Commercial UES: Smart Plug Power Strips

Josh RushtonRegional Technical Forum

March 17, 2015

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Presentation Outline

Objective: Update to Commercial Smart Power Strips measure with measure category review • Where we left off in February• Measure overview• Measure scope• Regional potential not small• Proposal

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Where we left off (February)• Staff recommended small saver

– Reason was low recent / planned uptake – Use short sunset period to check for increased uptake– Concern raised about large regional potential

• Proven could be an option – Four suite-average savings estimates, 75 to 160 kWh (mean: 118 +/- 30

kWh)– Wider sample needed for better “confidence” – Use short sunset period to check for increased uptake

• Provisional seemed problematic – Low traction/interest may hinder research planning– Not an issue under revised Planning path (per this morning’s

presentation)

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Measure OverviewSector: CommercialMeasure name: Smart Plug Power StripsBaseline: Pre-conditionsApplicability: • Office space setting

• Load-sensing, motion-sensing, or timer-controlled strips• Must have at least one controlled device• Rebate, direct-install, or mail-by-request only

Current ProposedCategory: Proven PlanningStatus: Active ActiveSunset Date: 03 / 31 / 2015 03 / 31 / 2018Annual Savings: 100 kWh 118 kWhMeasure life: 4 years 4 yearsB/C Ratio: 1.2 1.3

Added since February!

Changed since February!

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Measure Scope

• Savings based on studies of “Tier I” strips in commercial office settings

• “Tier II” strips technically eligible for this measure (with 118 kWh savings per unit)– “Tier II”-specific savings figures would need

separate RTF review / decision– Would need to work out measure applicability and

representativeness of data sources – New measure proposal?

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Regional potential not small

• 7th Plan assumptions– NEEA estimates ≈ 6 million computers in region– Measure applicable to 60% of computers, – 85% of that is achievable, – 130 kWh/yr (bus-bar) – Total potential ≈ 45 aMW

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Regional potential not small

• Roadmap describes small saver requirement in terms of “likely” savings. – May have intended this as “likely value of

potential savings”– Issue flagged for discussion in next guidelines

revision

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Options

• Things to consider: – A lot of potential savings in office plug loads – Multiple measures target these savings (efficient equipment, smart

strips, PC management) – Don’t know all we’d like about smart strip savings, but additional

research not an immediate priority

• Basic options:– Small Saver: May or may not be appropriate, depending on outcome

of guidelines discussion– Proven: Seems like a stretch. Existing studies include lots of power

strips (≈ 275) but few office suites (precision ≈ 25%) – Planning: (Per Adam’s morning presentation) Good fit, but Research

Strategy (next slide) rough and not vetted by R&E Subcommittee

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Planning Category Notes

Guiding principles* for RTF decisions on Planning-category measures: • Role: Describe research needs and estimated cost range• Method: Put together a “Research Strategy”

– Describes research that is expected to meet the research needs at the lowest expected cost to meet the guidelines;

– May be in more of an outline form than a formal Research Plan, but contains specifics of sample size, data to be collected, analysis methodology, and an estimated cost range

• Meaning of RTF approval: RTF agrees with the research needs and agrees the proposed method of data collection and analysis provides a reasonable way to meet the research goals – Funders may still alter research design to meet their needs (final research plan required

for measure to achieve Provisional category) – RTF does NOT claim that savings figures are reliable (impact evaluation required)

* Proposed at the March, 2015, RTF meeting. As of this writing, these principles have not been formally accepted by the RTF, nor are they codified the RTF Guidelines.

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Research Strategy (p1)Research goals • Estimate average unit energy savings for commercial smart plug power strips. • Attempt to relate kWh savings to connected equipment characteristics

– Worthwhile but may be impractical (consider seasonal personal heaters) – Research sponsors to weight risks/rewards and review alternatives

Data collection• Pre/post metering (2-3 weeks each)

– Scheduling sensitive to seasonality and need to pair with weather data – Metering at panel may be okay for many sites

• Advantage: less field time than end-use metering• Disadvantage: less detail relating equipment/savings (personal heaters!)

