Residential Energy Retrofit Savings Evaluated with Open Source Meter

OpenEE meter data compares contractor-estimated savings against weather-normalized metered consumption for home energy retrofits. The dataset covers a subset of projects completed between 2007 and 2012 under New York's Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. It was compiled by the State of New York to validate savings claims and support performance-based financing models.

Use Cases

• Validate contractor-reported Estimated Annual kWh Savings against Evaluated Annual Electric Savings (kWh) from meter data.
• Analyze the relationship between Total Project Cost and Evaluated Annual Gas Savings (MMBtu) to assess cost-effectiveness.
• Model energy savings using features like Climate Zone, Year Home Built, and Size of Home.
• Compare pre- and post-retrofit consumption using Pre-retrofit Baseline Electric (kWh) and Post-retrofit Usage Electric (kWh) columns.
• Investigate regional performance trends by grouping data by Project County or Project ZIP.

Strengths

• Includes direct outputs from an open-source, utility-grade energy efficiency meter for key savings metrics.
• Third-party analysis found actual savings were 35% of estimated electric and 65% of estimated gas savings, providing a validation benchmark.

Limitations

• Dataset covers only a subset of projects from a single state program, limiting generalizability.
• Contains contractor-reported estimated savings, which the evaluation shows can significantly overstate actual performance.
• Temporal coverage ends in 2012, making the data stale for analyzing current retrofit technologies or practices.

Provenance

Source

State of New York, likely via NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority).

Collection Method

Backcasted analysis using open-source OEE meter code on utility metered consumption data from completed retrofit projects.

Time Range

Projects completed from 2007 to 2012.

Freshness

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Geography

Residential projects in New York State, indicated by Project County and Project ZIP fields.