11-18. An office building is considering converting from a coal-burning furnace to one that burns either fuel oil or natural gas. The cost of converting to fuel oil is estimated to be $80,000 initially;

annual operating expenses are estimated to be $4,000 less than that experienced when using the coal furnace.

Approximately 140,000 Btus are produced per gallon of fuel oil; fuel oil is anticipated to cost $2.20 per gallon.

The cost of converting to natural gas is estimated to be $60,000 initially; additionally, annual operating and maintenance expenses are estimated to be $6,000 less than that for the coal-burning furnace. Approximately 1,000 Btus are produced per cubic foot of natural gas; it is estimated that natural gas will cost $0.04 per cubic foot.

A planning horizon of 20 years is to be used. Zero market values and a MARR of 10% per year are appropriate. Perform a sensitivity analysis for the annual Btu requirement for the heating system. (Hint: First calculate the breakeven number of Btus (in thousands).

Then determine AWs if Btu requirement varies over

±30% of the breakeven amount.) (11.3)