This paper details how the U.S. Department of
Energy, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is
applying metering technology to conduct empirically
based analyses o f energy use by federal agencies.
Continuing developments in sensors, data acquisition systems, microcomputers and monitoring protocols
are reducing the costs of metering to the point
that it is becoming "too cheap not to meter" energy
and the determinants of energy use at federal
facilities . This has widespread consequence for
FEMP if one accepts the axiom that "one can't manage
what one doesn't measure."
Several recently completed and ongoing
activities being managed by Pacific Northwest
laboratory for FEMP are highlighted in this
paper. This includes the metering of energy end uses
for a research laboratory building to support
a shared energy savings contract, analysis of
utility billing records, climate, and characteristics data for entire military bases to prioritize
energy use testing requirements, and enhancements
to simplified energy analysis tools to help federal
energy decision-makers identify and evaluate cost-effective energy savings opportunities
