Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a method for assessing the total cost of facility ownership. It takes into account all costs of acquiring, owning, and disposing of a building or building system. LCCA is especially useful when project alternatives that fulfill the same performance requirements, but differ with respect to initial costs and operating costs, have to be compared in order to select the one that maximizes net savings. For example, LCCA will help determine whether the incorporation of a high-performance HVAC or glazing system, which may increase initial cost but result in dramatically reduced operating and maintenance costs, is cost-effective or not. LCCA is not useful for budget allocation.
Lowest life-cycle cost (LCC) is the most straightforward and easy-to-interpret measure of economic evaluation. Some other commonly used measures are Net Savings (or Net Benefits), Savings-to-Investment Ratio (or Savings Benefit-to-Cost Ratio), Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period. They are consistent with the Lowest LCC measure of evaluation if they use the same parameters and length of study period. Building economists, certified value specialists, cost engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, operations researchers, and others might use any or several of these techniques to evaluate a project. The approach to making cost-effective choices for building-related projects can be quite similar whether it is called cost estimating, value engineering, or economic analysis.
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A. Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) Method
The purpose of an LCCA is to estimate the overall costs of project alternatives and to select the design that ensures the facility will provide the lowest overall cost of ownership consistent with its quality and function. The LCCA should be performed early in the design process while there is still a chance to refine the design to ensure a reduction in life-cycle costs (LCC).
The first and most challenging task of an LCCA, or any economic evaluation method, is to determine the economic effects of alternative designs of buildings and building systems and to quantify these effects and express them in dollar amounts.
Viewed over a 30 year period, initial building costs account for approximately just 2% of the total, while operations and maintenance costs equal 6%, and personnel costs equal ...
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..., Design, and Development Process, Cost-Effective—Use Economic Analysis to Evaluate Facility Investment Decisions, Cost-Effective—Consider Non-Monetary Benefits such as Aesthetics, Historic Preservation, Security, and Safety, Sustainable, Productive, Functional
Publications
Building Economics: Theory and Practice by Rosalie T. Ruegg and Harold E. Marshall. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.
Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis, Annual Supplement to Handbook 135 by Sieglinde K. Fuller, Amy S. Rushing, and Laura I. Schultz. NISTIR 85-3273-19. Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology, April 2004. Also available from the DOE/FEMP Help Desk at 1-877-EERE-INF (1-877-337-3463).
Engineering Economy by G. J. Thuesen and W. J. Fabrycky. Prentice Hall, 1993. ISBN 0-13-277491-7.
GSA LEED® Cost Study
Life-Cycle Costing Manual for the Federal Energy Management Program by Sieglinde Fuller and S.R. Petersen. NIST Handbook 135. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1995.
Simplified Energy Design Economics by Harold E. Marshall and Rosalie T. Ruegg. NBS SP 544. Washington, DC: National Bureau of Standards, January 1980.
The Roman military was arguably the most important factor in Rome’s illustrious history. Using your knowledge of Rome’s military from the video, text, and the document provided, make an argument for why the Roman military was so successful.
Thesis statement: Rome had one of the best military at the time, They were well trained and fought fiercely on the battlefield. What made Rome’s military one of the most feared at the time were their Roman legions, the weapons they used in combat, and their unique military tactics.
This Environmental Impact Statement and its enclosed project alternatives can be reviewed for project approval as well as any additional scoping that may be necessary. The preferred build alternative should be selected because of the low environmental impact and beneficial economic benefits compared to the other build and no-build alternatives.
The borders of Rome extended around the Mediterranean Sea, and this geography promoted the spread of major plagues and diseases, which affected a large portion of the Roman society. Soldiers would get sick making it almost impossible for there to be any recruits; this obviously declined the protection Rome was able to provide (Document 9). The major decrease in the number of soldiers able to serve in the army largely affected Rome’s ability to stand up against incoming attacks, especially because the empire was so large. Since Carthage invaded Rome multiple times during the span of 400 years, this shows that although the military helped with some protection near the heart of Rome, invasions throughout the rest of the empire did not go uncommon (Document 5, map similar to Doc 5). Aside from invasions, the Roman Empire proved to be too large for only one leader, causing Diocletian to split the empire into two halves in AD 284 . The two halves had to be co-ruled by two emperors, which proved to cause further difficulties when trying to govern the empire as a
The strength of the Roman military was the string that held the Roman Empire together for as long as it lasted. The military was made up of strictly disciplined men whom were ready and willing to serve their emperor.
