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

PAYBACK PERIOD SPREADSHEET

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8-A.1 DEFINITIONS.......................................................................................................8-A-1

8-A.2 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS......................................................................................8-A-2

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

PERIOD SPREADSHEET

8-A.1 DEFINITIONS

The interested reader can examine and reproduce detailed results of the U.S. Department 

of Energy’s (DOE’s) life-cycle cost (LCC) and payback period (PBP) analysis for commercial 

clothes washers by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets available on DOE’s website at

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

To fully execute the spreadsheets requires both Microsoft Excel and Crystal Ball software. Both 

applications are commercially available. Crystal Ball is available at www.decisioneering.com. 

The latest version of the workbook, which is posted on the DOE website, was tested 

using Microsoft Excel 2007. The LCC and PBP workbook for commercial clothes washers 

comprises the following worksheets.

Summary Presents the results of an analysis in terms of average LCC, LCC

savings, and median, average, and undefined PBP for both frontand top-loading washers. A table includes, for each efficiency level

considered, installed price; lifetime operating cost; LCC; average 

savings; and the percentage of customers that would incur a net 

cost, no impact, or net savings from each standard level. The user 

can stipulate three parameters for a simulation run: whether the 

AEO energy price trend reflects an economic case that is reference, 

low-growth, or high-growth (reference is default); and the number 

of simulation runs to be performed within a range of 1000–10,000 

(10,000 is default). 

LCC & Payback Lists the input values used to calculate LCC and PBP. Parameters 

include fuel type for water heating and clothes drying; annual 

numbers of cycles or loads; product lifetime; the discount rate 

applied to costs and savings; energy and water prices; the basecase efficiency distribution; product price and total installed cost; 

and energy and water use. The result is annual and cumulative cash

flow for both front- and top-loading clothes washers operating at 

each efficiency level.

Energy & Water Use Contains per-cycle energy and water use data at each efficiency 

level broken down into washer machine energy use, dryer energy 

use (gas or electric); water heating energy use (electric or gas); and 

both total and hot water use. Identifies the parameters exported to 

the LCC and PBP analysis.

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Base-Case Efficiency Gives the market shares for efficiency levels in the base case.

Distribution

Equipment Prices Develops total installed cost for clothes washers in 2012$. This 

sheet provides baseline and incremental manufacturer costs, retail 

price, sales tax, and installation cost for both product classes and 

each efficiency level. Includes the assumptions used about 

markups and sales tax.

Energy & Water Prices Contains the regional prices in 2012$ for electricity, gas, and water

used in the LCC and PBP analysis.

Energy Price Trends Contains the electricity and natural gas price trends for the 

reference, high, and low economic growth scenarios based on AEO 

2013.

Water Price Trend Contains the historical water price trend that is used to forecast 

future water price.

Discount Rate Contains data from which an average discount rate and a 

distribution of discount rates are determined.

Forecast Cells Gives details regarding base-case efficiency distributions for both 

classes of clothes washers. Median, minimum, maximum, and 

average values are given, along with 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th

percentile values. Included are product prices and details of the 

LCC and PBP (LCC savings in terms of money, energy, and water 

and the percentages of customers that would experience a net cost, 

no impact, or net savings from each efficiency level).

Lifetime Presents the average lifetime, in years, for front- and top-loading 

commercial clothes washers, the Weibull parameters used for the 

survival function, and a graph of the Weibull retirement function

for residential clothes washers.

8-A.2 BASIC INSTRUCTIONS

Basic instructions for operating the LCC spreadsheet are provided below.

1. After downloading the LCC file from DOE’s website, use Microsoft Excel to open 

it. At the bottom of the workbook, click on the tab for the sheet labeled Summary. 

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.

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

You can change the default choices for the three inputs listed under "User Input" 

(energy price trend, start year, and number of simulation runs). To change a default 

input, select the desired value from the drop-down choices by the input box.

4. After selecting the desired parameters, click the “Run” button. The spreadsheet will 

minimize until the simulation is complete, and will then re-open with the updated 

results.

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