Utilities Cost Calculator — online
The cost of every utility your plant makes — raw to demin water, steam at up to six pressures, power from every source, cooling water, air and nitrogen — solved together, with a monthly-data tab.
Yellow cells are inputs; orange cells are choices; blue cells choose the unit. Select or hover over an input to see its help in the box below the toolbar. The sheet is the same as the Excel tool (USD 79) — the Guide, method and references are in the Excel file.
What this utilities cost calculator does
Know what each tonne of steam, MWh of power and m³ of water really costs your plant. The cost of every utility your plant makes — raw to demin water, steam at up to six pressures, power from every source, cooling water, air and nitrogen — solved together, with a monthly-data tab.
- The whole water chain. Wells, canal and purchased water, then clarifier, filter, softener, RO, cation–anion, polisher and condensate polisher — chemicals, resin and membranes, power and fixed costs per step.
- Steam at up to six pressures. 4 fired boilers, 4 waste-heat boilers, HRSGs and 6 letdown stations, on IAPWS-IF97 steam tables, with deaerator and blowdown balances.
- Power from every source. Gas turbines and engines, steam turbine generators, grid import, solar and wind — each with its own cost per MWh and a plant average.
- Fair heat-recovery credit. HRSG and process waste-heat steam valued by the boiler-credit method, so no cost is counted twice.
- Cooling water, air and nitrogen. Evaporation, blowdown and up to 12 treatment chemicals; plant and instrument air; PSA, cryogenic or purchased nitrogen.
- Monthly data in, averages out. Type each month's logged totals and operating days; the tool works out the averages and the operating hours.
What you enter
- Operating hours per year
- Fuel type
- Heating value entered as
- Heating value (gas)
- Heating value (liquid / solid)
- Price basis
- Price unit
- Fuel price
- Methane
- Ethane
- Propane
- i-Butane
- n-Butane
- i-Pentane
What you get
- Raw water (blend of sources)
- Clarifier — product water
- Media filter — product water
- Softener — product water
- Reverse osmosis — product water
- Cation–anion — product water
- Polisher (MB / EDI) — product water
- Condensate polisher — product water
- Demin water (end of the demin train)
- Boiler feed water (deaerated)
- Electric power — plant average
- Cooling water (per m³ circulated)
- Plant air
- Instrument air
How it was checked
Matches an independent calculation model in six plant cases (differences below one part in a billion); steam properties match IAPWS-IF97 reference values; monthly averaging checked against hand averages.
Related
- Utilities Cost Calculator Excel tool — USD 79, keep the workbook and its Guide.
- All 40 online tools
Questions
Is the utilities cost calculator free?
You can enter and check all your data free. The full results, findings and printable sheet are unlocked with a 3-run pack (USD 9), a monthly subscription to all 40 online tools (USD 15) or a yearly one (USD 99).
Are the results the same as the Excel tool?
Yes. The online tool runs the formulas of the Utilities Cost Calculator Excel workbook, checked cell by cell against the Excel file.
Which units can I use?
SI, US customary and British units — choose the unit next to each input.