- Author
- Marshall, H. E. | Ruegg, R. T.
- Title
- Energy Conservation in Buildings: An Economics Guidebook for Investment Decisions. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS Handbook 132, May 1980,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service Available from Government Printing Office
- Keywords
- buildings; heat recovery; solar energy; windows; heat pumps; thermal insulation; furnaces; space heating; economic analysis; benefit cost analysis; cost effectiveness; guidelines | solar energy
- Identifiers
- energy conservation; waste heat utilization; financial incentives; life-cycle; payback period
- Abstract
- 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.