Cost Effectiveness
As capital budgets continue to shrink and operating costs
continue to rise, it is important that the economics of the CATALYST
opportunity make sense and are attractive to all involved. In a
typical application, the CATALYST will reduce HVAC energy
consumption by 30-40%. When the CATALYST includes the eIQ Platform,
the operational savings achieved during the initial installation can
be maintained for the life of the equipment. This avoided electrical
expense is sometimes as much as 10% of the annual utility cost. The
CATALYST will also reduce the demand at each site, which can lower
the overall utility expense by another 2-3%.
A system equipped with the CATALYST technology can demonstrate
its proper operation in a manner of minutes. This makes verification
of the measure simple. As long as the technology remains in place,
and in working order, the energy savings will be reliable and
consistent. When coupled with the eIQ
Platform, we are able to guarantee the savings for the life of the
product.
The installation of the CATALYST technology provides an
opportunity to identify and address operational and service related
deficiencies. Under no circumstances will the technology be applied
in systems that are not properly repaired or controlled.
Cost Discussion
We have several strategies for the implementation and funding of
a CATALYST upgrade. On a capital purchase program our target is to
meet a total installed cost to the client that produces a 2-3 year
payback, after utility rebates. This is considered to be very
attractive by most clients. Utility funding will vary from market to
market. We are working with a number of utilities to obtain a
general funding commitment that we can count on. A specific
equipment list for a proposed site allows us to develop a
preliminary installation cost and savings estimate for presentation
to the local utility. This will allow them to respond with a firm
funding commitment and allow us to produce a final Payback/ROI
Analysis for the client.
Many utilities offer on-bill financing of energy efficiency upgrades.
This method of financing eliminates the up-front cost of the
improvements, and the savings typically offset the cost. Read a
discussion of this option on the blog
Real Energy Writers.com.
