To determine life-cycle costs, the Department, in cooperation with the Maryland Energy Administration, shall establish standards that require at least: an evaluation of: the amount and type of glass used in the building and the directions of exposure; the effect of insulation incorporated into the design of the building; the effect of the use of active and passive solar energy systems; if wind or solar energy is used, the orientation and integration of the building with respect to its site; and the variable occupancy and operating conditions of the building and its parts; an energy consumption analysis of each major piece of equipment in any of the following systems serving the building: the cooling system; the heating system; the hot water system; the lighting system; the ventilation system; and any other major energy-using system; and a comparison of possible alternative energy systems: 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 with respect to the projected annual energy consumption of the major energy-using equipment of each system over the life of the building. To evaluate life-cycle costs, the Department shall: adopt and uniformly apply a definition of the “life of the building”; and provide defending criteria for the definition adopted.