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Medium-voltage switchgear, transformer and cable trays in an electrical plant room

Stage 10 of 14 / Calculation

Build the capital and lifecycle cost case

Build a transparent CAPEX and OPEX estimate from user rates, then report cost per IT kW, NPV of costs and cost per delivered IT kWh.

  • Advanced
  • 14 stages
  • 18 min
  • Mission-critical electrical and thermal systems
Development preview AI Data Center: Full Engineering Workbench
Development preview. The calculations on this journey run on existing EngiMetric engines, but the journey text and scope have not completed independent engineering review. The route is excluded from search while it remains a preview.
Professional review required.Engines and workbench are implemented and tested. Defaults, sources and engineering assumptions still require independent review before publication or use on a real project. Current verification state: Needs engineering review.

After this stage you can

Learning objectives
  • Build a CAPEX breakdown from explicit unit rates and allowances.
  • Calculate annual OPEX and lifecycle cost metrics with a stated currency and price basis.
  • Identify the assumptions that dominate the cost result.

The engineering

The cost model is an owner-side screen. Every rate is user-supplied. The defaults are illustrative planning values, not quotations. CAPEX covers IT equipment and racks when selected, electrical infrastructure, UPS, batteries, generators, cooling, building shell, commissioning, design and contingency.

OPEX includes electricity, demand charges, water, maintenance, staff and insurance. The model computes NPV of costs over the project life, annualised cost and cost per delivered IT kWh. There is no revenue line, so IRR and payback are deliberately absent. A cost per kWh is not a tariff or a profit margin.

Sensitivity changes electricity price, CAPEX, utilisation and PUE one at a time. It reveals which assumption dominates the result. It does not replace a probabilistic risk analysis or a financing model.

EngiMetric / AI data-center workbench

One project, computed from rack to report

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Preview screen. Inputs are saved in this browser only. Climate, grid, water and cost values are illustrative. Failed checks stay visible; a clean summary is not a stamped design and no Tier rating is claimed.

Your deliverable for this stage

Capstone evidence

A CAPEX/OPEX statement with cost per IT kW, NPV of costs and a sensitivity table.

Stage assumptions, limits and sources

Provenance

Assumptions

  • All rates are user-supplied planning values.
  • IT equipment is included only when the owner selects it.
  • Battery replacement recurs at the stated interval as a percentage of initial CAPEX.

Constraints

  • No revenue, financing, tax, grant or residual-value model.

Limitations

  • No market pricing, freight, duties, currency movement or vendor quotations.
  • No construction escalation or detailed schedule.
  • Sensitivity is deterministic and one-at-a-time.

Review status

  • Needs engineering review
  • Professional review is required before publication or use as a design basis.

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Stage kind: Calculation / Journey: ai-data-center / Stage: economics