Green buildings life cycle cost analysis and life cycle budget development: Practical applications

Abstract

Life cycle costing is gaining considerable attention particularly within the context of sustainable construction. However, the application of life cycle costing in the construction sectors is still limited and facing practical problems. Imperfect understanding of life cycle costing methodology and application is considered one of the key barriers to a widespread application of life cycle costing in the construction industry. This paper presents a study that demonstrates how the life cycle cost analysis was conducted for a green building and shows how the life cycle cost variables were identified and used to develop a life cycle budget for the whole life cycle of a green building which extends for 60 years. It is found in this research that the future costs of the investigated green building are around 3.6 times as high as its initial design and construction costs. Not surprisingly, the energy cost constitutes a weight of 48% of the total life cycle budget for the building, and this ratio goes above 60% when weighted against building operating costs only. It is also found that reduced energy consumption in the green building is the most influential factor to reduce its total life cycle cost.