Energy conservation in buildings: an economics guidebook for investment decisions

Technical Report · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:5158905

Marshall, H E; Ruegg, R T

For architects, engineers, builders, and others concerned with the design and operation of buildings, this guidebook provides principles, techniques, step - by - step illustrations, and sample problems on how to evaluate the economics of energy conservation and solar energy investments. Techniques of economic evaluation are described, including life - cycle costing, net benefits, savings - to - investment ratio, internal rate - of - return, and discounted payback analyses. The techniques are compared in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Discounting, a procedure for taking into account the time value of money, is illustrated in the analysis of an investment in heat pumps. Practice problems for discounting and for applying each of five techniques are presented. Factors that affect benefits and costs, including time horizons, discount rates, inflation, incentives, taxes, salvage values, and measures of uncertainty are discussed, and guidance is provided for selecting appropriate values for these factors when making economic evaluations. Comprehensive case illustrations for solar heating and for window design management are described. Appendices provide tables and formulas for evaluating the economics of alternative conservation investments and a glossary of economic terms. Footnotes, additional tables, and 25 references are supplied.

• Research Organization: National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5158905
• Report Number(s): PB-82-175266
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901 -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
140907 -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Water Heating
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
291000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Conservation
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
BUILDINGS
COST
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DESIGN
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMICS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
HEAT PUMPS
INVESTMENT
LIFE-CYCLE COST
MANAGEMENT
MANUALS
OPENINGS
RISK ASSESSMENT
WINDOWS