Life Cycle Cost Comparison Research Articles

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Residential Power Backup Gasoline Generators in Nigeria

This study involves life cycle cost analysis of portable gasoline generator brands mostly used for home power back up in Nigeria to guide the citizens’ choice during acquisition. A total of two thousand six hundred and twentyelectric power generating sets sampled from seventeen cities in Nigeria were evaluated by direct observation/descriptive experimental design. The evaluation parameters include initial or procurement, operation and maintenance costs, fuel consumption rate, operation period and residual value. Results showed Tiger, Sumec, Elemax, Elepaq and Jinjing as the most patronized brands of portable gasoline generators for home power back up in Nigeria major cities while 0.8 and 2.2KVA constitute the most used power ratings of the generators. Also 0.8KVA Sumec and 2.2KVA Elemax were revealed as most cost effective due to their comparative low life cycle cost of N26, 810 and N39,820 respectively.Keywords: Gasoline generator, life cycle cost, power back up, power outage

Framework for construction system selection based on life cycle cost and sustainability assessment

Abstract The objective of this study is to develop a framework for the selection of construction systems of low and medium rise buildings used in residential, office and commercial applications. The construction systems considered are reinforced concrete framing (RC), structural steel framing (SS) and cold-formed steel framing (CFS). The framework is developed in accordance with the relevant guidelines for life cycle analysis and sustainability and is intended to support decision making in the design stage. The system boundary for the study is from cradle-to-grave, including all cost components from construction stage, use stage and disposal stage in addition to possible recycling/reuse options. The developed framework integrates building information modeling, energy simulation modeling and end of life scenarios to calculate and compare life cycle costs and sustainability advantages of construction system alternatives. All future costs are discounted to their present value using the appropriate interest rates. Uncertainties in the input parameters are modeled using realistic probability distributions and then used in a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis to investigate the impact of changes in the input parameters on the result. Application of the developed system to a university building revealed the following results. The total life cycle cost is nearly the same for RC framing system and CFS framing system, while the life cycle cost of SS framing system is 13.4% more. When the system is credited for possible revenues resulting from early operation and recycling/reuse, the total life cycle cost of the RC framing system and the SS framing system become nearly the same while the life cycle cost of the CFS framing system becomes 22% less. Sensitivity analysis of the results shows that the discount rate has the most effect on the estimated mean cost followed by the inflation rate and the construction cost. The sustainability assessment focuses on calculating the LEED points associated with material recycling/reuse potentials and waste management.

Comparative life cycle assessment and cost analysis of autoclave and pressure bag molding for producing CFRP components

Composite materials are demonstrating the ability to face the challenge of competitive markets where high-performance, low costs, and reduced manufacturing time are mandatory. Vacuum bagging with autoclave curing is one of the most used manufacturing methods for carbon fiber composite parts. However, it shows some limitations, mainly due to manual operations and long processing time. Out-of-autoclave (OOA) methods, such as pressure bag molding (PBM), can lead to a strong reduction of the manufacturing time through the simplification of lay-up and curing phases. In this paper, a comparative analysis between the autoclave and the PBM processes has been performed, jointly considering both the economic and environmental aspects. An evaluation of the environmental impacts has been carried out following the standardized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In addition, costs related to these two manufacturing techniques have been estimated through a parametric approach and successively compared. Different scenarios have been considered to take into account various production batches, mold manufacturing techniques, and end of life alternatives. The analyses show conflicting results demonstrating that a global optimum scenario does not exist and, depending on the chosen indicator and production batch, the best alternative varies. Considering only the environmental indicators, the autoclave process can be considered the most sustainable option, due to the lower consumption of energy.

