A case study on Life Cycle Cost Analysis of a green building

Abstract

Modern building practices show little regard for energy efficiency, environmental or social impact of the built environment over their entire life cycle. Resources such as ground cover, forests, water and energy are depleted to give way to buildings. The indiscriminate use of natural resources puts pressure on the ecosystem. During building construction, vast quantities of waste material is created, and during building operations, large amount of energy is consumed, contributing extensively to environmental pollution. This paper presents the various aspects and benefits of green buildings along with building environment assessment tools and rating systems followed worldwide. Life cycle cost analysis is performed to prove the economics of green buildings vis-a-vis ordinary buildings. By considering only the initial cost; economic viability of green building cannot be admissible. This paper includes life cycle cost assessment of some of green building of India and some other countries to show the economic viability of green building. The economic feasibility of these studies are justified by considering cost of whole life period of building. Life period have taken in these study usually from 20 to 25 years. The whole life period of building includes the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance phase. This study includes results in term of SIR value, NPV and the payback period of green buildings to show the feasibility of those buildings as compared to conventional buildings. From the perspective of the entire lifecycle of the building, this data was analysed to identify green design and construction practices that not only provide a green, luxurious environment but also enhance the building's financial strength.