Measuring Energy-Saving Retrofits: Experiences from the LoanSTAR Program

Abstract

In 1988 the Governor's Energy Management Center of Texas received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a $98.6 million state-wide retrofit demonstration revolving loan program to fund energy-conserving retrofits in state, public school, and local government buildings. As part of this program, a first-of-its-kind, statewide Monitoring and Analysis Program (MAP) was established to verify energy and dollar savings of the retrofits, reduce energy costs by identifying operational and maintenance improvements, improve retrofit selection in future rounds of the LoanSTAR program, and initiate a data base of energy use in institutional and commercial buildings located in Texas. This report discusses the LoanSTAR MAP with an emphasis on the process of acquiring and analyzing data to measure savings from energy conservation retrofits when budgets are a constraint.