– Sample target ≈ 25 sites, ≈ 50-75 individually metered circuits• 2-3 circuits metered per site, on average • Need more sites if building-level data used• Number of individual APS units: expect 1000+/-

• Site audits (capturing pre/post changes)– Connected equipment characteristics, sleep-mode features/settings– Separated into individually metered circuits

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Research Strategy (p2)Sampling• Target: 25 sites, 50-75 individually metered circuits

– Quantity (25) based on site-level CV of 0.30, goal of 90/10 conf. /prec.– Qualitatively, need to observe reasonable range of sites to be credible

• Representative mix of applicable (Tier 1) smart strip types– Separate Tier 2 estimate would require separate sample – Applications typical of likely/actual programs – CBSA or other data may aid design

Analysis (Complicated by seasonal use of personal heaters)• For each metered circuit, calculate pre/post Delta-average daily kWh• Regression (weighted) to estimate average savings per controlled device

– Pre/post Delta-kWh as dependent variable– Explanatory variables include controlled device counts (4-5 types) and change in

number of controlled space heaters• Normalize savings using CBSA (or other data) Estimated Cost Range:(< $25k) ($25k-$100k) ($100k-$250k) ($250k-$500k) ($500k-$1million) ($1million-$2million) (> $2million)

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Proposed Motion

“I, ______________, move that the RTF should accept research strategy and approve the Commercial Smart Plug Power Strips as a UES measure with • Category Planning• Status Active• Set savings to 118 kWh/year• Set sunset date to March, 2018”

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Additional Slides

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History

• April, 2009: RTF “provisionally deems” smart strip UES (100 kWh/yr).

• October, 2011: Based largely on BPA Ross complex data, RTF approves load sensing smart strip in commercial office applications (proven UES 100 kWh/yr)

• Past RTF discussions noted that the measure has a lot of potential but hasn’t really taken off. This is still the case.

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Measure OverviewLoad-sensing smart strips • Powers down switched outlets when idle power

level detected in “master” device• Typical set-up looks for PC sleep mode• Set-up: Enable PC sleep mode, set potentiometer

to detect sleep mode power level

Timer-controlled smart strips• Powers down switched outlets at pre-determined

times of day• Set-up: Program off-hours

Motion-sensing smart strips• Powers down switched outlets when no motion

has been detected for X minutes. • Set-up: Position motion sensor

New additions in proposed measure

Included in current measure

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Measure Overview

Common set-ups• Workstation (load sensor, motion sensor, timer) – Switched: Monitors, desk lamps, printers, personal space

heaters, speakers, tiny decorative waterfalls, …– Not switched: CPU, other sensitive devices – For load sensors, primary monitor often plugged into

“master” outlet (not switched) • Copy room (timer) – Copier, printer, scanner/fax machine, …

• Break room/kitchen (timer) – Coffee maker, water cooler, …

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Savings

• Depends on… – Mix of controlled devices (we know something about

this)– How often spaces/devices are idle; whether idle devices

are powered down in base case (know less about this) • Hard to measure directly. Pre-/post- metering may

be complicated by… – Seasonal lighting and heating– HR policies limiting electronic devices (researchers need

to sample a lot of different businesses)

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SavingsControlType

Building Building Type

Reference Sample size Annual energy savings

Load Sensor

WW Logistics Commercial [IDL, 2012] 88 APS (94 FTE)

19% of plug load;160 kWh/APS 1

Ross Building Government [BPA, 2011] 45 APS (all at workstations)

29% of affected load;130 kWh/APS 2

VA Center Government [NREL, 2012] 12 APS 10% of affected load

R&M CH Government [NREL, 2012] 12 APS 23% of affected load 3

Motion Sensor Land Records Government [IDL, 2012] 33 APS

(31 FTE)22% of plug load;75 kWh/APS 4

Timer

WJ Greene Bldg. Government [NREL, 2012] 12 APS 52% of affected load 5

EA Garmatz CH Government [NREL, 2012] 12 APS 43% of affected load 3

JBPHH-A4 Military Office [NREL, 2014] 100 APS (90 FTE)

28% of plug load;110 kWh/APS 3

1 Figures approximate based on published tables. 2 Includes high savings due to one outlier and zero savings due to user-disabled units; median savings 80 kWh. 3 Approximately two thirds of savings due to printers/copiers. 4 Report notes low number of auxiliary plug loads in this office suite. 5 Nearly 80% of savings due to kitchen equipment.

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Why is small saver okay?Roadmap Section 2: “The RTF may determine that the likely savings from a measure are too small to warrant the resources needed to meet the quality standards defined for Provisional or Proven measure. Such measures are categorized as Small Saver.”

• Puget: Not currently offering this measure• Tacoma: Often suggest program participants but haven’t found much interest.• Avista: Might offer next year, but haven’t offered for past two years• BPA publics: Reported 3,929 commercial smart strips in 2013 (2014 tally not yet known).

