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Life cycle costs for wastewater pumping systems

Critical factors for cost-effective investment decisions

Procurement decisions today often focus narrowly on technical compliance and initial purchase price. However, the purchase price typically accounts for less than 10% of the total life cycle cost (LCC) of wastewater pumping systems. Without a full LCC evaluation, decision-makers risk significant hidden costs in energy consumption, maintenance, downtime, and environmental penalties.

Using the proven Hydraulic Institute (HI) framework, a complete LCC analysis reveals the true economic and operational impacts of procurement choices. This understanding of long-term costs often transforms the investment decision.

“The lifecycle cost of any piece of equipment is the total lifetime cost to purchase, install, operate, maintain and dispose of that equipment.”
Hydraulic Institute

What’s included in this white paper

This white paper provides an overview of all the relevant LCC factors cited by the Hydraulic Institute, but the focus is on the areas of highest importance for wastewater pumping systems:

  • Initial investment – the cost of purchasing pumps, piping and other mechanical and electrical equipment, as well the cost of engineering, testing and inspection.
  • Energy costs – the total energy cost to operate the pumping station, which can be affected by the total head, the overall efficiency of the pumps (hydraulics, motors and drives), and the ability to sustain efficiency over time.
  • Maintenance costs – the cost of spare parts and the total number of hours spent on maintenance, including planned and unplanned maintenance.

Examples and recommendations for how to decrease these costs are also provided.

Typical life cycle cost breakdown for a wastewater pumping system, highlighting dominant cost contributors over the system lifetime.

 

What to consider when conducting an LCC analysis

An LCC analysis can be used to determine the total cost for the system over its lifetime. When conducting a complete analysis, it is necessary to gather and enter data for all eight cost categories in the HI formula (initial, installation and commissioning, energy, operational, maintenance and repair, downtime, environmental, and decommissioning).

An LCC analysis can also be used to examine how beneficial an investment can be, meaning that only factors that are of relevance for the analysis need to be included. The parts of the equation that matter the most will depend on the application, geographic location, labor costs and energy costs – factors that can vary significantly between markets. When comparing different systems, the relevant data should be entered for the same categories.

Making two analyses – one with the investment and one without – and comparing the results will show the payback time for the investment.