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APPENDIX 8-A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS 

SPREADSHEET FOR FURNACE FANS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8-A.1 USER INSTRUCTIONS .......................................................................................8-A-1

8-A.2 STARTUP..............................................................................................................8-A-1

8-A.3 DESCRIPTION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST WORKSHEETS ................................8-A-1

8-A.4 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATING THE LIFE-CYCLE COST 

SPREADSHEETS..................................................................................................8-A-4
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APPENDIX 8-A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS 

SPREADSHEET FOR FURNACE FANS

8-A.1 USER INSTRUCTIONS

The results obtained in this analysis can be examined and reproduced using the Microsoft 

Excel spreadsheets available on the Department of Energy’s (DOE's) furnace fan rulemaking 

website: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/furnace_fans.html. From 

that page, follow the links to the notice of Preliminary Analysis rulemaking phase and then to 

Analytical Tools. 

8-A.2 STARTUP

DOE’s spreadsheet enables users to perform life-cycle cost (LCC) and payback period 

(PBP) analyses for each product class. One spreadsheet exists for all nine furnace fan product 

classes. 

To examine the spreadsheets, DOE assumes that the user has access to a personal 

computer with a hardware configuration capable of running Windows XP or later. All LCC 

spreadsheets require Microsoft Excel 2003 or later installed under the Windows operating 

system. Because certain variables inside the spreadsheets are defined as distributions, a copy of 

Crystal Ball (a commercially available add-on program) is required to view them.

8-A.3 DESCRIPTION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST WORKSHEETS

For all of the furnace fan product classes, DOE created a single spreadsheet containing a 

collection of worksheets. Each worksheet represents a conceptual component within the LCC 

calculation. To facilitate navigability and identify how worksheets are related, each worksheet 

contains an area on the extreme left showing variables imported to and exported from the current 

worksheet. The LCC spreadsheet contains the following worksheets: 

Summary The Summary worksheet contains a user interface to manipulate energy price 

trends and start year inputs, and to run the Crystal Ball simulation. LCC and 

PBP simulation results for each efficiency level are also displayed here.

LCC&PB 

Calcs

The LCC&PB Calcs worksheet shows LCC calculation results for different 

efficiency levels for a single Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 

household.1 During a Crystal Ball simulation, the spreadsheet records the 

LCC and PBP values for every sampled household.

Rebuttable 

Payback

The Rebuttable Payback worksheet contains the total and incremental 

manufacturer costs, retail prices, the installation costs, the repair and 

maintenance costs, energy use calculations, and the simple PBP calculations 

for each efficiency level. DOE’s furnace fan test procedure is used to 
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calculate parameters used in energy use calculations.

Equip Price The Equip Price worksheet calculates retail price values used as inputs in the 

LCC calculations in the Summary worksheet. DOE applied baseline and 

incremental markups to calculate final retail prices. DOE calculated the 

markups differently for replacement units and new units.

Installation 

Cost

The Installation Cost worksheet provides the weighted average installation 

cost for each design option. These results are used to calculate the total 

installed prices of the design options.

Maintenance 

and Repair 

Cost

The Maintenance and Repair Cost worksheet provides the maintenance and 

repair costs for each design option. These results are used to determine

operating costs for the design options.

Labor Costs The Labor Cost worksheet provides the labor cost by region as used to 

determine the installation and repair/maintenance costs.

RECS Sample The RECS worksheet contains the RECS 2005 household data for each 

product class. During a Crystal Ball simulation, DOE uses these household 

characteristics to determine the analysis parameters.

Energy Use The Energy Use worksheet calculates annual energy use by fuel type, 

depending on product class. The annual energy use calculations for each 

design option are inputs to the LCC&PB Calcs worksheet to calculate the 

annual operating cost of the LCC.

Static pressure 

Studies

The Static Pressure Studies worksheet shows the data from all reference used 

to calculate the external static pressure conditions for each household in the 

furnace fan sample.