An Approach for Choosing the Cost Effective Design for a Product-Service System While Maintaining its Desired Reliability

AbstractWith the spread of product-service systems as business models the life cycle costs are of increasing importance as a measurement of product cost. A key factor that drives these costs is the desired reliability of the products used to provide the service. Since the customer usually expects as uninterrupted service availability, it is imperative to achieve the the required reliability. Therefore a large variety of methods has been developed to maximize the reliability of a product. But these approaches focus on the maximization of the reliability and disregard the resulting product costs. This can lead to designs that over perform concerning their reliability requirements but also exceed their target costs. Which will result in the product-service system not being competitive in the marketplace or lowering the company's profit. This paper shows an approach on how to use markov chains to enable a quick comparison of life cycle costs from different product-service system designs With this it will be possible to make better informed decisions about the costs of a system while still meeting the reliability targets.

CNG and diesel urban buses in India: A life-cycle cost comparison

Delhi’s bus fleet is powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) to address poor air quality. CNG has also been implemented in buses in other Indian cities. We evaluate the life-cycle costs (LCCs) of the Standard (high-floor), low-floor, and low-floor air-conditioned CNG buses and their diesel counterparts in India. Given the importance of fuel economy and fuel price for fuel costs, we analyze the sensitivity of the LCCs to these factors. Also, to assess the effect of fuel prices if they were market driven, we evaluate the LCCs of low-floor air-conditioned CNG and diesel buses in India, but with US fuel prices. Our study aims to inform decision-making regarding the implementation of CNG buses, in concert with an assessment of their environmental and health benefits.The LCCs for CNG are higher than for diesel, but CNG negatively affects the LCC of Standard buses proportionately more than for the low-floor buses. The LCC is significantly higher for the low-floor air-conditioned, relative to that of the low-floor, and in particular the Standard, CNG buses. The significantly higher LCCs for the low-floor and low-floor air-conditioned buses, even for diesel, raises the questions of whether these buses are justified by increased patronage, and how they affect transit supply and affordability.The fuel price and fuel economy of CNG are critical for the competitiveness of CNG relative to diesel buses. This, along with the wide variation in CNG and diesel prices, demonstrates the need for careful fuel pricing policies when CNG is implemented in bus transit.

Environmental impacts and behavioral drivers of deep decarbonization for transportation through electric vehicles

Transportation accounts for about 30% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. To reduce GHG emissions, significant changes in the transportation fleet have been considered, with electric vehicles as one of the alternatives that could potentially reduce GHG emissions. This paper presents a comprehensive lifecycle emission and cost comparison among electric vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), full battery electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are compared with gasoline vehicle as the base case. Since the selection among these electric vehicles depends on several factors, external costs of emission, fuel, time loss, charging time loss and maintenance cost are considered. The results show that the most environmentally benign vehicles in terms of GHG emission are FCEV and full EVs, which is approximately half of the emission by Internal combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. The results also show that both FCVs and EVs have better air quality related emission reduction compared to ICE vehicle which results in approximately accounts for 84% reduction. The lifecycle cost results show that HEVs have the lowest lifecycle cost among all the selected vehicles, with the cost of $0.38 per mile. In addition, the effect of Carbon damage cost on total lifecycle cost is investigated. The results show that an increase in Carbon damage cost results in the penetration of HEVs and EVs to the market share.

Mine Water as a Resource: Selective Removal and Recovery of Trace Antimony from Mine-Impacted Water

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of combined modular processes to selectively remove Sb from mine-impacted waters in an Arctic environment in order to fulfil local environmental criteria for discharged waters. Novel ion exchange, selective extraction and ultrafiltration, electrocoagulation, and dissolved air flotation technologies were investigated, individually or in combination, from the laboratory- to pilot-demonstration scale. Laboratory-scale testing using Fe2(SO4)3 precipitation, ion exchange resin, selective ion extraction and ultrafiltration, and electrocoagulation with or without subsequent dissolved air flotation indicated that any of the methods are potentially applicable to Sb removal from mine water. The observed differences between Sb and As removal efficiency by ion exchange resin illustrated the need for Sb-specific removal and recovery technologies. Techno-economic analyses showed that treatment of mine water using electrocoagulation-dissolved air flotation yields the lowest comparative life-cycle cost of examined technologies. Results demonstrated increased Sb attenuation efficiency using either electrocoagulation-dissolved air flotation or selective extraction and ultrafiltration, even when treating only 50% of the mine-impacted water, compared with conventional Fe2(SO4)3 precipitation from mine water. Additional investigation is necessary to characterize the long-term stability of the mineral phases in Sb-containing solid residues and to inform selection of Sb recovery methods and utilisation or final disposal options for the residual materials.

