Whole Life Performance
The Whole Life Performance of a material is the performance of a material (or building) over a defined period of time. Typically building performance is measured over 60 years. Whole life performance takes into account the following issues:
-
capital costs
-
maintenance, replacement and repair costs
-
facilities management costs
-
disposal costs
Whole life costing analysis measures the economic impact of a built asset over its life, taking into consideration design, construction, installation and operation of building systems; rather than focusing solely on initial capital costs.
Whole life considerations also impact upon the selection of materials with low environmental impact. For example, high mass external wall cladding options such as brick have a higher direct environmental impact than light weight timber and steel systems. However, they typically have lower maintenance requirements and a longer life, therefore their whole life costs are lower.
Often, whole life costing analysis demonstrates that investing a little more initially can present very favourable lifecycle savings.
Whole life costing analysis is a mandatory requirement in publicly procured projects.
Major lifecycle significant items
Major lifecycle significant items in order of impact are as follows:
-
internal finishes consisting of:
- flooring (carpet, vinyl etc)
- walls
- ceilings
- doors (internal and external) -
emergency lights which include their own batteries
-
fixtures fittings and furniture
-
automatic building control systems
-
closed circuit TV systems
-
heating systems
-
light fittings
-
external windows
-
rainwater goods
-
external walls
In some instances, it may be appropriate to select lower grade materials where the building or its fit out is expected to be short term (e.g. retail environments).
Items or rooms requiring high levels of maintenance should always be designed so that they are easy to access.