Base Case Fan 

Efficiency

The Base Case worksheet determines the efficiency level of the base case 

units in 2018.

Energy Price The Energy Price worksheet shows the estimated monthly natural gas, 

electricity, and oil prices.

Energy Price 

Data

The Energy Price Data worksheet shows the annual series of state level 

energy price data for all fuel types.

Energy Price 

Trends

The Energy Price Trends worksheet shows the future price trends of the 

different heating fuels. DOE used energy price data and forecasts from the 

Energy Information Administration’s (EIA's) Annual Energy Outlook 2012

for the period until 2035 and extrapolated beyond 2035.

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Discount Rate The Discount Rate worksheet contains the distributions of discount rates for 

replacement and new units.

Lifetime The Lifetime worksheet contains the distribution of lifetimes for equipment of 

that product class.

Furnace & AC 

Specs

The Furnace and AC worksheet contains furnace and AC parameters data 

used in the analysis.

Models 

Directory

The Models Directory worksheet includes characteristics of the furnace fan 

products used in the analysis.

AFUE and 

SEER 

(Existing)

The Existing AFUE and SEER worksheet includes the furnace and air 

conditioning efficiency for all years during the period 1966-2005.

Energy Use 

Adjustment 

Factors

The Energy Use Adjustment Factors worksheet contains adjustment factors 

for normal heating degree days and cooling degree days, as well as building 

shell efficiency index.

Census 

Population 

Data

The Census Population Data worksheet contains the Census estimated 

housing units by State.

Weather Data The Weather Data worksheet contains heating degree days, cooling degree 

days, heating and cooling outdoor design temperature, and annual mean 

temperature by weather station.

Shipments The Shipments worksheet contains historical furnace shipments by State by 

product class.

Forecast Cells The Forecast Cells worksheet contains the outcome of the Monte Carlo 

simulations for the sample of 10,000 households for many parameters used in 

the analysis and the documentation.

NIA Inputs The NIA Inputs worksheet contains intermediate inputs used for other DOE 

analyses.

TSD Tables The TSD Tables worksheet contains the tables generated for use in the 

documentation describing the LCC Analysis.

TSD Ch.8 

(Figures)

The TSD Ch.8 (Figures) worksheet contains the Figures generated for use in 

the documentation describing the LCC Analysis results in Ch.8.

Definitions The Definitions worksheet contains variable definitions used in the analysis.
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8-A.4 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATING THE LIFE-CYCLE 

COST SPREADSHEETS 

Basic instructions for operating the LCC spreadsheet are as follows:

1. Once the LCC spreadsheet has been downloaded, open the file using Excel. Click 

“Enable Macro” when prompted and then click on the tab for the Summary worksheet.

2. Use Excel's View/Zoom commands at the top menu bar to change the size of the display 

to fit your monitor.

3. The user can change the parameters listed under USER OPTIONS on the Summary

worksheet. There are three drop-down boxes and one command button. The default 

parameters are:

a. Energy Price Trend: Defaults to “AEO 2012 - Reference Case.” To change the 

input, use the drop-down menu and select the desired trend (Reference, Low, or 

High).

b. Start Year: Defaults to “2018.” To change the value, use the drop-down menu and 

select the desired year.

c. # of Trials: Defaults to “10,000.” To change the value, use the drop-down menu 

and select the desired number of trials (1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, or 10,000).

d. Learning Curve: Defaults to “No Learning.” To change the value, use the dropdown menu.

4. To run the Crystal Ball simulation, click the “run” button (you must re-run after changing 

any parameters). The spreadsheet will then be minimized. You can monitor the progress 

of the simulation by watching the count of iterations at the left bottom corner. When the 

simulation is finished, the worksheet named Summary will reappear with the results.
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REFERENCES

1. U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy 

Consumption Survey: 2005 Public Use Data Files, 2005.

<http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html>

2. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2012 with Projections to 

2035, 2012. Washington, DC. Report No. DOE/EIA-0383(2012). 

<http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/>