Life Cycle cost Analysis of Waste Heat Operated Absorption Cooling Systems for Building HVAC Applications

Abstract

In this paper, life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) of waste heat operated vapour absorption air conditioning system (VARS) incorporated in a building cogeneration system is presented and discussed. The life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) based on present worth cost (PWC) method, which covers the initial costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, replacement costs and salvage values is the useful tool to merit various cooling and power generation systems for building applications. A life cycle of 23 years was used to calculate the PWC of the system for annual operating hours of 8760 and the same is compared with the electric based vapour compression chiller (VCRS) of same capacity. The life cycle cost (LCC) of waste heat operated absorption chiller is estimated to be US $ 1.5 million which is about 71.5 % low compared to electric powered conventional vapour compression chiller. From the analysis it was found that the initial cost of VARS system was 125 % higher than that of VCRS, while the PWC of operating cost of VARS was 78.2 % lower compared to VCRS. The result shows that the waste heat operated VARS would be preferable from the view point of operating cost and green house gas emission reduction.