Financial Feasibility Analysis of Water Conservation Components in Mass Housing Projects: Suburban Indian Case Review
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 2
Abstract
The green building concept has recently gained momentum, and the success of green projects to a large extent depends on the lifecycle cost. Water conservation components contribute almost 12%–15% to the capital cost of a conventional residential building. This paper aims to analyze the financial feasibility of using water conservation components by evaluating their lifecycle costs and operational savings in large mass housing projects. Four components have been evaluated for a case project located in a metropolitan suburban location in India. To analyze the benefits, two different water tariffs are considered: local corporation combined with mineralized water and well water. Lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA) suggests that, excluding the rainwater harvesting component, the significant share of cost for all other components is related to maintenance, repair, and replacement activities. Results of the analysis suggest that water components do not pay a return when a local corporation water tariff is considered at an 8% discount rate. The results of this study are expected to benefit project stakeholders in mass housing projects for their financial and budgetary decisions, thus making implementation of these component-based designs feasible.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all personnel/consultants specified in the paper that have provided their precious time for yielding the necessary expert knowledge. A special acknowledgment goes to Dr. P. R. Bhandari, proprietor of Central & Western(I) Chemical (Pune), for providing the necessary explanation for chemical cost market fluctuations, and Mr. Patil, STP Designer, Raveena Watertech (Mumbai), for providing the design considerations and dosage of chemical for residential extended aeration-type SWRPs. Special appreciation is given to Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Manager of Price and Monetary Division, Reserve Bank of India, for helping the authors understand WPI and projection techniques.
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Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 2 • June 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 21, 2015
Accepted: Sep 25, 2015
Published online: Jan 22, 2016
Published in print: Jun 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 22, 2016
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