The Thermal Rates page define the retail rates for heat purchased to meet the thermal load, and for sales of excess heat generated by the system
Buy Rate
The buy rate is a retail price in dollars per unit of heat that the project pays for any heat required to meet thermal load that can not be met by the system.
Set buy rate to fuel cost
Set the buy rate to the fuel cost on the Operating Costs page.
Nominal heat conversion efficiency, %
When you choose the Set buy rate to fuel cost, use the nominal heat conversion efficiency to adjust the cost of heat.
Flat buy rate, $/kWh-t
A fixed price for heat purchases.
Time series buy rates
Click Edit array to specify a buy rate for each time step in the simulation.
Sell Rate
The sell rate is a retail price in dollars per unit of heat that the project receives for any heat generated by the system in excess of the thermal load. SAM calculates excess heat for hourly (or subhourly) each time step.
Flat buy rate, $/kWh-t
A fixed price for heat sales.
Time series buy rates
Click Edit array to specify a sell rate for each time step in the simulation.
Annual Escalation
The escalation rate is an annual percentage increase that applies to the annual heating bill in Years 2 and later. Escalation is in addition to the inflation rate from the Financial Parameters page.
Thermal rate escalation, %/year
The escalation rate is a single value that applies in addition to the inflation rate. For example, for an annual thermal load of 1,000 kWh, flat buy rate of $0.10/kWh, escalation rate of 1%/yr, and an inflation rate of 2.5%/yr, the Year 1 annual electricity bill without system would be $100, Year 2 = $104, Year 3 = $107, etc.
In some cases, it may be appropriate to use an annual schedule to define a different escalation rate for each year. When you specify the escalation rate using an annual schedule, SAM applies only the escalation rate and excludes inflation from the calculation of out-year values.
To specify annual escalation rates (optional):
1.Click the grey and blue Value/Sched button so Sched is highlighted in blue. SAM replaces the variable's value with an Edit button.
2.Click Edit.
3.Change Number of values to the the analysis period from the Financial Parameters page. The number of rows in the table should be the number of years in the analysis period.
4.In the table of values, either type a value in each row, or click Paste to paste values from your computer's clipboard. Row 1 is for Year 1.
To delete a value, select it and press the Delete key on your keyboard.
You must type a value for each year. If you delete a value, SAM will clear the cell, and you must type a number in the cell or SAM will consider the schedule to be invalid. Type a zero for years with no value.
