Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vaporization System Using Solar Energy

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is an important source of residential gas in China. Conventional LPG vaporizer mainly depends on electric heating as its heat source. In this paper, a new LPG vaporization system using solar thermal energy is designed for a residential community in Beijing. A detailed economic analysis of the solar LPG vaporization system is performed by the use of life cycle savings (LCS) method. Mortgage payment, maintenance cost, fuel cost, income tax, salvage value and the time value of money are also taken into account. It is concluded that the solar vaporization system has a significant life cycle savings of 77,589 Yuan after 15 years and is more economical than the conventional electric vaporization system with the same vaporization capacity.