BLCC Software - Building Life Cycle Cost

The Building Life-Cycle Cost Program BLCC 5.3-05 is a program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide computational support for the analysis of capital investments in buildings.

The BLCC computer programs conduct economic analyses by evaluating the relative cost effectiveness of alternative buildings and building-related systems or components. Typically, BLCC software is used to evaluate alternative designs that have higher initial costs but lower operating-related costs over the project life than the lowest-initial-cost design. It is especially useful for evaluating the costs and benefits of energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects. The life-cycle cost (LCC) of two or more alternative designs are computed and compared to determine which has the lowest LCC and is therefore more economical in the long run. BLCC also calculates comparative economic measures for alternative designs, including Net Savings, Savings-to-Investment Ratio, Adjusted Internal Rate of Return, and Years to Payback. The software can evaluate federal, state, and local government projects for both new and existing buildings. BLCC also contains a module for evaluating non-profit and for-profit projects in the private sector. While the BLCC programs are oriented toward building-related decisions, they can be used to evaluate alternative designs for almost any project type in which higher capital investment costs result in lower future operating-related costs.

A full explanation of the BLCC5 software, including a user's manual, can be downloaded here: www.eere.energy.gov/femp/information/download_blcc.cfm