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APPENDIX 10A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR NATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS

SPREADSHEET MODEL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

10A-1 USER INSTRUCTIONS ...................................................................................... 10A-1

10A-2 STARTUP............................................................................................................. 10A-1

10A-3 DESCRIPTIONS OF NATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS WORKSHEETS...... 10A-1

10A-4 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS..................................................................................... 10A-2
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APPENDIX 10A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR NATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS

SPREADSHEET MODEL

10A-1 USER INSTRUCTIONS

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

Excel® spreadsheets accessible on the Internet from the Department of Energy’s (DOE's)

residential portable AC rulemaking

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/rulemaking.aspx?ruleid=??. From 

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

analytical tools.

10A-2 STARTUP

The national impact analysis (NIA) spreadsheets enable the user to perform an NIA for 

portable air conditions (ACs). DOE assumes that the user has access to a PC that has a hardware 

configuration capable of running Windows 2010 or later. To use the NIA spreadsheets, 

Microsoft Excel 2010 or later must be installed in the Windows operating system.

10A-3 DESCRIPTIONS OF NATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS WORKSHEETS

The NIA worksheets perform calculations to project the change in national energy use 

and net present value of financial impacts produced by potential energy conservation standards

for portable ACs. The energy use and associated costs for a given standard level are determined 

by calculating (1) shipments under that standard and (2) energy use and costs for all portable 

ACs shipped under that standard. The differences between conditions under a given standards 

case and the base case can be compared and the overall energy savings and net present values 

determined. The NIA spreadsheets are described below.

Input and 

Summary

This sheet enables the user to stipulate inputs under “User Inputs.”

It also contains a summary table, "Cumulative Energy Savings and 

NPV," for the selected efficiency level. The sheet provides the

incremental total installed prices associated with the standard 

levels being evaluated for portable ACs . This sheet also contains 

efficiency-weighted average energy use and the total installed 

product price for portable ACs under the base and standards cases.

Efficiency 

Distribution

This sheet contains base- and standards-case efficiency trends for 

portable ACs. 

Historical 

Shipment

This sheet contains historical data regarding sales of room ACs 

and estimated sales of portable ACs.

Base Case

Shipments

This sheet estimates shipments of portable ACs. The sheet starts 

with the stock accounting of the product and uses the appropriate 

survival function to calculate the surviving stock. The sheet then 
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calculates replacements and shipments going to new owners,

yielding total shipments of portable ACs.

Res_Base Case This sheet calculates the energy consumption and operating costs

for portable ACs used in the residential sector under the base-case.

Res_Stds Case 

This sheet estimates shipments to the residential sector for a given 

standards case by accounting for price elasticity of demand. It also 

calculates the energy and cost savings associated with a given 

standard. The energy and cost savings in a given year are the 

difference between the base-case and the standards-case energy 

use and costs in that year.

Comm_Base Case

This sheet calculates the energy consumption and operating costs

for portable ACs used in the commercial sector under the basecase.

Comm_Stds Case 

This sheet estimates shipments to the commercial sector for a 

given standards case by accounting for price elasticity of demand.

It also calculates the energy and cost savings associated with a 

given standard. The energy and cost savings in a given year are the 

difference between the base-case and the standards-case energy 

use and costs in that year.

Housing 

Projection

This sheet includes a projection of total housing stocks for 

residential buildings based on Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO 

2014).

Electricity Prices

This worksheet contains projected average residential and 

commercial electricity prices for the three economic growth 

scenarios in AEO 2014.

Learning Rate This sheet includes multipliers to adjust the manufacturer’s cost 

throughout the analysis period based on a learning curve.

FFC Factor

The sheet contains the site-to-power plant and full-fuel-cycle 

conversion factors used to calculate the primary and full-fuel-cycle 

energy savings, respectively.

Lifetime This sheet contains the lifetime and retirement function for 

portable ACs.

10A-4 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS 

Basic instructions for operating the NIA spreadsheets are as follows.

1. After downloading the NIA spreadsheet file from DOE’s website, use Microsoft 

Excel to open it. Click “Enable Macro” when prompted. At the bottom of the 

workbook, click on the tab for the worksheet Summary and Inputs.

2. Use Excel’s “View/Zoom” command in the top menu bar to change the size of the 

display so that it fits your monitor.

3. Use the graphical interface in the worksheet to choose parameters or enter data. You 

can change the default choices for some of the inputs. To change a default input, 
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select the desired value from the drop-down choices by the input box or enter the 

number manually where appropriate.The input parameters are as follows.

a. Discount Rate. To change the value, which is set to 3 percent, click on cell D5

and change the value to 7 percent.

b. Candidate Standards Level. To change the level, click on the drop-down arrow

to select CSL 1, 2, 3, or 4.

c. Relative Price Elasticity. To change the applicable elasticity, use the drop-down 

arrow to select the desired value. To stipulate no impact or set the relative price 

elasticity to - 0.34.

d. Economic Growth. To change the growth scenario, use the drop-down arrow to

select the desired AEO growth case (Reference, Low, or High).

e. Learning Sensitivity. To change the value, use the drop-down arrow to select 

the desired learning-curve level (Default, High, or Low).

f. Current Year. To change the year, which is set to 2014, click on cell D6 and 

change the year.

4. After you have selected the desired parameters, the spreadsheet will automatically 

generate updated NIA results based on the new simulation. Results are reported in 

the “National Impact Summary” table to the right of the “User Inputs” box.