the concentration of people and electronic
equipment and the number of hours that the building is occupied each day, HVAC systems
are present in any medium to large office buildings in India.
These systems not only account for the biggest parcel of the building vitality utilization in
most cases, but they can too involve an expansive space in a few cases and have a tall initial
investment. In this manner, it is imperative to have the proper estimate and design project for
the particular has to contribute to an effective energy-efficient building. An HVAC system
ought to be outlined to work for a long time to reach the crest operational productivity and
dodge excess humidity present within the conditioned discuss disseminated to the room.
Beginning and ceasing frequently the system can cause an early disappointment of the
hardware.

1.3 AIM : The research aims to analyse the life cycle cost of HVAC systems and develop a
decision template to select the best suitable system based on the financial aspect of office
projects.

1.4 OBJECTIVES :
1. To identify various components f HVAC system which contribute to the cost of LCC.
2. To prepare a template for the calculation of LCC of HVAC system in offices
considering the estimated service life of each identified component for each system.
3. To find the LCC of different HVAC system used in various office projects using
above template.
4. To create a LCC calculation tool for the selection of best suitable HVAC system.

1.5 SCOPE : The study is limited to analysing different HVAC systems and will be focussed
on office buildings only.

1.6 OUTCOME : The outcome will be to create a LCC calculation tool for the selection of
best suitable HVAC system for office buildings.

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