NEEA and the utilities in their region had data from the most recent Residential Building Stock Assessment (RBSA), but they wanted more information than simply what was in peoples’ homes. They wanted to know how much power their equipment was using and when.
Michaels Energy partnered with Evergreen Economics to develop and execute a whole-home metering study that coincided with the Residential Building Stock Assessment in NEEA’s four-state region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana). Michaels was chosen due to our extensive metering knowledge. We worked with Evergreen to design a metering tool package, including eGauges, current transducers, and remote temperature sensors along with a method to get the data to our servers or the cloud live. Michaels and the EULR team then worked with local electricians to install and test the metering equipment in 400+ homes in the region.
The data has been collected and stored live, allowing NEEA and the utilities in their region to parse data for certain equipment types or even makes and models to inform them of future programs to run. The data collection effort has been a success, minus one hiccup: the 2020 pandemic. We all had to work and wait for a while to decide what was good data. People are home more and using equipment more; is that the new normal? Because of this, . Gathering even more data: pre, during, and now post-pandemic.
All study participants received gift card incentives for the time an engineer and electrician invaded their home for equipment installation and testing and for participating in the study. The data gathered can be requested through NEEA website here: https://neea.org/resources/home-energy-metering-study-public-data-user-guide.
We got to flex our designs for metering using eGauges and programming external devices to be gathered on the eGauge platform. This knowledge has been leveraged by several other studies including two heat pump studies with the Department of Energy, one for the state of Connecticut’s Energy Efficiency Board and several sub-metering projects including large residences and a college campus in Iowa.
For more information on https://neea.org/resources/the-northwest-end-use-load-research-eulr-project
eGauge software screenshot after installation and programming, one week shown of generation (from solar) and whole-home usage (consumption)
eGauge enclosure mounted above an electrical panel.
