Methodology
How this calculator works
The numbers above come from five savings streams weighed against PowerShield8's investment cost, using independently published research wherever a citable source exists — and clearly flagging the handful of figures that don't have one yet.
What does a typical result look like?
Using the calculator's own default scenario — a single site, 5 UPS systems, 2 battery strings of 40 blocks each, Assure+ expert reporting included, 5-year horizon, 12% discount/hurdle rate — PowerShield8 returns:
| Metric | Result |
| Total Investment (5yr) | $101,180 |
| Total Savings (5yr) | $159,260 |
| ROI | 57% |
| Payback | 3.2 years |
| NPV (pre-tax, 12% hurdle) | $14,197 |
| IRR | 18% — clears the 12% hurdle by 6 points |
Illustrative only — this is the calculator's own default scenario, not a specific customer's figures. Change any input above to see your own portfolio's numbers.
When should I use this calculator?
Use it when a finance or procurement team needs an auditable case for monitoring a UPS battery estate; when choosing between PowerShield8 monitoring alone and monitoring with Assure+ reporting; when scoping a multi-site rollout; when expanding or renewing an existing estate using the site’s own incident history; and to stress-test a proposal before it goes out. It measures the return on monitoring itself — it does not compare vendor prices, so use it to establish value rather than to argue price against a named competitor.
How do I use the working model spreadsheet?
Download the working model (.xlsx). Its Sales Guide sheet explains when and how to use it. On the ROI Model sheet, enter your own figures in the yellow input cells — click any input for a short prompt, with the source and a plain-English explanation beside every line — then read ROI, payback, NPV and IRR (pre-tax and after-tax) under Key results. The Cash Flow sheet shows the year-by-year cash flow behind them. Replace any figure marked ⚠ with your own before relying on the result.
How is the ROI calculated?
ROI = (five-year total savings − total investment) ÷ total investment. Investment splits into CapEx (hardware, software and installation, paid once in Year 0) and OpEx (the Assure+ monthly expert reporting fee, if included, paid annually thereafter). Savings are summed across preventative-maintenance cost avoided, downtime risk avoided, battery life-extension value, manual-inspection labour avoided, and any insurance premium reduction you enter. NPV and IRR are calculated from the resulting year-by-year cash flow at your chosen discount/hurdle rate — the same method a capital-projects committee would use to screen any other investment.
What data sources does this use?
Every industry-wide figure is independently sourced, not a PowerShield estimate presented as fact:
| Input | Source |
| Battery-related share of UPS failures (33%) | Ponemon Institute (2013), cited via Vertiv — still the standard industry reference |
| Cost of downtime per hour | ITIC 2024 Hourly Cost of Downtime Survey |
| Uptime Institute Tier downtime budgets | Widely-cited legacy interpretation of the Uptime Institute Tier Standard — Uptime Institute removed official per-year downtime figures from the Tier Standard in 2009; these hour/minute figures are the industry's common shorthand, not Uptime Institute's own current published numbers |
| Fully-loaded labour rate | US BLS median wage, Electricians (~$30/hr) × 1.4× fully-loaded burden multiplier |
| Baseline battery life | PowerShield planning baseline, consistent with Vertiv/Eaton/IEEE 1188 & 450 guidance |
| Discount / hurdle rate | KPMG 2024/25 average multinational WACC (8–9%); 12% reflects a typical capex hurdle rate above WACC |
| UPS and battery pricing | PowerShield quote history |
Which figures are PowerShield's own estimate, not an independent source?
⚠ Three inputs have no published industry benchmark and are shown as editable placeholders rather than defaults dressed up as fact: your battery-incident rate, the risk-reduction percentage from proactive monitoring, and the battery-life-extension figures (both the baseline PS8 figure and the additional Assure+ figure — internal PowerShield planning numbers pending formal sign-off). Replace all three with your own numbers for a result you can defend to your own board.
Can I see the full calculation, not just the summary?
Yes. Every input, formula and source is shown inside the calculator itself (Assumptions & Sources, expandable on the Financial Analysis tab), and the downloadable working model (.xlsx) contains the same calculation as live Excel formulas, not static numbers — you can audit or extend it in your own finance team's tools.