Measuring And Verifying Whole-Building Commercial Retrofit Performance
Utilities looking for deeper energy savings from complex, whole-building energy conservation projects want empirical evidence of real savings – measurement and verification that covers HVAC, lighting, plug loads, data centers, and more. Smart grid technology can help.
In this video, Joan Effinger, technical manager with PECI, describes a research paper looking at three interdependent questions:
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How much energy savings is required to enable accurate verification?
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How much uncertainty (or what confidence level) is acceptable?
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How long should the monitoring period be?
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Joan Effinger |
Her presentation summarizes the results of case studies in three office and five grocery buildings. Among the findings:
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Three to six months of monitoring can suffice, although higher savings rates require shorter monitoring periods, and vice versa.
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Data is more reliable if the monitoring period includes a “swing season” (spring or fall).
The research paper also explores the need for an approved programmatic framework to help give whole-building M&V traction for verifying savings in commercial buildings. That framework should include pre-screening criteria for choosing the M&V method, setting the acceptable level of uncertainty, and choosing the methods for claiming savings.
November 2012