Mary Fisher wrote:
"Rob" wrote in message
...

...
On the contrary, solar energy is one thing is VERY easy to do a cost
benefit excercise on.

Ah, OK!

The economic costs should be easy to calculate if you can get hold of the
data.

How do you estimate the environmental and social costs of production (inc
raw and manufactured materials), distribution, sale, marketing,
installation, maintenance and disposal? That's relatively straightforward
up to a point. It's the benefits I really have trouble with. Obviously,
electricity/gas saving is a relatively trivial calculation. The benefits
to human existence/experience and the 'planet' in the longer term would be
tricky to calculate, I think. Also, it's not known whether costs are
recouped on sale (a future and discounted benefit). Some sales bluster
seems to suggest 'yes, and some', but no reviewed research has been
carried out to my knowledge.

There is also the political aspect of costs and benefits, and the notion
that nobody will know until these products have been through at least one
life cycle.

Perhaps you can do/accommodate all of this.

How do you estimate the above for a 'conventional' modern system?

Or an older system?

All installations have costs.

Mary



List all the cost variables associated with the economic, political,
social and environmental aspects of production and consumption. You can
do this with any system installed at any time, although the data may be
more difficult to estimate if you're looking at older systems.

Two key problems usually arise. One is the notion that costs for some
people are benefits for others. You can do a bit of 'cancelling out',
but this leads to the second problem. Not all aspects of production and
consumption (making and using) can be quantified. For example, solar
heating has certain tangible environmental dimensions that can't be
measured, and there's also the
"smug-self-satisfied-my-conscience-is-clear'' aspect - priceless :-)

It does seem to me that the eco-homes thing is driven by payback in
pounds. This misses at least two points. Firstly, some of the benefits
in particular are discounted because they can't be measured with
numbers. Secondly, it appears to me that people/industry are concerned
with at the very least maintaining current levels of consumption. Daft.

I do understand that people like the Natural Philosopher only have one
life, and such consideration is meaningless in that context. Just
thought I'd mention it though :-)

Rob