What is a Building Lifecycle Cost?

Building lifecycle cost is the total cost of owning a building over its entire useful life including initial construction costs, operations expenses, maintenance and repair costs, component replacements, energy and utility costs, and eventual disposal or demolition costs, used to evaluate long-term financial performance and make cost-effective design and material decisions.

Comprehensive Definition and Cost Components

• Initial construction costs including design and materials
• Operations expenses including utilities and management
• Maintenance and repair costs throughout building life
• Disposal and demolition costs at end of life

Purpose and Decision-Making Applications

• Evaluate long-term financial performance accurately
• Make cost-effective design decisions upfront
• Long-term view prevents short-sighted choices
• Design optimization reduces total ownership costs

Building lifecycle costs are total ownership costs over entire life including construction, operations, maintenance, repairs, replacements, and disposal evaluating long-term financial performance.