8A-i

APPENDIX 8A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE-CYCLE COST AND 

PAYBACK PERIOD ANALYSIS SPREADSHEET 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

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

EERE-2007-BT-STD-0007 COMMENT 07.2
8A-1

APPENDIX 8A. USER INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE-CYCLE COST AND PAYBACK 

PREIOD ANALYSIS SPREADSHEET 

8A.1 USER INSTRUCTIONS 

 The results obtained in the life-cycle cost (LCC) and payback period (PBP) analysis can 

be examined and reproduced using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet available on the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE)’s website at: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/small_electric_motors.html. 

 The spreadsheet is called “LCC_SmallMotor.xls” and it enables the user to perform a 

life-cycle cost and payback period analysis of small electric motor standards for three product 

classes: polyphase, capacitor-start induction-run (CSIR), and capacitor-start capacitor-run 

(CSCR) motors. The minimum requirements to run the spreadsheet are Microsoft Excel 2000 or 

a later, with Crystal Ball (a commercially available add-in program) installed 

 The LCC spreadsheet performs calculations to estimate the LCC savings and PBP due to 

an energy efficiency standard. The LCC spreadsheet, or workbook, consists of the following 

worksheets: 

Summary This worksheet summarizes the results of the LCC analysis and 

provides a means of changing the user and simulation options. 

User options provide a method of reviewing LCC results by 

candidate standard level (CSL) for each product class. 

Simulation options are used to set the electricity price trend, 

simulation start year, and the number of trials for a Monte Carlo 

simulation. 

Definitions This worksheet contains values used to populate the 

spreadsheet’s form elements. 

Simulation Results This worksheet summarizes the mean LCC and PBP values from 

the distribution results produced by the simulation. This is a 

reporting step—values are not automatically updated. The results 

presented by the Department on this sheet were calculated using 

the default input values for electricity price trend and simulation 

start year. 

LCC & Payback The spreadsheet reports the results of the calculation for the 

“Average” scenario on the Summary worksheet. The “Average” 

scenario allows users to produce provisional answers without 

performing a Monte Carlo simulation. The Summary worksheet 

of the LCC spreadsheet shows the results from this worksheet. 

EERE-2007-BT-STD-0007 COMMENT 07.2
8A-2

Energy Use This worksheet calculates the annual electricity use of each 

product class. 

Equipment Price This worksheet calculates the retail equipment price and total 

installed cost inputs for each product class. Inputs are derived 

from the baseline and incremental manufacturer costs of the 

engineering spreadsheet. 

Ownership and Applications This worksheet calculates the input data regarding ownership, 

applications, hours of operation, and motor loading for each 

product class. 

Energy Price This worksheet calculates retail electricity price distribution 

input data for residential, industrial and commercial sectors. 

Energy Price Trend This worksheet contains the price trends of electricity; this trend 

represents the growth rate of electricity prices relative to the 

price in 2005. DOE took price data and forecasts from the DOE 

Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s Annual Energy 

Outlook 2008 for the period until 2030. To estimate the trend 

after 2030, DOE followed past guidelines provided to the Federal 

Energy Management Program by EIA and used the average rate 

of change during 2020–2030 for electricity prices 

Discount Rate This worksheet contains the discount rate inputs that are used to 

estimate the cost of new equipment purchases. 

Lifetime This worksheet contains the distributions of the age (in years) for 

each product class at which equipment is retired from service. 

Forecast Cells This worksheet contains the list of output variables that are 

produced by the model. 

 Basic instructions for operating the LCC spreadsheet are as follows: 

 After downloading the LCC spreadsheet file from DOE's website, open the file using 

Excel. For the LCC spreadsheet to function properly Excel’s Macro Security Level must be set to 

Medium or Low; security settings can be changed on the Security Level tab in the Security 

dialog box (Tools menu, Macro submenu). Click on the tab for the Summary worksheet. This 

worksheet provides selectors to view LCC and PBP results for specific CSLs compared to the 

baseline for all product classes. 

 The Summary worksheet also allows the user to run Monte Carlo simulations. 

Simulations can be configured by changing the selectors for future electricity price trend, the 

simulation start year, and the number of calculation iterations the simulation will produce as its 

distribution of results. To run a simulation, click the “Run Simulation” button (you must re-run 

EERE-2007-BT-STD-0007 COMMENT 07.2
8A-3

after changing the parameters). The progress of the simulation can be monitored by watching the 

count of iterations at the left bottom corner. Results are summarized on the Simulation Results 

worksheet. 

EERE-2007-BT-STD-0007 COMMENT 07.2