Energy conservation in buildings: an economics guidebook for investment decisions. Final report

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

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6541549· OSTI ID:6541549

Marshall, H E; Ruegg, R T

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 including life-cycle costing, net benefits, savings-to-investment ratio, internal rate-of-return, and discounted payback analyses are described and 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 the 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 formulae for evaluating the economics of alternative conservation investments.

• Research Organization: National Engineering Lab. (NBS), Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6541549
• Report Number(s): PB-80-201601
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
291000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Conservation
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
BUILDINGS
COST
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DATA
DESIGN
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY RECOVERY
ENERGY SOURCES
FURNACES
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT RECOVERY
HEATING
INFLATION
INFORMATION
INTEREST RATE
INVESTMENT
LIFE-CYCLE COST
MANUALS
OPENINGS
PAYBACK PERIOD
RECOVERY
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SOLAR ENERGY
SPACE HEATING
TAXES
THERMAL INSULATION
WINDOWS