Assessment 3 Embodied Carbon Estimation and Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Solar PV Systems
- Subject Code :
CIVL4025
Assessment 3 - Brief
Overview
With Australias net zero 2050 targets, it is essential to reduce the embodied carbon in the construction industry. You have been appointed as a project manager for a residential building construction project. Therefore, you are responsible for making the client aware of the total embodied carbon of the proposed project.
Moreover, it is proposed to install a solar PV system on the roof of the proposed residential building in 2024. The roof area of the building is 106.44 m2. There are two solar panel systems being considered:Option A: Polycrystalline Silicon (250W) panel systemandOption B: Monocrystalline Silicon (275W) panel system. Based on these facts, 28 and 26 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels should be installed for Option A and Option B, respectively, covering 46 m2 of the roof. The initial investment cost of each system includes the cost of purchasing the PV panels, the inverter, the PV mounting structure and the electrical system. In addition, other costs that are associated with the installation of the solar system include transport and labour costs. These initial costs are given in the table below. In addition, to sustain the expected electricity generation, Option A and Option B solar PV systems will incur yearly expenses of $50 and $55, respectively, for operation, maintenance, and repair (OMR). Additionally, these solar PV systems require the replacement of inverters every 10 years, which incurs $1600 and $2100 per Option A and Option B inverters, respectively. At the end of the useful life of each solar PV system (i.e., 25 years), it is expected to receive 20% of the initial investment cost as a residual value. The discount rate is 4%.
Initial cost details of solar PV systems
Items |
Cost (A$) |
PV panel Option A |
160 |
PV panel Option B |
175 |
Inverter Option A |
1600 |
Inverter Option B |
2100 |
PV mounting structure and electrical system |
500 |
Transport and Labour costs |
200 |
Further, the owner of the proposed residential building is expected to connect his solar PV system to the national grid through the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme. Option A and Option B are capable of generating 9650 kWh and 10900 kWh of electricity per annum, respectively. However, the annual electricity generation will degrade approximately by 0.59% and 0.45?ch year for solar PV panels in Option A and Option B, respectively. The FiT rate for NSW in 2024 is 7 cents per kWh. Further, it is expected that this FiT rate will decrease by 5% every 5 years owing to the development of the renewable energy sector.
Based on the above information, students are required to conduct an embodied carbon estimation for the proposed residential project and a life cycle cost analysis of a solar PV system installation for the same project. Upon the completion of this assignment, students are expected to be able to:
- Perform an embodied carbon analysis for the proposed project, referring to the EPiC database 2019 for the carbon footprint. The embodied carbon analysis should include:
- Embodied carbon rate for each construction material
- Embodied carbon estimation for each construction material
- Total embodied carbon estimation of the project
Category |
Material |
Concrete and plaster products |
Concrete 25MPa |
Cement mortar |
|
Plasterboard 10mm |
|
Concrete roof tile |
|
Glass |
Flat glass - single glazing 4mm |
Toughened glass single glazing 4mm |
|
Insulation |
Cellulose (Insulation 80mm) |
Polystyrene(EPS/XPS insulation 72mm) |
|
Metals |
Aluminium Extruded Square tube (40mm, 2mm thick) |
Steel Hot rolled galvanised structural steel |
|
Miscellaneous |
Paint solvent-based (per m2) |
Solar hot water system |
|
Plastics |
High density polyethylene (HDPE; film 100m) |
Low density polyethylene (LDPE; film 200m) |
|
Sand, stone, and ceramic |
Clay Brick |
Sanitary ceramic |
|
Ceramic tile |
|
Timber products |
Softwood |
- Perform a life cycle cost analysis following the template and the requirements of Assessment 3 and recommend to the client the most effective solar panel system for the proposed residential project. The life cycle cost analysis for option B should include:
- Calculation of investment cost
- Calculation of the present value of operation costs for each year
- Calculation of the present value of the residual value
- Calculation of the life cycle cost
Instructions for report submission
- The report should include the necessary tables and calculation steps showing the calculations of the carbon emission and Life Cycle Cost.
- The final report (onesingleMS Word or PDF) shall be submitted online via Turnitin (vUWS >> Assessment Zone>> Assessment 3 (40%) >> Assessment 3 Submission).
Deadline
Online Turnitin Submission, 23:59, Sunday 16th June 2024.
FAQs (frequently asked questions)
- Where can the students find the relevant embodied carbon rate for each construction material?
