Our Analysis Techniques & The IPMVP
At powerPerfector, we have thought carefully about how we can offer an analysis service to our Irish clients that tells the real story about what savings have been delivered by their powerPerfector installation. As a result, we are one of the first companies in Europe to adopt the IPMVP standard for evaluating energy efficiency projects. Our savings analysis is now guided by this standard in all cases, and for complex sites we are able to offer a fully IPMVP adherent evaluation. The key features of our approach to analysis are as follows:
- Analysis is always based on your half-hourly data
powerPerfector is a unique technology, because it acts to improve the efficiency of your entire site. Other energy efficiency technologies act on a particular piece of equipment, so you have to look very closely to see the difference they make to your site’s overall energy use. By contrast, the savings from a powerPerfector can be seen from your main meter – an objective source of data held by your utility provider that forms the basis of your bill. Our analysis is always based on this data.
- Commit to a methodology in advance
Before we install a powerPerfector unit, we will produce a pre-installation report wherever possible, showing how we will determine the savings that the unit delivers. This gives you the absolute confidence that your savings have been measured objectively.
- Model the energy use where possible
Energy use on a site is affected by many factors. Some of them are random and driven by human behaviour, but in many cases we can take into account additional data to build a model of the energy use at a site. For example, the energy use in a factory might be driven by the number of widgets produced, the shift pattern, and the outdoor air temperature. In our pre-installation report, we will build an accurate model of the site’s energy use, in line with IPMVP guidelines. Once your powerPerfector is installed, we compare the actual energy use to this model: the difference between the two is our energy saving.
- Only claim powerPerfector savings
At this time, everyone is aware of the need to cut energy use, and most organisations are making incremental savings by upgrading to efficient plant and improving staff awareness. Some of these changes may be taking place at the same time as the powerPerfector installation is being evaluated, so it is important that we isolate the savings made by the powerPerfector, and do not claim credit for other changes. With the cooperation of the client, we are able to factor this in to our analysis, to ensure we report only on what voltage power optimisation has delivered.
- Explain the methodology
This has always been a hallmark of the analysis reports and case studies produced by powerPerfector. We explain step-by-step how we go about measuring your energy savings, and are on hand to explain how we have arrived at our conclusion.
- Measurement Standards
IPMVP is an international standard. As yet, there is no equivalent Irish standard, which means that standards of performance measurement in the energy efficiency sector are often poor and based on little more than an arbitrary comparison of two periods of energy use, before and after installation. We are committed to driving better accountability for savings measurement and validation in Ireland, and would urge our clients to think carefully about how their other energy saving projects are going to be evaluated before they go ahead. If necessary, challenge your supplier to give you a thorough, objective analysis, and to prove that their conclusions are statistically significant: don’t settle for a single chart, a single figure or a magic meter to tell you what you have saved.
For more information, please contact info@powerperfector.ie.
For more information about IPMVP, please visit www.evo-world.org
