Quotes & decisions
Test an HVAC improvement payback without assuming savings
Use a baseline, net annual savings and explicit costs to screen an HVAC controls or maintenance improvement with a worked illustrative example.
Maintenance improvement payback
Test a proposed controls or maintenance improvement against a measured annual net saving. No savings percentage is assumed.
Test the project, not a sales claim
Start with a written implementation scope and a baseline for energy and maintenance expenses. Enter the annual saving after subtracting any additional recurring service or software cost. Only enter an incentive that has been confirmed for this project; a program listing is not an award.
The illustrative default is a $4,800 project with $1,200 annual net saving, no incentive and no growth. Simple payback is $4,800 ÷ $1,200 = 4 years. Over five years, $6,000 of saving minus $4,800 of cost gives a $1,200 net cumulative benefit. These numbers are invented to explain the formula, not evidence that any measure will save that amount.
The tool adds each year’s saving using the growth input and finds when cumulative saving covers net cost. It does not discount cash flows, model taxes or predict equipment life. Zero saving means no payback for a positive cost. Weather, operating hours, tariff structure and occupancy can all change measured outcomes. Test a conservative saving as well as the proposed case before authorizing work.