Cool Choice

Through Cool Choice, New York Smart Equipment Choices, and other programs, NEEP sponsors across the region continued to promote packaged HVAC equipment meeting the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) Tier 2 efficiency specifications. Sponsors also promoted optional controls for economizers and demand controlled ventilation. Sponsors are in various stages of promotions for improved in-field performance for packaged HVAC systems.

Industry Meetings

Following up on last fall’s HVAC charette, NEEP will convene a meeting in early April among program sponsors and industry representatives to develop cooperative promotions for the 2007 cooling season. The meeting aims to identify joint projects between HVAC manufacturers and program leaders. Any successful joint promotion will lead to larger or wider promotions in following seasons.

Commercial HVAC Specifications

Nationally, the community has embraced a new set of specifications for efficient commercial packaged HVAC systems. CEE approved the new Tier 1, 2 and 3 specifications in January. The new specifications build off of old Tier 2, which has become the new Tier 1. The next tiers are structured to anticipate standards for new equipment that come into effect in 2008 and 2010.

Equipment Promotions

NEEP’s new Commercial Lighting Initiative hit the ground running in 2007. The regional working group is managing an equipment promotion project for high performance fluorescent systems (HPT8) funded by the Department of Energy and regional energy efficiency program administrators. Meanwhile they are developing a regional strategy for integrated lighting design.

Outreach

ICF International, the Commercial Lighting program implementation contractor, has developed a project strategy, produced informational materials and web resources, and begun outreach to manufacturers of lamps, ballasts and fixtures. In the first quarter, the sponsor group took steps to complete the outreach with local efforts aimed at equipment distributors and local reps. One hundred percent of targeted lamp and ballast manufacturers have agreed to participate in the initiative

DesignLights Consortium (DLC) Revisions

NEEP's Commercial Lighting Working Group took initial steps to develop a regional strategy for integrated lighting design by launching a feasibility study for revision of the Design Lights Consortium (DLC). The study, conducted by New Buildings Institute (NBI) will explore use of and interest in current DLC materials and resources. It will look at leveraging opportunities with concurrent revisions to the Advanced Lighting Guidelines (ALG), maintained by NBI. The working group will hear NBI’s initial findings at its April meeting, and begin planning for integrated lighting design strategy and activities.

Federal Initiatives

Nationally, NEEP and other sponsors contributed to development of DOE’s new commercial lighting initiative (CLI). This three-part effort is directed at efficiency and productivity in commercial lighting systems. The Initiative includes:

1. Lighting Challenge: DOE hopes to affect 5.5 billion square feet of building space, reducing lighting energy by at least 30 percent, in three years.
2. Technical Resources: CLI will include development or accumulation of technical reference materials for the lighting design, construction and operations communities. This weaves in well with the Northeast’s efforts to develop integrated design strategy,
3. Outreach: CLI will develop strategies and methods to bring the initiative’s message to its audience. Again, this is the focus or the Northeast effort.

DOE has assembled its project management team, and will continue to engage stakeholders, including NEEP and its sponsors, as CLI develops.

NEEP Participates in Launch of 18seconds.org Coalition

On February 22, 2007 a coalition known as 18seconds.org was launched as a follow up from last fall’s Wal-Mart sponsored summit addressing “How CFLs Can Change the World. The launch consisted of a meeting with breakout sessions for participants to discuss how to make the change to CFLs a common practice in the United States. Among the discussion topics were specifications and quality; targets and tracking; mercury and recycling; consumer education; and government involvement. Notable participants included representatives from Google, Yahoo, Sylvania, Philips, General Electric, Feit, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart and producers of the Oscar-winning documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth. The coalition is called 18seconds in reference to the time it takes to change one light bulb. The coalition plans to expand its participation base and conduct “viral marketing” of CFLs as a gateway to consumers taking additional environmental actions. The coalition also plans to improve the quality of the information posted on its Web site over the coming months. NEEP and NEEP sponsors have been communicating with the coalition to underscore the importance of improving the quality of the information posted on the 18seconds Web site, so that it more accurately characterizes the lighting market and the CFL sales in areas with active programs.

NEEP Participates in ENERGY STAR Lighting Partner Meeting

Elizabeth Titus, research and evaluation manager for NEEP, served as moderator for a presentation and panel discussion on “Resource Acquisition versus Market Transformation” at the 2007 lighting partner meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The panel of lighting program implementers included Sean Keeney from United Illuminating, Richard Greenburg from Southern California Edison and Marci Sanders from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. 

Measurement & Verification Manual Approved by Markets Committee

NEEP continued to facilitate a working group of regulators and evaluators from around the region to supply the Independent System Operator (ISO) for New England with recommendations on the development of a manual for measuring and verifying energy savings as a part of the Forward Capacity Market. The manual was completed, publicly reviewed, approved by the ISO Markets Committee, and will be sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a vote in spring of 2007.

2007 New England Program Evaluation Priorities

In 2007, an evaluation subcommittee that includes representatives of energy efficiency programs in New England began working on plans for meeting the information needs associated with bids for the Forward Capacity Market (FCM). Measurement and Verification (M&V) plans must be prepared and filed with ISO New England by June 15, for participation in the market auction, beginning in 2010. The subcommittee will support New England sponsors through teleconferences, facilitation of jointly shared evaluation studies, and plans for future studies. Priorities for 2007 include:

• Summer and winter peak coincidence factors for residential and commercial lighting;
• Summer and winter peak coincidence factors for residential and commercial HVAC measures;
• Residential lighting persistence;
• Loadshape data available from secondary sources for non-weather-sensitive end uses. 

Research on coincidence factors began in fall of 2006. Preliminary results of analysis of lighting and HVAC loadshape data are available by request from Elizabeth Titus. Other details about NEEP's work in support of the Forward Capacity Market can be found in the policy section of this newsletter.

Lighting and HVAC Measure Life Protocols Completed

A draft study to establish the measure lives of residential and commercial lighting and HVAC units was recently completed by GDS Associates on behalf of the State Program Working Group. Based on secondary research, it is intended for use by all New England program managers interested in participating in the Forward Capacity Market. The final study is expected to be available in June 2007.

NEEP Helps Shape 2007 Evaluation Agenda

Elizabeth Titus of NEEP will lead the Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) Market Research and Evaluation Subcommittee for 2007, along with Lisa Skumatz of SERA. They will be assisted by a steering group that includes Stephen Bonanno of NSTAR, Shel Feldman from SFMS Management Consulting, Sharyn Barrata of Opinion Dynamics, and Carol Mulholland of PA Consulting. Some of the priority activities for 2007 that are under development include:

• Mentoring new members of the efficiency evaluation community;
• Recruiting “new blood” into the efficiency community
• Development of training modules; 
• Development of effective strategies for communicating evaluation results to the media and policy leaders; 
• Establishment of forums on the evaluation implications of demand response and greenhouse gas policies.

Register Now for International Energy Program Evaluation Conference (IEPEC) – August 2007, Chicago

The International Energy Program Evaluation Conference (IEPEC) is a professional conference for energy program implementers, program evaluators, federal and state agency representatives and researchers. With the goal of improving confidence in the results of energy program evaluations in order to implement programs that conserve natural resources and reduce greenhouse gasses, the conference will focus on: evaluating energy products and services; understanding customer behavior; performance management; monitoring and evaluation of markets and market transformation; evaluation designs, implementation and results; energy efficiency in a competitive world; and evaluation ethics, standards and practices. More information can be found on the IEPEC Web site.