Option B: Energy Conservation Measure (ECM) Isolation

The highest return on investment is provided by an M&V program that is implemented throughout the life of the building.  

The cost of M&V can vary significantly from one project to another. You’ll need to get project-specific bids based on your individual design needs. Accuracy and cost of M&V plans are influenced by the following: 

Some utility companies provide incentives or rebates for submetering and BMS programs. For example, cities have provided $2,000 per meter for advanced master-meter installation in affordable housing and $1,500 per meter in market-rate housing. Check with your local utility to find out about available rebates.

Some utility districts prohibit tenant submetering and charging by a third-party provider, so be sure to double check this if you plan to separately submeter tenant spaces. If your local utility does not allow third-party submetering, see if it will install separate meters for the tenants.

Only electricity is required to be submetered in Core-and-Shell projects. Electricity for lighting, plug loads, and HVAC can be metered together, but this may not always be possible due to system constraints, unknown lighting or plug loads, or your project scope. Consider monitoring gas as well; this will give you a better idea of your building’s total energy use.

The M&V program must monitor the energy use of all systems installed during Core-and-Shell work and provide the infrastructure for tenant metering, though it does not need to individually measure tenant spaces.

Discuss which energy-using systems your M&V plan may cover and how those systems or components can be measured. 

Energy savings are determined by comparing actual metered, or measured, energy use to the projected energy use of a baseline building under similar operating conditions.

Energy Savings = Projected Baseline Energy Use – Post-Construction Energy Use (actual metered energy use).
Post-Construction Energy Use is determined by utility metering or submetering, or by using an energy simulation model of the projected building.

Design systems to collect data to support calculations (Option B) or calibration of simulations (Option D) from a combination of meters and sensors. These can be included in a building automation system or through temporary installation of additional sensors and data loggers as needed.