In an October 2018 blog post, EncentivEnergy CTO Mike Cham challenged the utility industry to come up with a method of more accurately determining energy savings and rebate value for field-adjustable LED lighting products.
Earlier in 2018, the DesignLights Consortium released its V4.4 Technical Requirements, which allowed LED products with field-adjustable output to be listed on the SSL Qualified Products List. As demand for this type of solution is substantial, recognizing it on the QPL, which many utilities use to qualify products for rebates, is a welcome development.
The problem, Cham said, is:
When evaluating a FAO product, the default behavior of the utility rebate program is to assume the highest possible wattage and lumens to calculate energy savings and incentives. This is the most conservative approach. Since the device settings could be adjusted after installation or inspection, it is understandable why utilities would lean toward this approach. However, utilities are not typically looking to be conservative when determining their energy savings, they’re trying to be accurate.
Assuming the maximum wattage, he added, can lead to utilities underestimating energy savings, which can distort the rebate value.
He concludes:
Hopefully alternative approaches will be employed in incentivizing these new devices. Alternatives could include allowing for self reported wattages/lumen levels and adjusting for an average error/fraud rate, or an average case wattage adjust by historical use case data.
Check it out here.
