(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.