Research from Sweett (UK) Limited has revealed “whole life” HVAC savings of over 25% can be achieved by specifying the Kingspan KoolDuct System over traditional galvanised sheet metal ductwork.
The Whole Life Cost report, commissioned by Kingspan Insulation, looks in detail at the capital and life cycle cost benefits of differing HVAC ductwork specifications.
Sweett’s analysis shows that, when compared with galvanised sheet metal ductwork, The Kingspan KoolDuct System can reduce capital costs by 15% and operation costs by 29%, yielding an impressive overall saving of 25% throughout the system’s ‘whole life’, defined as a period of 30 years.
To determine the operating costs of each system, Sweett investigated a number of key parameters including durability, cleaning and maintenance requirements and the costs and likelihood of repairs and replacements. The results were used to generate a system operating cost. For lagged galvanised sheet steel technology this was £36,536, as opposed to £25,951 for The Kingspan KoolDuct system; resulting in a saving of 29% over the ‘whole life’ period.
Sweett drew on previous research from Rider Levett Bucknall to estimate the capital cost of each system. They concluded that the capital cost of £10,944 for ductwork produced by the Kingspan KoolDuct System was 15% cheaper than the £12,896 for lagged galvanised sheet steel ductwork.
Both the operating and capital savings were then combined to give a ‘whole life’ cost saving of £12,527, making a saving of 25% when using The Kingspan KoolDuct System as an alternative to the traditional galvanised sheet steel systems, which are often not commissioned until late into the project and with little thought to durability.
All costs in the report were based on the use of the Kingspan KoolDuct system constructed from 30 mm Kingspan KoolDuct Panels and the 4-bolt flange jointing system in comparison to 50 mm mineral fibre insulated galvanised sheet steel ducting.
The document can be downloaded from the Knowledge Base on the Kingspan Insulation website: www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk/Knowledge-Base/KoolDuct/KoolDuct---Whole-Life-Costing.aspx
