- Author
- Ruegg, R. T. | Chapman, R. E.
- Title
- Economic Evaluation of Windows in Buildings: Methodology. Building Science Series.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS BSS 119, April 1979,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- buildings | windows | cost analysis
- Identifiers
- life cycle costs; energy conservation
- Abstract
- This study, which is one part of a National Bureau of Standards interdisciplinary project on windows, is aimed at improving the cost-effectiveness of window selection and use in buildings. It develops and illustrates a life-cycle costing evaluation model and computer program for assessing for alternative window systems the net dollar impact of acquisition, maintenance and repair, heating and cooling energy gains and losses, and artificial lighting and daylighting tradeoffs. The method is applicable to the evaluation of many different window sizes: designs, accessories, and uses, both for new and existing residential and commercial buildings. Two step-by-step examples of evaluating selected window alternatives in a residence and in an office building in Washington, DC. serve to illustrate the application of the method. A companion report, A Regional Economic Assessment of Selected Window Systems, presents the results of eight additional residential case studies and eight additional commercial case studies. While the emphasis of this report is on the method of evaluation, the companion report focuses on summarizing the results of a regional analysis in a form that will be convenient for use by building owners, operators, designers, financiers, and builders, those whose interest centers on the actual implementation of research results.