RCx Services & Incentives - What to expect Page

What to Expect

A building participating in the Retrocommissioning Services & Incentives Program will typically take 9-12 months to complete. The Program operates in six distinct phases: Project Start, Screening, Agreement Development, Investigation, Implementation, and Follow-Up. Each phase has key deliverables and milestones identified by the Program to ensure successful execution of the retrocommissioning (RCx). Our Program Representatives will support you throughout the process, from project start to project completion. Each building will have a RCx Provider, selected by the owner from the Program’s pre-qualified pool of providers, to lead the investigation of the building and provide documentation and training once the project is complete.

IMPORTANT OWNER PROGRAM DOCUMENTS

Throughout the RCx process there are key documents and deliverables that are important for the building owner to understand since each form requires an owner signature. These documents include:

Retrocommissioning Services & Incentives Program Application – no commitment is required at this point, this allows the Program to determine if the building is a good candidate and if so, schedule a site visit.

Authorization to Receive Customer Information or Act On a Customer's Behalf Form (Utility Authorization Form) – release of utility data (both electric and gas) for the prior 12-24 months and at project completion. The utility data is used by the Program to establish an ENERGY STAR® benchmark account and calculate and EUI (Energy Use Index).

Owner Program Agreement - confirms agreement to the Program’s requirements, terms, conditions, and process. The key commitment established by the OPA is that the owner must install all measures that payback in one year or less up to the project cap (typically determined by 8% of customer's annual electric bill).

Implementation Incentive Offer - is signed between the owner and PECI to determine the amount the owner will receive in incentives for eligible measures.

Details of RCx Program Process

Below, each phase is described in detail, including the deliverable(s) expected in each phase from the RCx Provider. Also, you can refer to the Program Flowchart to review the Program process and see the expected duration for each phase.

Project Start (top)
The first step to participate in the Program is to fill out a Retrocommissioning Services & Incentives Program Application (Application) and Authorization to Receive Customer Information or Act On a Customer's Behalf Form (Utility Authorization Form). The Application gathers general information to help establish candidacy and presents the requirements for eligibility. The Utility Authorization Form allows release of the customer’s utility bill data to PECI for the previous 12-24 months, as well as for the duration of the Program should the customer qualify and continue with the entire Program.

Upon submission of the Application and Utility Authorization Form, a review is conducted and, if approved, a site visit will be arranged during which a Program Representative will meet with building staff and conduct a facility walk-through.

Candidate Screening (top)
The overall purpose of candidate screening is to confirm eligibility for the Program and assess potential for cost-effective retrocommissioning opportunities. Screening includes recording information about the building and its equipment and identifying any issues that may preclude participation.

The screening generally takes two weeks to complete from receipt of the Application, depending on the size and complexity of the building. A Screening Summary and Scorecard will be produced to establish the building’s eligibility for the Program. Additionally, the building will be benchmarked through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to rate the building’s performance at project start.

Agreement Development (top)
Once accepted, the owner selects a RCx Provider from a pre-qualified list of providers to conduct the investigation. Prior to the RCx investigation, the owner is required to sign an Owner Program Agreement (“OPA”), confirming their understanding of and agreement to the Program’s requirements, terms, conditions, and process, and their willingness to implement, at a minimum, the selected RCx measures that pay back in one year or less.

Upon receiving a signed OPA, a contract is signed between PECI and the RCx Provider to complete the investigation work.

RCx Investigation (top)
During the investigation, the RCx Provider conducts a rigorous analysis of the building operations. Through observation, targeted functional testing, and trend data analysis, the RCx Provider identifies issues in the operation of the mechanical equipment, lighting, and related controls. The RCx Provider then determines opportunities for corrective action and other operational and maintenance improvements that reduce energy consumption and demand.

The results of the RCx investigation are summarized in the Master List of Findings, a report that provides a complete set of measures identified during the RCx investigation and includes findings and measure descriptions, energy savings calculations, estimated costs, and simple payback calculations. Any proposed RCx Provider assistance for implementation is included in the pay back calculation in the Master List of Findings, as they are considered part of the implementation costs for the building owner.

The RCx Provider presents the Master List of Findings in a meeting with the owner, and the Provider and Program Representative will assist the owner in selecting measures that have the greatest energy savings opportunities and best meet their needs and budget circumstances. An Implementation Incentive Offer is signed between the owner and PECI to determine the amount the owner will receive in incentives for measures that pay back in greater than one year.

The final package of improvements is presented to the owner in the RCx Investigation Report. The RCx Investigation Report is a brief narrative on the selected measures for implementation, the energy savings and payback calculations, and recommendations for implementation that are explicit enough for contractors or in-house staff to understand the scope of work. To help facilitate implementation of the selected measures, the RCx Provider assists the owner with determining more accurate costs than were indicated in the Master List of Findings.

Implementation (top)
The Program allows flexibility in how the owner wishes to implement the selected measures. For instance, the owner may utilize in-house building staff, hire the RCx Provider to implement or provide technical assistance, contract with outside service contractors, or any combination of the above.

The RCx Investigation Report will provide sufficient detail for the owner to accurately specify the implementation tasks to staff or contractors. In addition, the Program pays to retain the RCx Provider to be available to answer owner or contractor questions regarding measures being implemented and to verify measures, update savings calculations, and produce the final documentation.

Once implementation is complete, the Program Representative conducts a final site visit and transfers the project’s ENERGY STAR account created as a part of the candidate screening with the pre-implementation score. The owner is instructed on how to use benchmarking as an ongoing energy management tool and as an indicator that building systems may need to be further maintained, improved or adjusted.

Follow-Up (top)
After implementation, it is essential for the building owner and operators to have the resources they need to ensure that the retrocommissioning savings persist over time.

The base persistence plan for each building shall contain the following minimum elements:
  • Documentation: The RCx Provider is responsible for developing an RCx Final
    Report describing the implemented measures,including: new or improved
    sequences of operation; the energy savings impact of the measures; the
    requirements for ongoing maintenance and monitoring of the measures; and
    contact information for the RCx Provider, in-house staff or contractors
    responsible for implementation.
  • Training: Before handing over the project documentation, the RCx Provider and     contractors provide follow-up training for the owner and the appropriate building     operations personnel on the new documentation and implemented measures.     The training covers the measures that were implemented and requirements for     ongoing maintenance and monitoring.

Twelve months after the project completion or at the Program's end, a new benchmark score is generated for the building.