Life-cycle cost model for green star office buildings in Australia

Abstract

The green building is a widely discussed topic worldwide as a solution to increasing adverse impacts on the environment. The paradigm shift from conventional to green buildings is expected to yield environmental, social, and economic benefits. However, green building implementation is adversely affected by initial cost premiums. Therefore, there is a clear need to analyse the initial stages of green building development regarding life-cycle impacts, considering massive savings in energy, water, and other resources. Although it may be cheaper to select inappropriate technologies during the initial decision-making stages, more importantly, this may preclude life-cycle savings and the desired outcomes of green buildings. In order to aid the initial decision-makers with the selection of credit points considering the life-cycle costs of green buildings, this research develops a life-cycle cost model that incorporates developer constraints while maximising the number of credit points achieved when using the Green Star Australia environmental rating system. The model identified green building credits with cost savings such as the use of photovoltaic panels, which are ignored during the initial stages owing to high initial costs. Certain inter-dependent credits with lower life-cycle costs have not yet been considered in green building implementation.