Going the distance: Sustained energy burden reduction through energy efficiency This paper presents an energy burden framework and its application by Avista Utilities. Energy burden is an indicator of energy affordability and insecurity. SBW is proud to have contributed to the paper and be helping reduce energy burdens for Avista customers. We have delivered the…
Measuring Savings from Whole-Building Retrofits Many utilities and other organizations are trying to find the most reliable and least expensive way to measure energy savings from wholebuilding retrofits. These retrofits encompass investments in many building systems, equipment, and operating practices. Pacific Gas and Electric ran a pilot program to explore how these measurements might be…
Setting Standards to Limit Energy Used by Commercial Buildings The state of Washington took an important step to encourage greater energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases by passing House Bill HB 1257 in 2019. In accordance with this law, the state Department of Commerce established a State Energy Performance Standard for buildings with floor area…
How Well are Heat Pumps Really Installed Heat pumps are an important technology for reducing the energy usedto heat homes. Bonneville Power Administration and many of the retail electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest have worked for many years to improve the practices of firms that install heat pumps, so that they can achieve their…
Accessible, Transparent and Reliable Energy Savings Data For more than 30 years, electric and gas utilities have provided incentives to buy, install,or adopt energy efficiency products and services. To simplify administering these incentive programs, regulators in many states have created listings (referred to as technical reference manuals) of approved products and services, the incentive to…
Evaluating Savings from Industrial Energy Efficiency For nearly twenty years, Energy Trust of Oregon has helped industrial customers in Oregon make investments in energy efficiency improvements. During a two year-period (2013-14) more than 2,000 projects were completed that saved more than 370 million kWh of electricity and more than 2 million therms of gas. Energy…
Measuring Deep-Retrofit Savings in Commercial Building “SBW was an invaluable partner to Seattle City Light during the development of our Pay for Performance program. SBW’s expertise in measurement and verification methodology and program evaluation was instrumental in designing the industry leading program.” – Colm Otten, Seattle City Light Seattle City Light recently launched an innovative…
Guidelines for Reliably Measuring Energy Savings “SBW’s work on the Guidelines has been extremely valuable. Their expertise has helped to establish Guidelines that focus on critical aspects of reliability. Equally important is the team’s thoroughness, which helps us think through all dimensions of a problem to ensure consistency in our decision making.” – Jennifer Light,…
Helping Hard-to-Reach Customers Save Energy “I would absolutely recommend other businesses participate in this program, because ultimately everything adds up, and this is a simple way to eliminate costs quickly,” – Small business program participant Small businesses and multifamily complexes have traditionally been a tough nut for efficiency programs to crack. Since 2015, SBW has…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BPA, in partnership with its public power utility partners, acquires savings from many types of energy efficiency programs and offerings, some of which require site-specific savings estimates. This report documents the first comprehensive impact evaluation of the Site-Specific Savings portfolio. Background The Site-Specific Savings portfolio typically accounts for almost half of BPA’s total…