Requirements and Comparisons of DC Circuit Breakers for HVDC Grids

This paper focuses on several DC circuit breakers applied to multi-terminal HVDC transmission systems (HVDC grids), investigates their requirements, and compares their circuit design. Several DC circuit breakers are designed to fulfill their requirements, and quantitatively compared under common specifications. The comparison reveals that their operation delay causes the increase in breaking current, resulting in the increase in semiconductor bulb devices and breaking energy. The number of semiconductor bulb devices is also influenced by the configuration of surge arresters. Comparison of lifecycle costs between solid-state and hybrid circuit breakers is also shown. The result shows that the solid-state circuit breakers tend to be low cost if the average current utilization rate is low.

Rethinking life cycle cost drivers for sustainable office buildings in Denmark

Purpose Sustainable building design suffers from a lack of reliable life cycle data. The purpose of this paper is to compare life cycle costs of sustainable building projects, examine the magnitude of various cost drivers and discuss the implications of an emerging shift in cost drivers. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on data from 21 office buildings certified in Denmark according to the sustainable certification scheme DGNB. Findings The paper supports previous findings that construction costs and running costs each roughly make up half of the life cycle costs over a 50-year period. More surprising is the finding that the life cycle costs for cleaning are approximately twice as high as the supply costs for energy and water. Research limitations/implications The data set is based on actual construction costs of office buildings constructed in 2013-2017. Although all running costs are calculated rather than measured, they are based on a more detailed, specific and industry-supported set of calculation assumptions than is usual for life cycle costing studies because of extensive collaborative work in a number of concomitant national research and development projects. Practical implications Authorities, clients and building professionals heavily emphasise energy-saving measures in new Danish buildings. The paper suggests redirecting this effort towards other more prominent cost drivers like cleaning and technical installations. Originality/value This paper provides a notable contribution to the academic understanding of the significance of different cost drivers as well as the practical implementation of life cycle costing.

Life-cycle cost comparison of chip seal and striping: in-house workers versus private contractors

Purpose To maintain road systems in the USA, state departments of transportation (DOTs) generally use in-house workers or private contractors. Limited studies have calculated the cost savings of hiring private contractors; however, most of them have not calculated cost savings based on life-cycle costs (LCCs). The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the LCC of chip seal and stripping maintenance activities performed by in-house workers are cheaper than those performed by private contractors. Design/methodology/approach The paper collected the hard cost data of chip seal and stripping maintenance activities performed by state DOT in-house workers, as well as private contractors, from 2003 to 2016 from the Nevada DOT Maintenance and Asset Management division. Statistical tests were conducted to test the research hypothesis that the LCC of chip seal and stripping activities performed by in-house workers are significantly less than those performed by private contractors. Findings The study results showed that the cost per unit and LCC of chip seal and striping work performed by in-house workers were significantly less than those performed by private contractors in Nevada. Research limitations/implications The study only collected data from Nevada DOT, so readers should use caution in generalizing the findings of this study. Additionally, factors affecting the cost of these maintenance activities for private contractors are significantly different compared to in-house contractors. Therefore, these differences may be some of the potential reasons for cost difference between these two methods. Practical implications The practical implications of this study are that state DOT engineers need to plan for outsourcing chip seal and stripping maintenance activities only to private contractors that are cost effective, based on life-cycle cost. Originality/value The LCC analysis framework developed in this study will help state DOT engineers to determine cost savings by using in-house workers for road maintenance works.

