Syntax
LoanPayment(CapitalCost, FirstYear, LoanTerm) or
LoanPayment(CapitalCost, FirstYear, LoanTerm, InterestRate)
Description
The LoanPayment function returns the value of the annual loan payment divided by the number of timesteps in a year. The arguments are:
CapitalCost: The principal of the loan, in dollars.
FirstYear: The first simulation year in which payments will be made.
LoanTerm: The length of the loan, in years.
InterestRate: The real interest rate expressed in decimal form or as a percent, e.g., for six percent enter either "0.06" or "6%". This item is not required. If left blank, the Real Discount Rate set under the menu option General, Units, Monetary will be used. Note that WEAP's costing calculations are all performed in real currency units (net of inflation), but results can be displayed in both real (constant) and discounted currency units. For example, if the assumed future inflation rate is 2% and the actual interest rate paid on a loan is 5%, the real interest rate is 3%. Use the real interest rate in the LoanPayment function.
Example
LoanPayment(10000000, 2005, 20, 6%)
This example calculates the annual loan payment for 10 million dollars financed over 20 years at 6% interest. The annual payment, $871,845 is divided by the number of timesteps in a year before appearing in the financial reports.