LIFECYCLE COST OPTIMIZATION OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT ELECTRICAL BUILDING SERVICES IN SAUDI ARABIA: A SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING FRAMEWORK

Electrical building services are frequently procured using initial capital cost even though energy consumption, maintenance, component replacement and operational disruption continue throughout a building’s service life. This review examines how life-cycle cost optimisation can improve decisions about lighting, power distribution, electrical controls,metering, renewable-energy interfaces and associated building-service systems in Saudi Arabia. A structured integrative review was undertaken using relevant peer-reviewed Saudi and international studies, building-energy guidance and life-cycle costing standards. The evidence suggests that energy-saving options must be evaluated against local tariffs,duty cycles, desert-climate conditions, equipment reliability and realistic maintenance obligations rather than simple payback alone. Saudi case studies demonstrate that technical energy savings do not always yield a positive investment net present value, while integrated envelope-and-services interventions can materially alter the economics of electrical infrastructure. This paper proposes a five-stage engineering framework combining baseline definition, functional equivalence, discounted cash-flow modelling, sensitivity testing and post-occupancy verification. An explicitly hypothetical decision example illustrates why the preferred option may change with discount rate and replacement assumptions.