The dissertation thesis addresses the socio-economic impacts of environmental solutions in residential construction projects, with a particular focus on the selection of energy systems at the early design stage. The primary objective was to develop and verify a simplified Whole Life Cost (WLC) methodology enabling investors and designers to quantify the financial and socio-economic consequences of alternative configurations already at the architectural study phase.
The proposed methodology integrates discounted investment costs, operational expenditures for energy, water, maintenance, and renewal with monetised negative externalities (CO2eq, SO2eq, (PO4)-3eq, R-11eq, C2H4eq) into a single comparative indicator. It was implemented through a BIM → BIMtwin HUB → WLC computational chain, in which the energy model provides the building's heating, cooling and electricity demands, while individual technology variants respond with system efficiencies and on-site generation.
The methodology was validated on a real residential development project in Brno (15 units, 858 m2 GFA) across five energy system variants (V0–V4) over a 20-year evaluation horizon at a 4% real discount rate. The case study demonstrated that variant V1 (PV + heat pump) achieved 10.1% lower whole life costs compared to the reference district heating scenario (V0), despite higher initial investment. Sensitivity analyses confirmed this conclusion across all tested discount rate and energy price scenarios. The inclusion of monetised externalities revealed that a significant portion of the WLC differential is attributable to environmental costs, and that assessments excluding externalities systematically underestimate the benefits of low-emission configurations.
The results confirm that economic and environmental rationality are not in conflict when evaluated through a life-cycle perspective.