Our client in this case is a national retail chain which is continually and progressively improving its estate through the application of generic energy-saving fixes. Savings need to be measured and verified, but individual project values and expected savings are generally too low to merit  the cost of rigorous adherence to the International Performance Verification Protocol.

We are conducting a proof-of-concept study in which the past weekly energy consumptions of 100 assorted stores are analysed against heating degree days, cooling degree days, hours of darkness and possibly footfall. The purpose is to create dynamic baseline models against which post-intervention consumptions can be objectively gauged. By using our ‘overspend league table’ concept, the client will be able to see, on a weekly basis from the time that measures are installed, a prioritised list of cases where planned savings are not materialising.  As part of the project we are setting up an automatic feeds for degree-day data and prototyping a vendor-neutral storage system for weekly and half-hourly consumption data. This will allow an eventual transition to a yet-to-be identified software vendor using our limited demonstration as a template.