The most recognised standard for M&V is the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). Several organizations have published M&V guidelines based on IPMVP, including the USGBC’s LEED rating system.

Volume I defines terminology and establishes procedures for determining the savings resulting from retrofits in existing buildings. Volume II focuses on maintaining or improving indoor environmental quality following the implementation of energy-conservation measures. Volume III provides guidance on applying M&V to new construction, introducing ways to establish baseline performance in the absence of a pre-existing system or building. There are four compliance paths, Options A and B focus on subsystems, while C and D address whole buildings.

Advising how the building performance is to be monitored informs the design of the building’s energy systems, and requirements of building automation system to be installed.

The owner should formulate what information is required, how it is collected, when it is collected, and how it is to be used. The M&V plan should specify which systems are to be monitored and how data is collected – direct metering, by the BAS, or site measurements.

The plan for a new building typically requires running an energy model with as-built data, and inputs adjusted to match prevailing set points and occupancy patterns during the as-operated monitoring period. It also requires adjusting the inputs to baseline building model to allow for a more accurate estimation of the building’s energy use. The plan requires adjustments to building operations to minimize energy use by those responsible for managing the process and how long it should continue, typically one year post-occupancy.

A basic M&V system includes sub-meters for individual systems, such as lighting, heating and major air-conditioning plant. The system may also includes sensors which measure volume and rate of flow, temperature, kilowatts of energy, run-time, and other variables, fed to a central processor for processing, logging and to assist with interpretation. BAS systems are typically used for M&V but require the sensors and additional programming to compute energy usage and display usage patterns.

Concerns about climate change, the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and rising energy costs should all boost interest in reducing energy use, and interest in M&V. Even though it means additional investment in both money and time it also brings with it considerable benefits.

The cost of an M&V system varies considerably depending on the accuracy and specific features included. The installed cost of M&V for retrofits should be no more than 5% of the total project cost and ongoing costs should be less than 10% of the savings associated with the retrofit. For new construction M&V cost for the installed equipment and year or two of operations, should be less than 1% of the total project cost for larger buildings. With a BAS including many M&V requirements the cost can be significantly lower.

The main cost of M&V is in facility staff time to read, interpret, and act on the information provided, which generally requires training. Payback depends on the initial cost of a system, if it finds inefficiencies that otherwise would have gone unnoticed, and the owner’s commitment to act on the information the system provides.

LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC), version 2.2 gives credit for implementing a plan consistent with IPMVP Volume III. Simple M&E systems may choose to follow IPMVP Option B, which calls for measuring each of the building’s energy conservation measures (ECMs). Option D calls for whole-building monitoring.

LEED-CI has two credits for M&V. The first is for providing infrastructure in the base building design to facilitate metering whole-building electricity use and tenant electrical end uses, as appropriate and consistent with IPMVP Volume III, Option D, and the second is for including a centrally monitored electronic metering network in the base building design that is capable of being expanded to accommodate future tenant sub-metering.