advanced M&V

Welcome to the latest REED Rendering issue, a series of blogs where we bring your attention to interesting trends that we see in the data and the stories behind those trends.

Measurement & Verification (M&V) is a crucial tool in assessing and understanding the effectiveness of energy efficiency programs in order to achieve clean energy goals. Advanced M&V (also called M&V 2.0) is an emerging area that I had the privilege to learn about in two recent NEEP events at the outset of my time as an intern: a webinar on protocols for advanced M&V and NEEP’s New York State Partners Advanced M&V workshop.

It was a bright sunny day in Providence, Rhode Island and a cool breeze was blowing through the large sliding glass doors as people from various government departments, utilities, energy service companies, consulting firms, and energy efficiency advocate groups poured in for NEEP’s annual public meeting – Stellar EM&V. The meeting, which focused on evaluation, measurement, and verification, was my first as an intern at NEEP.

Bob Dylan nails what we are experiencing in the energy industry today with the title of his classic ballad, The Times They Are A’Changin’. In that song, he notes “The slow one now will later be fast, as the present now will later be past.” He may as well be singing to evaluators of energy efficiency programs, since evaluators have a lot of experience looking back at the past to explain the present – and also using that information to inform future plans, by the way.

In New England, it’s starting to look and feel like fall. And the change of season brings with it a change in appetite. As we look around, we see apple and pumpkin spice flavored foodstuffs with more regularity. It’s time for serving up soups, comfort food, and crock-pot based meals.