Life cycle cost comparison-traditional cooling systems vs. natural convection based systems

For more than 16 years, cooling systems specially designed for telecommunication equipment and based on the concept of natural convection, have been an available alternative to "traditional" cooling systems. Both system principles have advantages and disadvantages. This paper presents a study of the economics of both types of systems using the theoretical LCC (life cycle cost) method to evaluate the systems and detail the relative efficiency of the system principles and their LCCs. The central points of this paper are comparisons of the LCCs, including investment costs of not only the cooling equipment but also the sub-systems such as lighting and air handling. Also compared are maintenance costs and final salvage value combined with operating costs to calculate relative payback periods under local criteria including prevailing energy costs.