An energy and life-cycle cost comparison of residential PSC and ECM blower systems operating at excess pressures due to restrictive ducts

This study is to comprehensively evaluate energy impacts and life cycle costs of duct designs for residential central HVAC systems. Building energy simulations were performed under two different climates (Chicago, IL and Austin, TX) to predict the heating and cooling energy use in systems with blowers of different types of motors, namely electronically commutated motors (ECMs) and permanent split capacitor (PSC) motors, paired with ductworks of varying flow resistance and duct materials. In addition to the energy use, the life cycle cost of each duct design was determined over a 15-year lifetime. Depending on the specific duct design, the annual energy cost in the Chicago home decreased by 11–17% for systems with ECM blowers and 3–8% for systems with PSC blowers as the flow resistance decreased from 0.8 to 0.3 in. w.g. (200–75 Pa). In the Austin home for the same flow resistance decreases, the annual energy costs decreased by 16–18% for systems with ECM blowers and 7–8% for systems with PSC blowers. Although the cost-effectiveness of a specific duct design is shown to be heavily dependent on initial duct fabrication and installation costs, the use of lower flow resistance ductworks generally leads to lifetime savings in the presence of 10% supply and return leakage. Specifically, the lifetime saving is achieved in 6 out of 8 simulated cases for the Chicago home and all simulated cases for the Austin home.

Comparative life-cycle cost and GHG emission analysis of five different water heating systems for residential buildings in Australia

In this paper, five different types of water heating systems namely electric instantaneous, electric storage, natural gas instantaneous, natural gas storage, and heat pump are studied for Australian conditions. The study is carried out for understanding the life cycle cost of each system under similar water demand conditions. The focus is made on life-cycle cost (LCC) that include the running costs on an annual basis, and total running cost for the system life, maintenance cost; and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The observations reveal that five systems had major differences in the upfront cost, running cost, and life-cycle cost, and GHG emissions. The observed LCC and GHG emissions for electric instantaneous, electric storage, natural gas instantaneous, natural gas storage, and heat pump are 9005 AU$, 12,724 AU$, 6955 AU$, 7479 AU$, and 8098 AU$, and 1862 tons of CO2, 2306 tons of CO2, 851 tons of CO2, 917 tons of CO2, and 842 tons of CO2 respectively.

Life Cycle Cost Comparison Study of PV and Concrete Rooftop in Jakarta

This paper presents a comparative study of “life cycle cost” or LCC of a building school rooftop element in Jakarta. The simulation applied two different types of roof: a concrete roof and a PV rooftop. The aim of this study is to investigate the electricity production of the solar panels, the saving to investment ratio or SIR, and the total life cycle cost of each rooftop element. To accommodate those objectives, the calculation utilized a software called “Building Life Cycle Cost (BLCC) version 5” which is a product of the US Department of Energy. The simulation results showed that the LCC can be improved by 27.6%, and the “discounted payback” is reached at year 15. Indeed, this indicates that a roof made of solar panels is promising to replace the existing concrete roof.

Natural Dyes Product Design Using Green Quality Function Deployment II Method To Support Batik Sustainable Production

Using synthetic dyes causes bad impact on the environment. But using natural dyes has several problems such as fade, slight colour variations and takes longer time. In order to solve that problems, it is needed to develop instant natural dyes. This study aims to design instant natural dyes to fulfill needs of batik artisans that having minimal environmental impact as well as having minimal cost. This study use green quality function deployment II method. This study involve voice of customer identification, calculation gap, the determination of characteristic of technical, making the house of quality (HOQ), life cycle assessment (formulation of green house & green the matrix), life cycle cost (formulation of cost house, the preparation of cost the matrix) and concept comparison house (CCH). Based on voice of customer, natural dyes that will be developed is red colour. Red natural dyes extracted from root of Morinda citrifolia and Ceriops candolleana. In this research, there are two alternatives of natural dyes namely powders and liquid natural dyes. The result of this study is powder natural dyes selected because of lower environmental impact and user operational cost.

