Abraxas Energy Consulting

At first glance, Measurement & Verification (M&V) might seem simple—but when savings don’t match projections, the real challenges begin. What happens when the numbers don’t add up? Join us today for a dynamic discussion with Abraxas Energy Consulting and Erin Daley, M&V Leader at Trane, as they dive into the complexities of M&V, from miscalculations to unexpected operational changes, and explore how to resolve performance contract challenges effectively. ?? Register here: https://lnkd.in/ecFcMYjE Abraxas is a member of The Hillmann Family of Companies. #MeasurementAndVerification #RetroCommissioning #EnergySavings

Utility M&V: Challenges with Using Option C ESCOs have been using Option C M&V methods for decades, and ESCO people know the challenges associated with Option C.?The largest challenge I can think of is that buildings change their energy usage patterns over time.?Occupants add new equipment to the building, or maybe they change the HVAC controls settings to waste energy.?There are a lot of things occupants can do that make tracking energy savings difficult using utility bills.?For the ESCO model, this adds a lot of risk and uncertainty because usually these occupant-originated changes lead to increases in energy usage, which means the reported savings you see in the bills goes down. For this reason, many ESCOs have drifted away from using Option C M&V.?It can be risky. For several years now, the utilities in California and other states have been using Option C M&V methods to quantify their savings.?In the utility world, it is called NMEC (normalized metered energy consumption). David Jump is a high-powered thinker and observer of what has been transpiring in utility world M&V.?David is going to tell us how the NMEC experiment is working in California. It is not just an experiment, it was mandated by the government. Utilities see M&V totally differently than ESCOs.?So, I think this would be a great presentation for ESCO M&V people.?You will get a different outlook on how our tools can be used, and what different types of information utility types are gleaning from Option C M&V.?Of course there have been bumps in the road, as the utilities feel their way forward.?This is going to be a very interesting talk for M&V geeks. Come hear David Jump speak at our webinar next Wednesday, September 11 at 10 AM Pacific. https://lnkd.in/gsnWtXpS

What Energy Engineers Should Understand about Ductwork and Mold Growth Just recently, I visited a relatively new government building that had been infected with mold.?It was so bad that they no longer required their workers to work onsite anymore.?My impression was that this was not going to be fixed.?So what caused it??We were told that the DOAS wasn’t running.?In other words, they were not introducing dehumidified ventilation air into the building.?But the exhaust fans were still running, creating negative pressure in the building, which in turn led to infiltration through the doors, windows and cracks in the building envelope.?Basically, they were getting humid ventilation air instead of dehumidified air, and, well, it was a disaster.?I don’t know why the DOAS was not running.?Maybe it was to save energy. I have always wondered about mold, and if or how our energy efficiency recommendations can affect mold in buildings.?We want to run the fans less, run the chillers less, but this all must be tempered by ensuring that the humidity remains low enough to avoid mold growth. Conor Tarleton, from Hillmann Consulting, is going to school us next week on mold.?He is going to explain why it is a problem, types of mold, what conditions lead to mold growth, how to easily identify mold in a building, and whether our energy efficiency recommendations can affect mold growth or not. Come join us next Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 10 AM Pacific for some schooling.

Anything wrong with this picture? It is a picture of a cooling tower.

Steve Kromer Speaks on the Massive Changes in the M&V Industry I have known Steve Kromer for almost 30 years now.?He was teaching M&V then, and he is teaching M&V now.?But rather than getting old, crusty and set in his ways, he is always looking, always thinking, and always coming up with new and interesting concepts for the M&V professional. And it is no secret that the energy efficiency and M&V world is indeed changing. Steve recently wrote, “I’ve seen the primary needs for M&V evolve from predominately ESPC contracts to a mix of ESPC and Utility programs to our current state - a mix of ESPC, many different utility programs, government tax incentives, Inflation Reduction Act and ESG.”?His CMVP classes are now full of people who are trying to understand how M&V works in these other contexts. To shine in the M&V profession, you need to be able to communicate with many different audiences. The primary role for an M&V professional has changed from being a technical agent to a skilled communicator, team builder and project manager. The future is bright for those who understand the strengths and limitations of M&V. And we need many more who can communicate at all levels. Steve discusses this and other concepts in his book coming out next month -- “The Role of the M&V Professional - Judgement and Decision Making in the Application of M&V". Come join Steve Kromer and myself on Wednesday, April 17th, at 10 am Pacific.?Click the link below to sign up. https://lnkd.in/gnpeZD8D If you are in the M&V business, I promise you, you will be glad that you attended this webinar.?Times are indeed changing, and to succeed you need to ride the wave.?Don’t just let it pass you by. ?