by Shane Henson — May 22, 2013—The U.S. Department of Energy Department (DOE) has announced that it recently published a new series of protocols for determining savings from energy efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings, industrial facilities and residences to assist businesses and families in reducing their energy bills.
These protocols were developed as part of the Uniform Methods Project and funded by the 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, the DOE says.
Currently, there are differences in the way public utility commissions, utilities, contractors, and energy efficiency program administrators calculate energy savings in different jurisdictions and regions of the country. These differences reduce the overall credibility of energy efficiency programs. The DOE says that adopting the new protocols, titled Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures, will help increase confidence about reported energy savings from energy efficiency programs.
According to the DOE, the new protocols follow accepted practices in the energy efficiency evaluation industry and have been vetted by numerous experts.
