(a) To determine life-cycle costs, the Department, in cooperation with the Maryland Energy Administration, shall establish standards that require at least:

(1) an evaluation of:

(i) the amount and type of glass used in the building and the directions of exposure;

(ii) the effect of insulation incorporated into the design of the building;

(iii) the effect of the use of active and passive solar energy systems;

(iv) if wind or solar energy is used, the orientation and integration of the building with respect to its site; and

(v) the variable occupancy and operating conditions of the building and its parts;

(2) an energy consumption analysis of each major piece of equipment in any of the following systems serving the building:

(i) the cooling system;

(ii) the heating system;

(iii) the hot water system;

(iv) the lighting system;

(v) the ventilation system; and

(vi) any other major energy-using system; and

(3) a comparison of possible alternative energy systems:

(i) that would use the most plentiful and available energy resources in combinations that would result in maximum energy efficiency, both in the building and at the source; and

(ii) with respect to the projected annual energy consumption of the major energy-using equipment of each system over the life of the building.

(b) To evaluate life-cycle costs, the Department shall:

(1) adopt and uniformly apply a definition of the “life of the building”; and

(2) provide defending criteria for the definition adopted.