Not the highest-priority measure for ramp-up at this time

At 100 kWh per unit per year, 10,000 units would be about 0.1aMW

Reminder: Guidelines intend Small Savers to be included in evaluation (if certain threshold condition is met)

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CostControl Brand Model Outlets Cord

lengthProtection rating

Price 1, 2

Load Sensor

Tripp Lite AV86G 8 6 ft. 1080 J $30

TrickleStar 7 4 ft. 2160 J $35 3

Take Charge UTC8MS 8 2 ft. 2400 J $30

Smart Strip 4941 7 6 ft. 900 J $32

Motion SensorWattStopper IDP-3050 8 6 ft. 740 J $80

TrickleStar 7 4 ft. 1080 J $40

TimerTripp Lite TLP74TG 7 4 ft. 2100 J $36

TrickleStar 8 4 ft. 720 J $30

None

Tripp Lite TLP606B 6 6 ft. 790 J $11

Tripp Lite Super7B 7 7 ft. 2160 J $17

TrickleStar 7 4 ft. 2160 J $20 3

Belkin BE106 – 08R 6 6 ft. 700 J $11

1 Except as noted, prices are from amazon.com (Feb. 4, 2015) and do not include shipping. 2 Prices may also be affected by factors such as product warrantee and current capacity (amps) that vary among models and are not recorded in the table. 3 Price from manufacturer web page (Feb. 4, 2015).

Average of these: $33.30

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Cost

• Cost based on full purchase price (not just increment over standard power strip option)

• Does not include shipping expense

Purchase price (online retail, Feb, 2015) $33.29

Installation cost (10 minutes; $20/hr) $3.33Total $36.62

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References[IDL, 2012] Acker, B., C. Duarte, K. Van Den Wymelenberg, 2012. Office Building Plug Load Profiles, Technical Report 20100312-01, University of Idaho Integrated Design Lab. http://www.idlboise.com/pdf/papers/20100312-01_OfficePlugLoads_20120524.pdf

[BPA, 2011] BPA, Smart Power Strip Energy Savings Evaluation (Ross Complex), 2011.http://rtf.nwcouncil.org/meetings/2011/0830/Smart%20Strip%20Energy%20Savings%20Evaluation%20Rev1.doc

[NREL, 2012] Metzger, I., D. Cutler, M. Sheppy, 2012. Plug-Load Control and Behavioral Change Research in GSA Office Buildings, NREL.http://www.gsa.gov/portal/mediaId/197383/fileName/GPG_Plug_Load_Control_09-2012.action

[NREL, 2014] Sheppy , M. , Metzger, I., D. Cutler, G. Holland, 2014. Reducing Plug Loads in Office Spaces Hawaii and Guam Technology Demonstration Project , NREL.http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60382.pdf

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Tier What? NEEP’s terminology note

NEEP working group recommends “tier 2” as industry lingo for APS that target active power down savings…and use “Activity Monitor Power Strip” with “active power down” savings as the customer-facing phrase

• Activity Monitor Power Strip (includes tier 2). Power strip looks for signs of activity in the room, and turns off outlets if none is detected. Use additional phrase “Active Power Down” when describing Tier 2 APS.

• Master-Controlled Power Strip. When a primary device (such as a computer or TV) is turned off by the user, the power strip automatically turns off (de-energizes) the controlled outlets.

• Masterless Power Strip. When all of the controlled devices are turned off, the power strip turns off power to those outlets completely, eliminating all of the vampire loads.

• Remote Switch Power Strip. Power strip can be turned off by the user via a remote switch.

• Timer Power Strip.

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October 2014 RTF meeting• Jerome: CLEAResult has been looking at other Technical Reference Manuals

(TRMs) to see if they will be of help. I’ll let you know if we find anything. • Davis: There have been proposals to do things with this, but nothing has

materialized regionally. • Danielle Walker (BPA): Yes. I’ll check whether BPA is on the uptake. • Davis: In Vancouver there’s some trouble with the data. • Grist: One question is what is connected to the power-strip that you're turning

off – it can be anything from a computer to foot warmers. People added space heaters to the post-period versus what was there in the pre-.

• Eckman: Is there a recommendation to bring it back as an alternative measure type – a Small Saver – pending no data? – Rosolie: I move to extend the sunset date to March 31, 2015. (Koran: Second)

• Davis: The sample size you’d need given the variance is spectacular. • Brad Acker: What’s the status of the available research?

– Grist: We have nothing new, although BPA and CLEAResult are looking into it. – Acker: I have a 2011 paper.