Life Cycle Cost of Building Energy Renovation Measures, Considering Future Energy Production Scenarios

A common way of calculating the life cycle cost (LCC) of building renovation measures is to approach it from the building side, where the energy system is considered by calculating the savings in the form of less bought energy. In this study a wider perspective is introduced. The LCC for three different energy renovation measures, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and two different heat pump systems, are compared to a reference case, a building connected to the district heating system. The energy system supplying the building is assumed to be 100% renewable, where eight different future scenarios are considered. The LCC is calculated as the total cost for the renovation measures and the energy systems. All renovation measures result in a lower district heating demand, at the expense of an increased electricity demand. All renovation measures also result in an increased LCC, compared to the reference building. When aiming for a transformation towards a 100% renewable system in the future, this study shows the importance of having a system perspective, and also taking possible future production scenarios into consideration when evaluating building renovation measures that are carried out today, but will last for several years, in which the energy production system, hopefully, will change.