Enhancing indoor air quality and energy efficiency through life cycle cost analysis

Abstract

Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis of air filters predicts total ownership usage cost related to air filtration in commercial buildings including energy consumption, labour, waste disposal, and filter acquisition cost. It takes into account the critical outcome in air quality ensuring that the primary objective of air filtration, being to deliver clean air to the services space, is met. This study compares the life cycle cost (LCC) of air filters under various performance scenarios, using ISO 16890 classification. Air filters represent about 0.01% of the total building cost of an average office block (1 full size ISO16890 ePM2.5 50% air filter at ~$100 per 185m2 floor space; $5,000 / m2 base building construction cost). As such, air filter costs are often neglected in the building’s design. Yet, operational costs of air filtration can vary by as much as 100%, ranging from $1/m2 to $2/m2, with the cheaper of the two even delivering an improvement in indoor air quality over commonly used filtration solutions. Conversely, on current budget of $2/m2, a fivefold improvement in air quality can be achieved, from ePM1 17% to ePM1 87%. This document demonstrates that to achieve best outcomes, the total cost of ownership (TCO) related to air filtration must be considered over the simple acquisition cost of the filter. LCC Analysis is the ideal tool to select the best filters for users/owners of both new and existing buildings.