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NEW PLUG LOADS REPORT

Report Snapshot:

Plug loads (devices that plug into wall outlets) account for 23% of total electricity consumption in
California's commercial office buildings. Office equipment alone accounts for 74% of this plug
load energy, which is as much as 17% of electricity consumption in California's small office buildings (Itron Inc., 2006). 

This study characterizes electricity consumption of plug load devices in two recently LEED-certified buildings in California and explores opportunities for plug load energy savings. In this report, plugs loads include primarily user-interface office electronics such
as computers, monitors and printers. As part of a PIER-funded study on high performance buildings led by New Buildings Institute (NBI), the plug load research team (led by Ecos and supported by PECI and NBI) inventoried and metered plug loads in a 95,000 SF public library and a 14,000 SF small office in California. The team first inventoried 924
plug load devices at the library and the small office, with the exception of servers and their dedicated air conditioning units. The team then chose 100 of these devices to meter at one-minute intervals for one month, placing the highest priority on computers, computer monitors, imaging equipment and computer peripherals, the most numerous devices at the two sites and those using significant amounts of energy.

Software - Set aggressive power management settings on all equipment or use power management software controlled by the IT departments.

Hardware - Purchase and install advanced power strips, timers and more efficient office equipment.

Occupant behavior - Encourage users to flip the switch on power strips and turn off devices when not in use. Increase awareness of efficiency settings.

For More Information: Read the Executive Summary

Key Resources

According to the Summary of the ruling, these documents "represent potential pathways to implement the direction on energy efficiency financing outlined in a previous Assigned Commissioner's Ruling (ACR) and Scoping Memo issued in this proceeding on October 25, 2011. Specifically, the ACR emphasized energy efficiency financing as a way to achieve deeper energy efficiency retrofits across all sectors by leveraging private capital, in addition to using ratepayer funds to support energy efficiency." These changes are also intended to "initiate changes that would reshape the investor-owned utilities' (IOUs') energy efficiency portfolios away from programs that offer temporary or shallow savings and moving towards programs that achieve greater market transformation and better long-term energy savings."

For More Information: View the Ruling and find out how to comment.

• Restructuring the Statewide Program for Residential EE to include "behavior change" mechanisms as key components
• Creating a "Plug Load Appliance" program
• Redesigning IOU new home construction programs to include "reach" codes
• Creating a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) roadmap that targets measures ready for code adoption 
• Establishing a leadership program to promote and support ZNE home construction.

In the Commercial Sector, proposed changes include:

• Targeting the untapped potential of small commercial buildings
• Increasing the adoption of Emerging Technologies (ETs) into
  current programs
• Increasing the adoption of Emerging Technologies (ETs) into current programs
• Expanding successful Third-Party Programs
• Increasing measured performance data at the building level
• Providing deeper energy retrofits through innovative auditing approaches and packages of measures 
• Addressing split-incentive barriers in owner-occupied buildings.