- Students are encouraged to find the relevant embodied carbon rates from the EPiC database 2019, as your reference.
- The EPiC database 2019 can be found in the Assessment 3 folder in vUWS (vUWS >> Assessment Zone>> Assessment 3 (40%) >> Assessment 3 References).
- Where can we find the calculation details?
We will discuss the details of the calculation inWeeks 12&13 tutorials, pls make sure your attendance, and it not, pls watch the recordings.
Assessment 3 Report Template
- Embodies Carbon Estimation (15%)
In this section, you are required to calculate the total embodied carbon of the proposed residential project by filling in the details in the below table. In calculating the embodied carbon for each construction material, you should refer to theEPiC database 2019for the carbon footprint.
Embodied Carbon Calculation
ID |
Material |
Quantity |
Unit |
Embodied Carbon Rate (kgCO2e) |
Embodied Carbon |
Concrete and plaster products |
|||||
1 |
Concrete 25MPa |
79.25 |
m3 |
? |
? |
2 |
Cement mortar |
1,300.00 |
kg |
? |
? |
3 |
Plasterboard 10mm |
227.85 |
m2 |
? |
? |
4 |
Concrete roof tile |
5,737.00 |
kg |
? |
? |
Glass |
|||||
5 |
Flat glass - single glazing 4mm |
46.26 |
m2 |
? |
? |
6 |
Toughened glass single glazing 4mm |
8.37 |
m2 |
? |
? |
Insulation |
|||||
7 |
Cellulose (Insulation 80mm) |
210.05 |
m2 |
? |
? |
8 |
Polystyrene (EPS/XPS insulation 72mm) |
79.23 |
m2 |
? |
? |
Metals |
|||||
9 |
Aluminium Extruded Square tube (40mm, 2mm thick) |
57.00 |
m |
? |
? |
10 |
Steel Hot rolled galvanised structural steel |
153.26 |
kg |
? |
? |
Miscellaneous |
|||||
11 |
Paint solvent-based (per m2) |
227.85 |
m2 |
? |
? |
12 |
Solar hot water system |
1 |
no. |
? |
? |
Plastics |
|||||
13 |
High density polyethylene (HDPE; film 100m) |
113.65 |
m2 |
? |
? |
14 |
Low density polyethylene (LDPE; film 200m) |
53.25 |
m2 |
? |
? |
Sand, stone, and ceramic |
|||||
15 |
Clay brick |
326.90 |
kg |
? |
? |
16 |
Sanitary ceramic |
752.55 |
kg |
? |
? |
17 |
Ceramic tile |
388.59 |
kg |
? |
? |
Timber products |
|||||
18 |
Softwood |
42.90 |
m3 |
? |
? |
TotalEmbodied Carbon |
? |
- Life Cycle Cost Analysis (60%)
2.1 Life cycle cost calculation (25%)
In this section, you are required to calculate the life cycle cost for Option B solar PV system. The calculated life cycle cost for Option A is provided in the table below.Note that you are required to use the table template provided below to calculate the life cycle cost for Option B.
Life Cycle Cost - Option A Solar PV system
|
Installation date |
Year |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
||
Investment cost ($) |
6780 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
OMR cost ($) |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
|
Cost of replacing the Inverter |
1600 |
1600 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total cash flow |
6780 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
1650 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
1650 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
Discounted cash flow |
6780 |
48.08 |
46.23 |
44.45 |
42.74 |
41.10 |
39.52 |
38.00 |
36.53 |
35.13 |
1114.68 |
32.48 |
31.23 |
30.03 |
28.87 |
27.76 |
26.7 |
25.67 |
24.68 |
23.73 |
753.04 |
21.94 |
21.1 |
20.29 |
19.51 |
18.76 |
Discounted Residual value |
508.66 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discounted Life Cycle Cost1 |
8863.59 |
1Discounted Life Cycle Cost = Discounted Investment cost + Discounted operation costs Discounted Residual Value
Life Cycle Cost - Option B Solar PV system
|
Installation date |
Year |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
||
Investment cost ($) |
? |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
OMR cost ($) |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
|
Cost of replacing the Inverter |
? |
? |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total cash flow |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
Discounted cash flow |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
Discounted Residual value |
? |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discounted Life Cycle Cost1 |
? |
2.2 Electricity generation and income calculations (25%)
In this section, you are required to calculate the total electricity generation and the discounted total income of Option B through feeding electricity to the national grid. The total electricity generation and discounted total income for Option A are provided in the table below.Note that students are required to use the table template provided below to perform the calculations.
