The first set of protocols for determining energy savings from energy efficiency measures and programs were published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in April 2013. Funded by the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the developed protocols provide a straightforward method for evaluating gross energy savings for each of the most common residential and commercial measures and programs offered by ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in the United States.
Using a single measurement and verification protocol to calculate the energy savings from a particular measure or program will increase the credibility of the reported savings. This increased credibility will give electric utilities, their regulators, and other stakeholders a greater level of confidence about reported savings and reduce the risks of using energy efficiency as an electricity resource.
Feedback
Please provide feedback on any of the protocols below to ump.protocols@nrel.gov. In addition, feedback is welcome on the following:
- Protocols that need updating
- Protocols for new measures or programs
- Changes to the format of the protocols
- Additional information the protocols should contain.
Overview
The following provides the fundamentals and background of the protocols below, which are organized by general topics.
Commercial
Commercial and Industrial Lighting Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Commercial and Industrial Lighting Controls Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Chiller Evaluation Protocol (September 2014)
Commercial New Construction Protocol (September 2014)
Retrocommissioning Evaluation Protocol (September 2014)
Variable Frequency Drive Evaluation Protocol (September 2014)
HVAC Controls (DDC/EMS/BAS) Evaluation Protocol (September 2014)
Data Center IT Efficiency Measures (January 2015)
Compressed Air Evaluation Protocol (November 2014)
Combined Heat and Power Evaluation Protocol (November 2016)
Residential
Residential Furnaces and Boilers Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Residential Lighting Evaluation Protocol (December 2014)
Residential Behavior Protocol (January 2015)
Refrigerator Recycling Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Combined Commercial and Residential
Small Commercial and Residential Unitary and Split System HVAC Cooling Equipment-Efficiency Upgrade Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Whole-Building Retrofit with Consumption Data Analysis Evaluation Protocol (April 2013)
Cross-Cutting
These crosscutting topics are referenced in measure-specific protocols and are not efficiency measures. These supplemental discussions help extend the measure-specific method for determination of savings to evaluating whole programs.
Metering Cross-Cutting Protocols (April 2013)
Peak Demand and Time-Differentiated Energy Savings Cross-Cutting Protocols (April 2013)
Sample Design Cross-Cutting Protocols (April 2013)
Survey Design and Implementation Cross-Cutting Protocols for Estimating Gross Savings (April 2013)
Assessing Persistence and Other Evaluation Issues Cross-Cutting Protocols (April 2013)
Estimating Net Savings: Common Practices (September 2014)
