This document provides a set of model protocols for determining energy and demand savings that result from specific energy efficiency measures implemented through state and utility efficiency programs. The methods described here are approaches that are — or are among — the most commonly used in the energy efficiency industry for certain measures or programs. As such, they draw from the existing body of research and best practices for energy efficiency program evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V).
These protocols were developed as part of the Uniform Methods Project (UMP), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The principal objective for the project was to establish easy-to-follow protocols based on commonly accepted methods for a core set of commonly deployed energy efficiency measures.
Category Archives: Energy efficiency
Energy Efficiency Savings Protocols
New database demonstrates benefits of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic energy efficiency programs
The Regional Energy Efficiency Database (REED), a project of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), provides a one-stop resource to readily access energy efficiency program data, including energy and peak-demand savings, costs, avoided emissions, and job impacts. The REED database allows users to generate reports and download underlying data showing the impacts of ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. REED will help inform a broad range of policy issues, including energy, economic, and air quality planning, and help demonstrate the long-term, money-saving benefits of energy efficiency investments. Specifically, policymakers, program administrators and other industry stakeholders can use the REED data for a variety of purposes, including comparing efficiency program impacts across states to help identify best practices in efficiency policy and program design, as well as informing progress toward clean air and climate change goals.
The database currently includes 2011 electric and gas energy efficiency program data and will expand this fall to include 2012 data from Delaware and the District of Columbia, as well as the states currently in the database. Access the REED Database.
Park It Right There: 7 ways to redesign parking structures to improve energy efficiency
Read the full story in Sustainable Industries.
Despite the growth of public transportation and other transportation alternatives, parking locations remain necessary in much of the nation, to the chagrin of some. Even though parking consultants and design teams have been using sustainable practices for parking structures in recent years, many do not calculate energy use as part of their standard methodology. Unknown to most, a garage typically uses 15% of the energy that the building it is designed to support uses. Worse, this energy use is often lost in the periphery of energy efficiency efforts. Parking structures should not be overlooked, though, because the savings potential is immense. Energy use can be reduced by more than 90% over an ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2007 baseline parking structure with typical construction costs.
Below are some design elements that can be implemented to improve the energy efficiency of parking structures.
Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry Awards Nominations – NOW OPEN
ACEEE has announced that nominations for the Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry Awards are now open and may be submitted online.
The awards will be presented at the 2013 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry and will recognize leadership and accomplishment in the energy efficiency field. Winners will be selected based on demonstrated excellence in the following categories:
- Research and Development (R&D): Excellence in research and development including baseline or background research, as well as R&D of products and practices.
- Energy Policy: Excellence in energy policy including writing, educating, promoting, and supporting energy efficiency in energy policy, at the federal, state, or local level.
- Implementation and Deployment: Effective design and implementation, including achievement of significant impacts on energy use.
- Leadership: Exceptional personal leadership demonstrated in the development, implementation, and growth of important energy efficiency initiatives.
To submit your nominee, please complete the online submission form. You may alternately fill out the PDF version and e-mail it to Champions@aceee.org.
Nominations are due by May 24, 2013.
We value your input and appreciate you taking the time to nominate the best leaders in our community. Nominations are made by peers and the final awards will be chosen by the ACEEE Board of Directors’ Awards Committee.
The “Industry” Summer Study is the preeminent energy efficiency conference for industry leaders, and draws leading academics, energy efficiency professionals, government representatives, researchers, advocates for energy efficiency, and policymakers from around the world.
For more information about the awards and to read about previous winners in the industry sector, please visit http://www.aceee.org/about/awards.htm#buildings.
Please contact Champions@aceee.org if you have any other questions.
The hidden energy costs in the wireless cloud
Read the full story at Smart Planet.
In recent years environmental groups like Greenpeace have campaigned major tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft to clean up the cloud by focusing on using renewable energy to power data centers that house the servers that store much of our digital information. But a new white paper says that data centers should be the least concerning energy drainer when it comes to the “wireless cloud ecosystem.”
Researchers at The University of Melbourne calculated the energy consumption of the different components that are used to support cloud services accessed through wireless networks. What they found is that energy consumption by the wireless cloud will be massive, and data centers are only a fraction of the problem. Take a look:
Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Available
ENERGY STAR products meet strict guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and are independently certified to save energy without sacrificing features or functionality. Saving energy helps prevent climate change, but it will also help you save money, especially around tax time. Upgrade your equipment to ENERGY STAR models anytime this year and get credit on next year’s tax return.
The ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 65 different product categories, including appliances, electronics, lighting and heating and cooling equipment. Although some may cost more to purchase than standard models, they pay you back in lower energy bills, even without a tax credit. Federal tax credits available for some products make these savings even more significant.
What is Eligible?
ENERGY STAR products in the following categories are eligible for 10% of the product’s cost up to $500, or a specific amount from $50–$300. Products must be purchased for an existing home that is your primary residence. These tax credits expire December 31, 2013.
- Air source heat pumps
- Central air conditioners
- Boilers
- Furnaces
- Insulation
- Roofs
- Non-solar water heaters
- Windows and doors
ENERGY STAR certified geothermal heat pumps are eligible for 30% of the product’s cost with no upper limit. Products can be purchased for new or existing homes, and both primary residences and second homes may apply. This tax credit expires December 31, 2016.
For more detailed information, see the tax credits section of the ENERGY STAR website.
Energy efficiency rewarding for Michigan businesses
Read the full story at Great Lakes Echo.
Success in energy efficiency is something worth bragging about in Michigan.
Detroit was listed in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2012 top 25 cities with the most ENERGY STAR rated buildings. It ranked 19th with 100 ENERGY STAR buildings. The leader, Los Angeles, had 528 buildings with ENERGY STAR ratings.
Wireless smart meter measures how much power you use
Read the full story in New Scientist.
Smart appliances are the ugly ducklings of home technology. No one is really sure why you’d want to use Evernote on your fridge or start your washing machine over the internet.
As a concept, smart devices do have the potential to help save money, despite their ludicrous price tags, by measuring the amount of electricity you use and helping you reduce it. But forget the $4000 smart fridge – engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have designed a cheap wireless device that can monitor the power consumption of your appliances with 98 per cent accuracy, and it doesn’t even need plugging in.
How an energy planning tool changed decision-making at MSU
Read the full story at GreenBiz.
What if you had to identify solutions and implement changes that would result in a 45 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction for your organization by 2020?
What if your goals also included achieving a 20 percent increase in your renewable energy sources by 2020? As a leader aware of your limited financial resources, how would you guide your organization to success?
Generically, these would be difficult questions. But with the specific constraints of 10,000 employees, 580 buildings, 5,200 acres of land, a 100 megawatt power plant that is primarily coal-fired, 48,000 students who use the campus daily, 16,000 permanent residents and sub-optimal annual weather conditions (77 sunny days, average wind of 9 miles per hour and 49 inches of snow), the “what ifs” of this type can seem impossible to address.
At Michigan State University (MSU), the complexity of these constraints provided an opportunity for the institution to look for a tool that would help everyone understand the impact of a decision against a set of key performance indicators, or metrics, that are most important to the university (see next page). Like businesses, colleges and universities have many stakeholders, all of whom have different points of view and opinions about paths towards environmental progress.
What Would a Manufacturing Renaissance Do to US Energy Intensity?
Read the full story in GreenTech Efficiency.
There has been a lot of discussion lately about a manufacturing renaissance in the United States. There’s also been an interesting related discussion about U.S. energy intensity.
Years of offshoring and plummeting employment have given way to a small rebound in domestic industry. Behind the scenes, more companies are relocating their manufacturing facilities back on American soil, citing increasing domestic labor productivity and rising wages in China. Adding to the debate, the recent shale gas boom may or may not play a leading role in sparking this renaissance by providing cheap fuel and feedstock to key industries.
The manufacturing sector is also notoriously energy-intensive, taking in massive amounts of energy for both fuel (electricity) and feedstock. However, this may be changing, according to recent analysis from the Energy Information Agency, which indicates that the energy intensity of manufacturing has actually been steadily declining since 2002. The new Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey shows that, while total manufacturing output has declined by 3 percent, total manufacturing energy consumption has declined by a dramatic 17 percent. This means it has taken less energy overall to create each unit of output.
Some aren’t convinced that the energy intensity metric is the most appropriate measure of economic efficiency. But the data do show the manufacturing sector reduced energy consumption faster than it reduced output. So would a major increase in U.S. manufacturing undo these gains?