There are many political, economic, sociological causes to the growth and expansion of the Roman republic and later the Roman Empire, but one major factor of expansion that the Romans are most famous for is there Army. There Army was famous for their harsh discipline amongst their own ranks and there mercifulness brutality amongst their enemies. According to our text Roman warfare was characterized by great ferocity and the Roman pursuit of victory was relentless. The Romans had a pragmatic view towards atrocity and massacre that viewed almost any act as justifiable if it eased the path of victory (Goldsworthy 2000) p. 24. The hoplite phalanx which originated by the Greeks and later adopted by the Roman army, demanded great discipline and adherence to orders in order for this group of soldiers...
Juliana Barr’s book, Peace Came in the Form of a Women: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands. Dr. Barr, professor of history at Duke University-specializes in women’s role in American history. Peace Came in the Form of A Women, is an examination on the role of gender and kinship in the Texas territory during the colonial period. An important part of her book is Spanish settlers and slavery in their relationship with Natives in the region. Even though her book clearly places political, economic, and military power in the hands of Natives in the Texas borderland, her book details Spanish attempts to wrestle that power away from indigenous people through forced captivity of native women. For example, Dr, Barr wrote, “In varying diplomatic strategies, women were sometimes pawns, sometimes agents.” To put it another way, women were an important part of Apache, Wichita, and Comanche culture and Spanish settlers attempted to exploit
Throughout history, no other era was more significant than that of the Roman Empire. The power and influence of the Roman government and it=s rule over the world was accomplished by the Roman Army. The Roman army was the ultimate weapon of war because of the well trained men, their effective weapons and their brilliant battle tactics.
The Roman army is the representation of the empire’s strength, responsible for the creation, conquests, and glory of the ancient Roman Empire. It is no secret the might of the roman army came from the superior training, experience, and equipment of its individual soldiers. There were many brilliant and no so brilliant generals that owe their success and accomplishments to their battle hardened armies, but the unsung heroes are the advanced medical practices and innovations that allowed the soldiers to recover from their wounds and return to the fight. Roman military medicine was vastly superior to their enemies and is largely responsible for making sure the Roman army efficiently recovered from their wounds and returned to their duties on the battlefield.
As the environmental problems become more and more serious these years, especially that intense negative impact that buildings in modern cities bring to the cities, the concept of Green Building is being more and more important considered by local and federal government. According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a green building is one that utilizes design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and the building's occupants. Besides the more and more advanced building structure and technology, the main goal of green building is to protect the health of the occupants, save energy and reduce pollution to environment. There are many certifications of green buildings to judge whether the building meets the standard of green buildings and what environmental performance level is this building at, to help government regulators, building professionals and consumers to see better how this building can be improved and what is its impact on human beings and environment. Such green building programs include Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB Green), etc. Among them, LEED is one of the most popular certification programs that give the building credits for its environmental performance. In this essay, I will discuss the costs and benefits of different types of building projects that were certified by LEED.
The Superiority of the Roman Army During Its Time The Romans amassed one of the greatest empires of all time. They were
The empire that the Roman’s built can be argued to have been the greatest in world history. The Roman Empire controlled the largest land area in European history and influenced a huge region, acting as a cultural center for the entire continent of Europe. Their strength derived from their prowess and skill on the battlefield. The Roman Army was extremely effective and became the basis of our military structure today by utilizing technological advances in strategy and weaponry, and simply having more discipline.
Cost allocation is the process of identifying, aggregating, and assigning of cost to various separate activities. There is no overly precise method of charging cost to objects, hence resulting to approximate methods being used to do so. Amongst the approximation basis used includes square footage, headcount, cost of assets employed, and electricity usage amongst others. The main aim of cost allocation is to spread cost in the fairest possible method and also to impact the behavior pattern of the cost.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
Kats, G., Alevantis, L., Berman A., Perlman J., & Mills, E. (2003, October). The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/News477.pdf