Challenges in Review and Post Installation Inspections of a Demand Response Program

Demand Response programs accomplish their impacts through permanent demand reduction, load curtailment/shifting and distributed generation. For programs like the NYSERDA Peak Load Reduction Program, a project review and installation inspection must be conducted by pre-approved NYSERDA quality assurance consultants. Technical inspections assess consistency with design intent and compare as built to TA predicted load reduction, serving as a key aspect of the program. It is the mechanism of project scrutiny through inspection and associated trust in stated operational and control strategies that facilitates distribution of typically large incentives from NYSERDA to the applicants. While many projects are installed and perform in accordance with vendor and applicant statements and TA predictions, there are certainly others that demonstrate significant deviations from expectations.

This presentation describes the review and inspection process, and presents key anecdotal case studies of installations representing good, bad and truly unique practices, offering real-world insights into the range of demand response projects. Case studies will provide a window into consultant scrutiny of projects, a process that seeks to verify true potential for demand impacts while concurrently addressing all parties’ interests through the project approval process.

Case studies will assess different demand reduction efforts targeted by NYSERDA’s program, demonstrating applications such as high performance lighting with advanced controls, EMS-based load shedding, unique “steam-to-steam” chiller retrofits, natural-gas fired micro turbines, and a wide array of other technologies. These anecdotal studies cover installations ranging from exemplary demand response projects to embarrassing situations with little hope of achieving projected demand reductions.

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