Estimate the simple payback period for a smart meter rollout using deployment cost, annual field-service savings, recovered revenue, and recurring program cost. The calculator reports annual net benefit, average monthly benefit, and five-year simple ROI alongside the recovery period. Use it to screen scenarios before building a detailed model with phased deployment, financing, taxes, and changing benefits.
Simple payback shows undiscounted cost recovery under constant annual benefits. It is useful for comparison but does not show cash-flow timing within a phased rollout.
Recovered revenue should include only incremental, supportable amounts and should not overlap with cost savings.
A $2.5 million deployment with $700,000 in annual field savings, $250,000 in recovered revenue, and $180,000 in annual program cost produces $770,000 net benefit and a 3.25-year simple payback.
The project has no finite simple payback under those assumptions.
Include all initial costs needed to reach operation, including meters, installation, integration, and launch.
Yes, if the amount is incremental, evidence-based, and not counted elsewhere.
Five years of constant net benefit minus deployment cost is divided by deployment cost.
No. Use a year-by-year cash-flow model when costs and benefits ramp over time.
| Cash-flow item | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Deployment cost | One-time initial outflow |
| Field-service savings | Annual benefit |
| Recovered revenue | Annual benefit |
| Program cost | Annual recurring outflow |