What if innovation could help you deliver a better efficiency program?

The cost of success

Energy efficiency programs throughout the U.S. have successfully harvested the low-hanging fruit, modernizing inefficient heating, cooling, and lighting systems. The results have been tremendous, as traditional efficiency programs have yielded very high rates of energy savings. But this success comes with a cost.

As the benefits of energy efficiency programs become well-known, real and impactful innovation becomes harder to achieve and new technologies/solutions merit further exploration. Less expensive efficient products and gradually increasing federal lighting and efficiency standards have converged with more progressive building codes and ever-increasing energy savings goals. These factors challenge the way that we define success with conventional efficiency tactics, and despite all the work that still needs to be done, the status quo of traditional energy efficiency programs may soon be insufficient to address future needs.

In the face of these headwinds, APTIM, the administrator of Wisconsin’s energy efficiency program — Focus on Energy —partnered with VEIC to infuse innovation into the state’s energy efficiency portfolio, ensuring it anticipates the needs of tomorrow.

Known for piloting new approaches — and developing data-driven strategies and analytics needed to support and validate them — VEIC is a proven leader in energy efficiency innovation. That’s why we were selected to team up on an already-successful program in Wisconsin, alongside a partner that was not satisfied with the status quo.

The future of efficiency

Riding a wave of success, APTIM has delivered more than $1 billion in economic benefits to Wisconsin since 2011. Independent evaluation estimates that every dollar invested in Focus on Energy has generated $4.32-worth of benefits to the state. At the time when APTIM partnered with VEIC, Focus on Energy had been (and still is) a home run by all accounts, with participant satisfaction rating 9/10, the highest in its history. The program serves the vast majority of utility customers in the state (107 utilities), offering solutions for every type of customer while simultaneously addressing utility needs.

VEIC was called in not to save a troubled efficiency program, but to forge ahead, beyond the known pathways of energy savings. Acting as Market Trends & Analytics lead for Focus on Energy, VEIC provides analytics, portfolio assessment, and pilot program support. In this role, we inform new strategies and investments that help the program evolve to meet the demands of changing market conditions.

In its letter selecting the APTIM and VEIC team, Wisconsin’s Statewide Energy Efficiency and Renewables Administration (SEERA) cited the “added depth and breadth with the addition of VEIC’s expertise on behavioral and emerging technology.” SEERA also highlighted the team’s, “comprehensive vision for Focus in the next quadrennium, including greater attention to the changing utility landscape and a better customer experience.”

Proactive change cements past success

Conventional efficiency tactics have proven to be very effective, saving both energy and money while reducing the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels. And there are still many homes and businesses that could greatly benefit from some basic efficiency work. What were once cutting-edge improvements in insulation, lighting, grid management and electrification may no longer be cutting edge, but they are still needed, as full-scale implementation is still a work in progress.

If efficiency programs expect to continue the work that they have started, they will need to anticipate the changing needs of customers, utilities, policy makers, and a range of other stakeholders. VEIC offers the services that efficiency programs need to stay ahead of the curve — from external market scans to identifying key trends and best practices, we are a leader in forward-focused research, development, prototyping, and pilot testing.

As VEIC’s partnership with APTIM continues, so does Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program, which just successfully met 2019 kWh, therms and MMBtu savings goals, while establishing new pathways for innovation into the next decade and beyond.