Quantifying your savings

I’m evaluating a proposal right now to replace non-functioning garage exhaust fans with a variable speed fan that claims to reduce my power load. It sounds great and with Minnesota efficiency rebates, I may be only be responsible for 50% of the cost.

But I’m not certain the savings will be there. The existing system is broken and runs constantly. Replacing CO monitors and fans will immediately reduce my energy consumption anyway for $17,000. Just how much savings can I expect from these variable speed fans for an additional $9,000?

What I will probably do is authorize replacement in 2-3 buildings and compare energy use for the remaining buildings. The structures are identical and if I establish the baseline energy consumption off the house meter, I should be able to see what type of reduction I’m earning.

All that leads to the largest problem for those of us who are or deal with owners of physical assets: can you prove your savings?

The Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships is a non-profit supported by a variety of foundations, federal agencies, and regional utilities. In 2006 they produced a report entitled “The Need for and Approaches to Developing Common Protocols to Measure, Verify and Report Energy Efficiency Savings in the Northeast”. Although their focus was regional and industrial in nature, they identified questions faced at the micro-level:

1. Are these investments reasonable with sufficient credibility and certainty;

2. Are the savings transparent and verifiable from readily available sources;

3. Are the savings consistent or trackable across a variety of locations?

“The Need for and Approaches to Developing Common Protocols to Measure, Verify and Report Energy Efficiency Savings in the Northeast”