Measurement & Verification

How deployment results are measured, reviewed, and accepted

M&V is the agreed process for quantifying energy, demand, cost, and operational impact after deployment. The method must be chosen before reporting starts, with clear data boundaries, comparison logic, exclusions, and acceptance criteria.

Savings are not directly measured. They are calculated by comparing measured operation against an agreed baseline or counterfactual, then applying documented adjustments for conditions such as weather, occupancy, operating hours, and abnormal events.

Responsibility

Who can perform M&V

ClimaMind can run the analysis, or an independent reviewer can own the verification. The project should decide this before the reporting period begins.

ClimaMind-led M&V

ClimaMind prepares the baseline model, reporting calculations, exclusions log, and deployment evidence package.

  • Define the proposed measurement boundary and data requirements.
  • Calculate energy, demand, and cost impact under the agreed method.
  • Preserve raw data, cleaned data, model assumptions, exclusions, report versions, and approvals.

Customer / SI support

The customer and SI provide the site data and operational context needed for a defensible comparison.

  • Provide utility, meter, BAS trend, schedules, maintenance, override, and operating-mode records.
  • Confirm equipment mapping, meter coverage, BAS point meaning, and abnormal periods.
  • Review whether comfort, process constraints, and operating rules were respected.

Independent third-party M&V partner

A third party can be added when the result is used for formal settlement, incentives, financing, or customer governance.

  • Review the M&V plan, baseline, adjustment variables, exclusions, and reporting package.
  • Challenge assumptions and data gaps before the savings number is accepted.
  • Issue an independent opinion if the contract or customer policy requires it.

Scope

What is measured

The metric should match the measurement boundary and the purpose of the report.

  • Energy consumption within the selected measurement boundary.
  • Demand impact when interval meter data and tariff rules support it.
  • Cost impact when energy rates, demand charges, and billing periods are available.
  • Comfort, process constraints, and operational availability during reporting windows.
  • Control actions, manual overrides, faults, alarms, and excluded periods that affect interpretation.

Methods

Comparison methods

The right method depends on data availability, project risk, operating stability, and whether the result is for operational review or formal settlement.

Historical baseline

Fit
Fits sites with enough pre-deployment utility, meter, BAS, weather, and operating data to model normal consumption.
Data
Uses baseline-period data and reporting-period measurements, with adjustments for weather, occupancy, operating hours, load, and non-routine changes.
Limits
Weak when operations changed materially, baseline data is incomplete, or expected savings are small relative to normal variation.

Alternating day / A-B operation

Fit
Fits pilots where ClimaMind and the existing control mode can alternate under comparable operating windows.
Data
Uses paired or near-paired operating periods, with matched weather, load, schedule, equipment availability, and comfort constraints.
Limits
Requires careful scheduling and customer approval. It is not valid when alternating operation disrupts the site or creates biased operating conditions.

IPMVP-based M&V

Fit
Fits projects that need a formal M&V plan, defined measurement boundary, documented adjustment rules, and reviewable savings reports.
Data
Uses the selected IPMVP option and project-specific M&V plan to determine measurement boundary, baseline, reporting period, adjustments, and reporting format.
Limits
IPMVP is a framework, not an automatic label. Each project must define the option, evidence, and reviewer expectations before deployment reporting.

Boundary

Measurement boundary

The boundary defines which meters, equipment, systems, and conditions belong to the savings calculation.

  • Possible boundaries include whole-building utility meters, plant-level meters, equipment-level meters, BAS point-derived estimates, or temporary meters.
  • The boundary should match the control scope. A central plant control deployment should not be judged by unrelated loads unless the method explicitly chooses a whole-facility boundary.
  • Interactive effects and unavailable meters should be identified before the reporting period.

Baseline

Baseline, adjustments, and exclusions

The baseline describes what would likely have happened without ClimaMind under comparable conditions.

  • Routine adjustments can include weather, occupancy, operating hours, production or load, equipment availability, and tariff or billing-period alignment.
  • Non-routine adjustments should be documented when construction, faults, shutdowns, schedule changes, or control-policy changes alter normal operation.
  • Excluded periods need a timestamp, reason, owner, and approval path; they should not be hidden inside the final number.

Acceptance

Acceptance and reporting

The project should define what result is being accepted before reports are used commercially or operationally.

  • Acceptance criteria can include data completeness, reporting interval, allowed uncertainty, excluded-period treatment, and comfort or process constraints.
  • Operational evidence, commercial settlement, incentive reporting, and independent verification may require different levels of rigor.
  • A report should separate energy savings, demand impact, cost impact, fees, assumptions, and unresolved disputes.

Evidence

Audit trail

M&V should leave enough evidence for a customer, SI, ClimaMind, or third-party reviewer to reproduce the conclusion.

  • Keep raw data, cleaned data, transformation logic, excluded interval log, model version, report version, and approval record.
  • Tie control windows to BAS points, equipment modes, manual overrides, alarms, faults, and maintenance events.
  • Use the audit package to make disagreements specific: data quality, adjustment choice, excluded interval, or acceptance criterion.

IPMVP guide

Use the IPMVP child page when a project needs a formal option selection, M&V plan, and settlement-grade reporting package.

Open IPMVP guide

Reference basis

External standards and public references

EVO IPMVPFEMP M&V Options
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