Building Life-Cycle Cost (BLCC) Programs

The Building Life-Cycle Cost Program BLCC 5.3-08 is a program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide computational support for the analysis of capital investments in buildings. BLCC5 is a windowed version of its predecessor, the DOS-based BLCC 4.9-08. NIST will continue to support BLCC4 until all its modules have been transferred to BLCC5. Associated programs DISCOUNT 3.9-08, EMISS 1.0, and ERATES 1.11 are stand-alone programs that enhance life-cycle cost analysis. EERC 1.0-08 is a program to calculate an escalation rate for contract payments for financed projects when payments are based on projected annual energy cost savings. Handbook 135 (PDF 9.2 MB), the Life-Cycle Costing Manual for the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), explains in detail the principles of life-cycle cost analysis and integrates them with the FEMP criteria. The Annual Supplement to Handbook 135 (ASHB 135), Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis, contains tables of present-value factors calculated with the same discount rates and energy price projections as are used in the computer programs. Some of these documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader. Some of the following files are self-extracting files. Download WinZip.

BLCC 5.3-08
For PCs only. Register and download. (If you would like BLCC 5.3 for Mac OS X or Linux, please e-mail amy.rushing@nist.gov.)

BLCC5 is programmed in Java with an XML file format. The user's guide is part of the BLCC5 Help system. BLCC version 5.3-08 contains the following six modules:

FEMP Analysis, Energy Project for energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects under the FEMP rules based on 10 CFR 436;
Federal Analysis, Financed Project for federal projects financed through Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) or Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESC) as authorized by Executive Order 13123 (6/99);
OMB Analysis, Projects subject to OMB Circular A-94 for non-energy, federal government construction projects, but not water resource projects;
MILCON Analysis, Energy Project for energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects in military construction;
MILCON Analysis, ECIP Project for energy and water conservation projects under the Energy Conservation Investment Program (ECIP); and
MILCON Analysis, Non-Energy Project for military construction designs that are not primarily intended for energy or water conservation.

The BLCC computer programs conduct economic analyses by evaluating the relative cost effectiveness of alternative buildings and building-related systems or components. Typically, BLCC software is used to evaluate alternative designs that have higher initial costs but lower operating-related costs over the project life than the lowest-initial-cost design. It is especially useful for evaluating the costs and benefits of energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects. The life-cycle cost (LCC) of two or more alternative designs are computed and compared to determine which has the lowest LCC and is therefore more economical in the long run. BLCC also calculates comparative economic measures for alternative designs, including Net Savings, Savings-to-Investment Ratio, Adjusted Internal Rate of Return, and Years to Payback. The software can evaluate federal, state, and local government projects for both new and existing buildings. BLCC also contains a module for evaluating non-profit and for-profit projects in the private sector. While the BLCC programs are oriented toward building-related decisions, they can be used to evaluate alternative designs for almost any project type in which higher capital investment costs result in lower future operating-related costs.

BLCC 4.9-08 & QuickBLCC 2.9-08
(DOS-based version of BLCC for PCs only) (ZIP 511 KB)
BLCC4 Readme and Registration (MS Word 70 KB)
BLCC4 Manual (PDF 413 KB)
Updated April 2008

BLCC4 is the DOS-based version of BLCC. It includes QuickBLCC for evaluating projects with multiple alternatives requiring relatively simple data inputs. BLCC4 contains designated modules for analyzing energy and water conservation projects subject to 10 CFR 436A; MILCON projects; OMB projects subject to Circular A-94; and private-sector projects including tax and financing analyses.

QuickBLCC is used in conjunction with BLCC4. It provides a convenient method of evaluating multiple alternatives in one file. With BLCC4, the user must set up a different file for each alternative; in QuickBLCC, the user inputs "header" information common to all alternatives and relatively simple line-item entries for each alternative. The requirements for this multiple analysis are: (1) all of the alternatives must be evaluated in the same LCC context (i.e., using the same study period, service date, and discount rate); and (2) projects must be (approximately) functionally independent. This latter requirement means that none of the alternatives significantly affect the energy savings or the LCC of any of the other alternatives included in the same QuickBLCC project file.

DISCOUNT 3.9-08
DISCOUNT Manual (PDF 35 KB)
DISCOUNT 3.9-08, EMISS 1.00 & ERATES 1.11 (ZIP 375 KB for PCs only)

The DISCOUNT program computes discount factors and related present values, future values, and periodic payment values of cash flows occurring at specific points. DISCOUNT is especially useful for solving life-cycle cost analysis problems that do not require the comprehensive summation and reporting capabilities provided by the BLCC programs. DISCOUNT performs all of the functions of standard discounting tables, computing present values of future amounts, future values of present amounts, present and future values of periodic payments, periodic payments corresponding to present and future amounts, and corresponding discount factors. In addition, DISCOUNT computes the present value of periodic payments that increase at rates projected by the U.S. Department of Energy for use in federal life-cycle cost analysis. DISCOUNT provides the added flexibility of accepting non-integer discount rates, time periods, and escalation rates in its computations.

