Studies find that, for retrofits, M&V costs average no more than 5% of the total project cost. Operational costs appear to be, on average, less than 10% of the savings associated with a retrofit.
The cost implications for ECM isolation depend upon the number of meters installed and how complicated the metered mechanical and electrical systems are.
If possible, include the facility operations staff in your discussion of financial benefits and operational requirements. Ideally, obtain their buy-in from the beginning of the project, as they will be key to realizing energy savings through M&V.
The highest return on investment for an M&V program occurs when the system operates over the life of the building. While the credit does not require a specific duration of the M&V effort, at least one year post occupancy is recommended.
An M&V program generally includes both sensors—which measure the energy volume and rate of flow, watts of energy draw, temperature, length of time, and other variables—and a central processor, which stores the collected information and helps building managers interpret it. A BMS typically includes the central processor needed for M&V, but not all of the sensors or additional programming to tally energy use and track patterns. However, adding these pieces to a BMS should pose little difficulty.
Permanent submetering or a building management system (BMS) is not necessary—you can chose to have a combination of utility analysis, spot metering, and permanent metering instead. However, these methods do not provide as detailed information as a BMS, and may not help you determine the source of unanticipated energy consumption.
Introduce the M&V program early in the design process because it can affect the design of mechanical and electrical systems, the cost of the program, as well as the building management system. Designers should think ahead about how systems will be monitored. There is also inherent value in having your design team think early on about how the project building will operate.
You can gain useful information on energy consumption, and insight into energy reduction measures that need to be considered, by isolating and metering different energy conservation measures, such as those for HVAC system and lighting load. This is not required for the credit, however.
