Legal Requirements Lists federal requirements related to the purchase of this item, including applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements

• FAR Subpart 23.2 Energy and Water Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• FAR Subpart 23.8 Ozone-Depleting Substances and Greenhouse Gases
• FAR Subpart 23.1 Sustainable Acquisition Policy

Life Cycle Cost Savings

Life Cycle Costing (LCC) aims to quantify the financial impact of a product over its entire life cycle to assist consumers in making decisions that will save them money over the long term.

For most applications, energy-efficient electric chillers have the lowest life-cycle cost. For example, FEMP has estimated that a 200-ton air-cooled electric chiller meeting FEMP minimum efficiency requirements can save a typical federal user $59,861 in energy costs over the life of the unit, while a "best available" model could save even more: $159,202. Similar savings apply for both cetrifugal and positive-displacement type water-cooled chillers.

An efficient product is cost effective when the utility costs saved over the life of the product exceed the additional upfront cost (if any) of the more efficient model. Federal purchasers may assume that Energy Star-qualified products and products meeting FEMP-designated efficiency requirements are life-cycle cost effective. However, users wishing to determine cost effectiveness for their application may do so using the cost effectiveness examples on FEMP's product web pages.

GSA's Proving Ground found that variable-speed magnetic levitaton chillers (maglev) are 35% more efficient than FEMP-designated high-efficiency rotary screw chillers. They can acnieve a 42% energy savings and have a payback of 5 years or less, after normalizing for payment structure and utility costs.

Guiding Principles

Contributes to meeting The Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings

• 2 - Optimize Energy Performance
• 3 - Protect and Conserve Water
• 5 - Reduce the Environmental Impact of Materials

Additional Guidance

Substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals, as identified under the SNAP program, may be purchased with the product itself or separately. In either case, federal agencies must procure and substitute safe alternatives for ozone-depleting substances to the maximum extent practicable.

Potential LEED Contributions

This product may contribute* toward points in multiple LEED v4 rating systems, including areas required for LEED v4 building certification. Primarily, the credits will apply in the Building Design and Construction (BD+C) and Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) categories. This includes the specialty areas of: New Construction and Major Renovation, Existing Buildings, Core & Shell, Schools, Retail, Data Centers, Warehouse and Distribution Centers, Hospitality, and Healthcare. Specific credits are:

• Energy & Atmosphere
  • Optimize Energy Performance
  • Enhanced Refrigerant Management

* It is important to note that no products, individually or collectively, can guarantee a specific number of points for LEED Category credit. Each credit will need to be matched to the product by a certified professional.