EMISS 1.00
EMISS 1.00 Manual (PDF 86 KB)
DISCOUNT 3.9-08, EMISS 1.00 & ERATES 1.11 (ZIP 375 KB for PCs only)

EMISS is a special-purpose computer program for use in generating data files that can be imported into BLCC4. EMISS output files contain location-specific emission factors for CO², SO², and NO_x related to energy usage in buildings. The emission factors are generated for electricity, distillate and residual fuel oils, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and coal. The resulting data can be accessed by BLCC4 to calculate reductions in air pollution emissions attributable to energy conservation investments in buildings and building systems. BLCC4 does not place an explicit dollar value on these reduced emissions, but the additional information on the emission reductions themselves may prove useful to decision makers in selecting among alternative building systems.

The default values in EMISS are based on U.S. average data. The user can substitute location-specific fuel characteristics and end-use data needed to generate emission factors representative of a particular region or location. This feature has been incorporated into the present BLCC5 version; other features of EMISS will be programmed into future versions. The EMISS user can also enter and edit emission factor files directly if appropriate emission factors are available. Emission factor files can be generated at the national, regional, state, or local level, as appropriate to the analysis. These emission factor files are saved to disk, usually to the subdirectory where the BLCC4 program is located. The files can generally be used over a long period of time without change as long as the underlying emission factors do not change.

The default emission factors for electricity are based on the average mix of fossil-fired generation facilities (coal, oil, and natural gas) in the region or state indicated. Emissions from fossil-fired generation facilities are used instead of averages for all generation facilities. This type of emission is used because conservation measures will more likely result in reductions in electrical generation from fossil-fired generation facilities, which have higher variable generation costs than nuclear and hydroelectric facilities. which have lower variable generation costs. SO² factors for electricity generation require a table of yearly scalars that represent the anticipated reductions in SO² emissions (per kWh of output) as a result of increasing environmental controls on electricity generation over time.

ERATES 1.11
ERATES 1.11 Manual (PDF 126 KB)
DISCOUNT 3.9-08, EMISS 1.00 & ERATES 1.11 (ZIP 375 KB for PCs only)

ERATES (Electricity Rates) is used to calculate the monthly and annual electricity costs for a facility, building, or system under a wide range of electric utility rate schedules. Both kilowatt-hours (kWh) usage and maximum kW demand during on-peak periods can be included in these costs. Most typically, these calculations will be used to support engineering-economic studies that assess the cost-effectiveness of energy conservation measures or measures to shift electricity use from on-peak to off-peak time periods.

ERATES is intended to provide more accurate estimates of annual electricity costs (or savings) for specific design and operating conditions than can be calculated using average unit rates (e.g., $0.07/kWh) and annual kWh usage data.

With ERATES, users can set up time-of-use rate schedules, block-rate schedules, and demand-rate schedules for a specific geographic location and customer class. ERATES can use these rate schedules to compute annual electricity costs, given hourly or monthly kWh usage, and kW demand data for a specific end use. Users can set up experimental rate schedules to estimate their impact on electricity costs under varying usage and demand patterns. Block-rate and demand-rate schedules created with ERATES can also be imported by BLCC4.

Because utility rate schedules, especially kW demand schedules, can be quite complex, ERATES provides a means of simulating these schedules in computing monthly and annual electricity costs for a specific activity, given appropriate energy usage and demand data. ERATES cannot incorporate all of the potential complexities of utility rate schedules and is not intended for use by utilities in setting up or administering such schedules.

EERC 1.0-08
(EXE 7.4 MB)

The Energy Escalation Rate Calculator computes an average annual escalation rate for fuel prices from the annual energy price forecasts of the DOE Energy Information Administration. This rate can be used to escalate contract payments in Energy Savings Performance Contracts and Utility Energy Services Contracts when the payments are based on projected annual energy cost savings. The calculator prompts the user for information on project location, fuel usage, industry sector, and the beginning and end dates of the performance period. It then calculates the average rate of fuel price escalation over the duration of the performance period, weighted by the proportions of fuel types used in the project.

Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors
Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis - April 2008, Annual Supplement to Handbook 135 (PDF 1 MB)

The annually updated discount factors used in life-cycle cost analysis (and embedded in the software) are also available as printed tables in this publication. The factors are calculated with the latest FEMP discount factors and energy price escalation rates for U.S. Census regions, rate types and fuel types. Hard copies are obtainable on request from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Information Center at 1-877-337-3463.