Electricity production and income Option A
Year |
Annual electricity production (KWh/year) |
FiT rate ($/kWh) |
Annual income through feeding electricity |
Discounted annual income |
2024 - 2025 |
9650 |
0.07 |
675.5 |
649.52 |
2025 - 2026 |
9593.07 |
0.07 |
671.51 |
620.85 |
2026 2027 |
9536.47 |
0.07 |
667.55 |
593.45 |
2027 2028 |
9480.20 |
0.07 |
663.61 |
567.26 |
2028 2029 |
9424.27 |
0.07 |
659.70 |
542.22 |
2029 2030 |
9368.66 |
0.067 |
627.70 |
496.08 |
2030 2031 |
9313.39 |
0.067 |
624.00 |
474.19 |
2031 2032 |
9258.44 |
0.067 |
620.32 |
453.26 |
2032 2033 |
9203.82 |
0.067 |
616.66 |
433.25 |
2033 2034 |
9149.51 |
0.067 |
613.02 |
414.13 |
2034 2035 |
9095.53 |
0.063 |
573.02 |
372.22 |
2035 2036 |
9041.87 |
0.063 |
569.64 |
355.79 |
2036 2037 |
8988.52 |
0.063 |
566.28 |
340.09 |
2037 2038 |
8935.49 |
0.063 |
562.94 |
325.08 |
2038 2039 |
8882.77 |
0.063 |
559.61 |
310.73 |
2039 2040 |
8830.36 |
0.06 |
529.82 |
282.88 |
2040 2041 |
8778.26 |
0.06 |
526.70 |
270.39 |
2041 2042 |
8726.47 |
0.06 |
523.59 |
258.46 |
2042 2043 |
8674.98 |
0.06 |
520.50 |
247.05 |
2043 2044 |
8623.80 |
0.06 |
517.43 |
236.15 |
2044 2045 |
8572.92 |
0.057 |
488.66 |
214.44 |
2045 2046 |
8522.34 |
0.057 |
485.77 |
204.97 |
2046 2047 |
8472.06 |
0.057 |
482.91 |
195.93 |
2047 2048 |
8422.07 |
0.057 |
480.06 |
187.28 |
2048 2049 |
8372.38 |
0.057 |
477.23 |
179.02 |
Total electricity produced over service life =224917.7 |
Discounted total income =9224.71 |
Electricity production and income Option B
Year |
Annual electricity production (KWh/year) |
FiT rate ($/kWh) |
Annual income through feeding electricity |
Discounted annual income |
2024 - 2025 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2025 - 2026 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2026 2027 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2027 2028 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2028 2029 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2029 2030 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2030 2031 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2031 2032 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2032 2033 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2033 2034 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2034 2035 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2035 2036 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2036 2037 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2037 2038 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2038 2039 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2039 2040 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2040 2041 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2041 2042 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2042 2043 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2043 2044 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2044 2045 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2045 2046 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2046 2047 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2047 2048 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
2048 2049 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
Total electricity produced over service life =? |
Discounted total income =? |
2.3 Return on Investment and Levelized Cost of Energy calculations (10 %)
In this section, you are required to calculate the Return on Investment (RoI) and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for each solar PV system (Option A and Option B). The formulas to calculate the RoI and LCOE are provided below.
Return on Investment (RoI) =
Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) =
3 Summary and Recommendation(25%)
In this section, you are required to give a recommendation to the client/owner on selecting a suitable solar PV system for the building based on the indicators you calculated in the above sectionsincluding Levelized Cost of Energy, Return on Investment, initial investment cost, life cycle cost, Total electricity produced over service life, and other factors.Please provide a detailed summary for both Option A and Option B, along with distinct recommendations for each. Justifications supporting these recommendations should be clear and comprehensible to ensure an informed decision can be made.
- Appendix Calculation steps
Please attach your calculation procedures for the following calculations:
- Calculation of the initial investment cost for Option B
- Calculation of the discounted cash flows for years 5, 10 and 25 for Option B
- Calculation of the discounted residual value for Option B
- Calculation of the discounted life cycle cost for Option B
- Calculation of the discounted annual incomes for Option B for the 5thyear (20282029), 10thyear (20332034) and 25thyear (20482049)
If you fail to attach the above calculation procedures, you will lose 50% of your marks for Life Cycle Cost Analysis (70%) section.