Life-cycle energy, GHG and cost comparison of camelina-based biodiesel and biojet fuel

ABSTRACTCamelina (Camelina sativa) can be used to make biodiesel or biojet fuel. This study compares life-cycle energy, environmental impact and economic performance of making biodiesel versus biojet fuel from camelina oil. The data for camelina field production was obtained from a grower in western Washington, USA. Camelina seeds were crushed, and biodiesel and biojet fuel were produced at the University of Idaho's advanced biofuel research lab. Biodiesel was made via a transesterification reaction, and biojet was made using a technology called hydroprocessed renewable jet fuel. This research found that for a base-case scenario, where transportation and fuel additives were not needed, the ratio of energy in produced biofuel to its life-cycle energy was 3.6 for biodiesel and 1.8 for biojet fuel. Biodiesel reduced life-cycle GHG emissions by 69% compared to conventional diesel. In contrast, camelina biojet reduced GHG emissions by 56.6% compared to jet-A fuel. The cost of ingredients and utilities to make biodiesel was US 75¢/L compared to $2.19/L for biojet fuel taking no credit for byproducts. Considering the potential demand for biodiesel, the price of diesel, and price of jet fuel, it was concluded that biojet fuel is unlikely to compete economically with biodiesel in the foreseeable future.

The “Cost Optimality” Approach for the Internal Insulation of Historic Buildings

The Directive 2010/31 UE (EBPD) introduced the “Nearly Zero Energy Buildings” linked to cost optimality, where energy benefits are related to economic benefits. The “Cost Optimality” methodology is applicable both to new and existing buildings, as introduced in the Regulation 244/2012. This methodology was largely applied to existing building, but the literature on historic buildings lacks. However, given the potential of energy retrofit of this kind of buildings, it would be appropriate to develop a specific methodology for the economic valorization of the heritage, considering also the conservation and the historic value of the patrimony. In fact, on the one hand this methodology could be useful for the “energy valorization” of a historic building in relation to the minimum requirements of European and national legislations and budgets. However, on the other hand, we noted the absence of shared information at national level and examples of the “historic reference buildings”. For this reason, case studies on historic buildings become an important starting point to create common typological and repeat-able models for applying this methodology. This research aims at evaluating the economic benefits of energy retrofit of a traditional historic masonry, using the “Cost Optimality” methodology. This method is structured into the following parts: (i) definition of the type of masonry; (ii) selection of the insulation systems; (iii) assessment of the energy benefits related to the insertion of various insulation materials; (iv) evaluation of the Life Cycle Costing; (v) evaluation of the optimal insulation performance and cost-effectiveness; and (vi) comparison of energy consumption and Life Cycle Cost to de-fine the most appropriate interventions for the historic wall.

A comprehensive approach for quantifying environmental costs associated with unpaved roads dust

ABSTRACTThis study attempted to quantify the environmental damage costs associated with unpaved roads dust in Wyoming. Dust has profound impacts on human health, agriculture, and livestock. Incorporating the environmental impacts in the decision making process can highly enhance the planning process and maximise the social welfare especially at the local level. It was found that, dust associated with unpaved roads is responsible for environmental damages that worth $2429/mile/year. The majority of this cost is related to changes in annual crops yield (68%) and human health (38%). Unpaved roads dust seems to have a minor impact on livestock production (1%). The total estimated environmental damage costs in Wyoming is $32 million/year. This value is equal to 0.08% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 4.7% of the gross value added by the agriculture sector in the state. In addition, these impacts represent 0.1% of the total personal income in the state. A life cycle cost comparison showed that maintaining unpaved roads using chemical suppressants is 48% cheaper than traditional maintenance methods considering service life and environmental impacts. The obtained results from this analysis can be used as basis for cost to benefit evaluations in the management process.

