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How do I know if energy savings are real?

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It’s great to have energy saving goals, to identify energy efficiency opportunities, develop business cases based on those opportunities, and to implement actions which are predicted to save energy.

But how do you know if those actions are working, and that energy is being saved?

It’s not just a matter of comparing the quantity of energy used before and after the change, because lots of factors can affect energy consumption, so the energy savings (or absence of savings) can be concealed by other factors.

The Solution

Fortunately, there is a way.  The energy efficiency industry has developed rigorous protocols to measure energy consumption and the variables which affect energy use, and to calculate / verify energy savings. 

Recently, two Genesis Now employees were recognised as Measurement & Verification Specialists when they received their Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP®) designations from the US based Efficiency Valuation Organisation (EVO) and The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).  These organisations are facilitated in Australia by our local peak body, the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC). The CMVP® certification has a “dual purpose of recognising the most qualified professionals in this growing area of the energy industry, and raising the overall professional standards within the measurement and verification field.”

Engineering Manager of Genesis Now, Geoff Andrews completed his training and passed his CMVP® exam in Sydney in 2013.

Jon Fettes, Senior Sustainable Energy Engineer, completed his training and passed his CMVP® exam in Melbourne in 2014, achieving a 90% score; and now Genesis Now has a total of two employees with this unique professional standard.

Created in 1981, the CMVP® certification is given to individuals who attend AEE’s three-day Fundamentals of Measurement & Verification training program, pass the four-hour written exam, as well as meet the education and experience requirements. The CMVP® certification holders distinguish themselves as being professionally involved in areas requiring accurate and reliable measurement and verification methodologies.

Genesis Now is a Government Accredited,  Energy Service Company (ESCo) which is assisting clients with medium and larger retrofit projects and in Energy Performance Contracting, where the requirement for robust Measurement and Verification (M&V) has become key to the success and continued roll-out of large scale energy efficiency projects.   We can provide this M&V service as an integral part of our energy efficiency projects, or as a stand-alone service to support energy efficiency projects undertaken by  your in-house team or external contractor.

Written by

Geoff is the founder and managing director of Genesis Now, and winner of the 2013 Energy Efficiency Champion award (Energy Efficiency Council).