Let me tell a story without naming names. I believe it to be very typical for the Ontario market.

Some business was convinced they had the most energy efficient operations in the world. Why wouldn’t they be if they had installed energy-efficient equipment provided by the reputable vendor? However, an old owner had a gut feeling that their energy bills were still too high.

So they hired an independent M&V expert to review their projects. The owners was shocked to find out that the energy savings they thought they were getting were based on calculations provided by the vendor that installed the equipment. The vendor had a vested interest in the project appearing successful and the savings were exaggerated. M&V is not a perfect science, but independent review was more in line with reality then the picture drawn by the vendor.

The business realized the importance of independent validation of energy efficiency projects. What’s more, they were able to identify areas where they could improve and make even more savings. With this information, they were able to make better decisions about their energy management program and reduce their energy costs for real.

In the end, the business was able to reduce its energy costs and make a significant impact on the bottom line. All of this was made possible by the independent validation of their energy efficiency projects. And, from that day on, the business made sure to always rely on independent validation and not just on the calculations provided by vendors.

“Independent validation is like having a personal fact checker, ensuring that your energy savings are real and not just made up numbers.”

The end.