Comparative life cycle cost assessment of painted and hot-dip galvanized bridges

The study addresses the life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) of steel bridges, focusing on the maintenance activities and the maintenance scenario. Firstly, the unit costs of maintenance activities and their durability (i.e. the time between two activities) are evaluated. Pragmatic data are provided for the environment category C4 and for three activities: Patch Up, Overcoating and Remove & Replace. A comparative LCCA for a typical hypothetic steel girder bridge is carried out, either painted or hot-dip galvanized (HDG), in the environmental class C4. The LCC versus the cumulated life is provided for both options. The initial cost of the steel unpainted option is only 50.3% of the HDG option. It is shown that after ‘Overcoating’ occurring at 18.5 years, the total Net Present Value (NPV) of the painted option surpasses that of the HDG option. A sensitivity analysis of the NPV to the cost and service life parameters, the escalation and discount rates is then performed. The discount and escalation rates, considerably influences the total LCC, following a non-linear trend. The total LCC decreases with the discount rate increasing and, conversely, increases with the escalation rate increasing. Secondly, the influence of the maintenance scenario on the total LCC is assessed based on a probabilistic approach. A permutation of the three independent maintenance activities assumed to occur six times over the life of the bridge is considered and a probability of occurrence is associated to each unique scenario. The most probable scenarios are then classified according to their NPV or achieved service life. This approach leads to the definition of a cost-effective maintenance scenario i.e. the scenario, within all the considered permutations, that has the minimum LCC in a range of lifespan. Besides, the probabilistic analysis also shows that, whatever the scenario, the return on investment period ranges between 18.5 years and 24.2 years. After that period, the HDG option becomes economic.

Evaluation of the economic benefits of using Buckling-Restrained Braces in hospital structures located in very soft soils

Since economic quantities are more meaningful to decision makers than dynamic response parameters, this paper examines the economic benefits of using Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRBs) in hospitals located in the very soft soils of the lakebed zone of Mexico City. Since non-structural elements and contents are far more expensive than the structure itself, they are included in detail in the analyses. The results of analyses on three-, six-, and nine-storey frames, which represent short-period structures, show that the expected (or probable) losses and lifecycle costs are smaller when structures are equipped with BRBs. Different cases (defined by the contribution of the BRBs to the strength capacity of the structure) were analysed and compared. The best design options were identified from a comparison of lifecycle costs. As an example, a comparison of cost-benefit analysis between a bare frame and a frame designed under gravity loads and equipped with BRBs, shows that the latter is more economical; because, for the same initial cost, the lifecycle costs are significantly smaller.

Life Cycle Cost Comparison of a High NABERS Performing Commercial Building

NABERS is a world leading program for rating the environmental performance of buildings. It takes real, measured impacts and communicates these in a clear and simple way. NABERS rates offices in energy, water, waste and indoor environment, shopping centres and hotels in energy and water, and energy in data centres.NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, the National Administrator of NABERS, commissioned AECOM to conduct a comparative analysis of the upfront capital and operational and maintenance (O&M) costs for a building targeting different NABERS Star Ratings [1]. The study modelled a new build on a brownfield site with a Net Lettable Area (NLA) of 35,000 m2 located in Sydney, NSW. This was conducted from both a building owner perspective (base building) and a tenant perspective (tenancy). The base building analysis started at 4.5 Star NABERS Energy and 4 Star NABERS Water, increasing in half star increments. The tenancy analysis started at 4.5 Star NABERS Energy, increasing in half star increments. This paper is based on the results from the AECOM study.The study supports the industry trend of high NABERS rated buildings having a greater financial return over the long term. The trend of higher capital investment for greater long term return will be one of the key risks in the development of a business case for a new commercial building.