Policy

Technical Reference Manuals and Additional Analysis Methods to Plan and Evaluate Energy Programs

Moderator(s)

• 

  Caroline Hazard

  Principal
  CHH Consulting, LLC
  Elkridge, Maryland

Panelist(s)

• 

  Jacqueline Berger

  President
  APPRISE
  Princeton, New Jersey
• 

  Greg Thomas

  Chief Strategy and Technology Officer
  Performance Systems Development, Inc.
  Ithaca, New York

Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs) are used across the nation to support utility program design with guidance on potential savings and impacts. TRMs are intended to be a consistent and reliable source for calculating energy impact savings – both per energy efficiency measure as well as for demand savings. However, it is important to understand the potential inaccuracies of these models because they are used extensively to predict energy savings, report to regulators, identify cost-effective programs and measures, and compare programs. The savings estimates are critical because they may affect program measure selection, program funding, or even whether or not a program is continued. The session will provide examples of how and where TRMs have gone wrong, where additional analysis methods are needed, and how TRMs can most effectively be used. Presentations will include analyses of TRM challenges and inaccuracies, examination of specific impacts of partially deemed savings calculations in measure selection, and opportunities for standardized simulations to expand the range of measures offered, calculate accurate demand impacts, and optimize both project and program design. Participants will also hear about how to influence and improve local TRMs.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why TRM applications should be checked carefully to ensure that assumptions hold, formulas were correctly applied, and results are reasonable
• See why a realization rate analysis with weather-normalized billing analysis and/or on-site inspections and metering should be conducted to compare the TRM analysis with more robust evaluation methods
• Learn about the opportunity to expand TRMs using emerging open source IT services including new prototype building modeling, data standardization, electronic processes for measure review and transparency, reduction of errors