Abstract
Cost related to building equipment accounts for about 85% of the life cycle cost of buildings. Therefore proper selection of air-conditioning system is important for reducing the overall cost of buildings. In this study, medium capacity EHP and GHP for air-conditioning a building with a floor area of 1,200 $m^2$ are compared economically. To consider all the factors of initial and operation costs effectively, an annual equal payment method is proposed. For the initial cost, cost of equipment, construction, installation, electric facility, financial subsidy and tax cut is considered. Cost of basic electricity, energy(electricity and gas), space charge, labor, insurance and repair is considered for the operation cost. Under the assumptions made in this study, overall cost of EHP is less than that of GHP, but this is not absolute and different outcome may result if different assumptions are made. This study is useful for those who are interested in choosing an air-conditioning system that costs less for mid-size buildings with simple calculations.