| Scenario | Capital | Hours/yr | Fuel L/hr | Labor hrs | Maint % | Total annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-size excavator package | $ 250,000 | 1,800 | 6.5 | 900 | 6.0 | $ 212,000 |
| Concrete batching support set | $ 180,000 | 2,200 | 3.2 | 700 | 4.5 | $ 134,500 |
| Generator + lighting towers | $ 95,000 | 3,000 | 2.1 | 300 | 5.0 | $ 86,900 |
SFF(i,n) = i / ((1+i)n − 1)
Annualized Capital = P·CRF(i,n) − S·SFF(i,n)
Electricity = (kWh/hr)·(hrs/yr)·(price/kWh)
Labor = (labor hrs/yr)·(rate/hr)
Maintenance = (maint %)·P
Insurance/Tax = (ins %)·P
Overhead = (OH %)·Direct
Contingency = (Cont %)·(Direct + Overhead)
- Enter your capital cost, salvage value, service life, and discount rate.
- Set annual operating hours, then provide labor, fuel, and electricity drivers.
- Add maintenance percent and any fixed annual O&M items you expect.
- Include insurance/taxes and downtime if they apply to your scope.
- Apply overhead and contingency to match your estimating practice.
- Click Calculate Annual Cost to see totals and breakdown.
- Use Download CSV or Download PDF to save results.
Annual cost planning for equipment and site packages
Annual cost is the yearly money required to own and run a construction asset or work package. It combines annualized capital with operating expenses so you can compare buy versus rent, alternate fleets or shift patterns on one basis.
Capital recovery converts one-time spending into yearly value
The calculator uses time value factors to spread the initial cost across the service life, then offsets expected salvage. A higher discount rate increases annualized capital, while a longer life reduces it. Keep inputs aligned with your company policy.
Operating hours drive fuel, power, labor, and downtime
Variable costs scale directly with annual operating hours, so small schedule changes can move the total significantly. Fuel and labor typically dominate for heavy plant, while electricity may lead for stationary systems. Downtime cost helps reflect lost productivity and standby impacts.
Maintenance, overhead, and contingency protect estimate realism
Maintenance is modeled as a percent of capital plus any fixed O&M you enter, giving you control over planned servicing, spares, and inspections. Overhead adds indirects such as supervision and permits. Contingency then buffers uncertainty, improving scenario comparisons.
Use unit cost outputs to compare scenarios quickly
The total annual cost and the cost per operating hour are ideal for benchmarking options and supporting bid markups. Duplicate inputs with one change at a time to run sensitivity checks. Export to CSV for logs, or generate a PDF for approvals.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Capital cost | $ 250,000 |
| Salvage value | $ 25,000 |
| Life / discount | 10 years / 10% |
| Operating hours | 1,800 hrs/yr |
| Fuel / price | 6.5 L/hr @ 1.25 |
| Labor / rate | 900 hrs @ 12/hr |
| Maintenance / OH / contingency | 6% / 7% / 8% |
1) What does EUAC represent in this calculator?
EUAC is the equivalent uniform annual cost. It converts upfront capital and salvage into a consistent yearly amount using the discount rate and service life.
2) Should I include taxes and insurance as a percent of capital?
Use the percent field when charges scale with asset value. If your costs are fixed annual fees, place them in the fixed O&M input instead.
3) How do I model rental equipment instead of purchased equipment?
Set capital cost to zero and enter rental payments inside fixed O&M, or treat rental as a “capital” equivalent by entering annual rental in fixed O&M for clean comparisons.
4) Why does operating hours change both total and unit cost?
Variable costs increase with hours, but fixed annual costs do not. More hours can raise total cost yet reduce cost per hour by spreading fixed components across greater production.
5) What should I enter for downtime cost rate?
Use the best estimate of lost value per hour: standby crew, missed production, or penalty exposure. If downtime is already captured elsewhere, set downtime fields to zero.
6) How do overhead and contingency differ here?
Overhead covers indirect costs that are expected to occur, like supervision and administration. Contingency covers uncertainty and risk, applied after overhead to buffer the scenario.
7) Can I use the exports as an audit trail?
Yes. CSV captures inputs and outputs for spreadsheets, while the PDF report is suitable for sharing. Always note assumptions like hours, rates, and discount policy alongside exports.