Rigorous and defensible efficiency measures and protocols that form the cornerstones for successful programs.
A deemed measure is a pre-calculated savings value for a standard energy efficiency upgrade. Instead of measuring the actual energy savings at every individual installation, deemed measures use engineering analysis and field data to establish how much energy a specific measure saves on average. Install a qualifying high-efficiency heat pump in a particular climate zone, and the program can claim a specific number of kWh in savings without sending an engineer to verify every site.
Deemed measures are the backbone of prescriptive energy efficiency programs. They allow utilities and program administrators to offer incentives at scale, process thousands of projects per year, and report savings with regulatory confidence. Without deemed values, every single installation would require custom measurement and verification, which is expensive, slow, and impractical for high-volume programs.
But deemed does not mean assumed. Every deemed savings value is the product of engineering analysis, field data, baseline research, and regulatory review. The rigor behind a deemed measure is what gives utilities and regulators confidence that the savings are real, even when no one measures each individual project.
The savings values for deemed measures are published in Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs). A TRM is a regulatory document that specifies, for each eligible measure: the deemed savings value, the baseline assumptions (what the measure replaces), the conditions under which the measure qualifies for incentives, the engineering methodology behind the calculations, and the data sources used to develop the values.
TRMs are developed through a rigorous process that includes engineering analysis, literature review, field data collection, stakeholder input, and regulatory approval. They are not static documents. They are updated regularly, often annually, as equipment efficiency standards change, building codes evolve, market conditions shift, and new field data becomes available from evaluations.
Different jurisdictions maintain their own TRMs tailored to their regulatory context, climate, and building stock. The Regional Technical Forum (RTF) develops measures for the Pacific Northwest. California maintains the Database for Energy Efficient Resources (DEER) and the Electronic Technical Reference Manual (eTRM). Illinois, Michigan, and other states each maintain TRMs that reflect their specific conditions. We work across multiple TRM jurisdictions and understand the differences in methodology, baseline assumptions, and regulatory requirements that make each one unique.
Lattice Energy Works develops new deemed measures and reviews existing ones for utilities, program administrators, and regional bodies. Our measure development work includes:
Deemed measures and evaluation are two sides of the same coin. Measures are developed based on engineering estimates of what should happen. Evaluations test whether those estimates hold up when real people install real equipment in real buildings. When a third-party evaluation finds that a measure’s realization rate is significantly above or below 100%, that finding feeds directly back into the next TRM update cycle.
Because we do both measure development and evaluation, we see this feedback loop from both directions. We know which types of measures tend to over-claim savings and which tend to under-claim. We know where the engineering assumptions diverge from field reality. We build that knowledge into new measures from the start, reducing the risk of unpleasant surprises when the evaluator arrives.
Read our interview with Jeremy Stapp, PE on how measure development works in practice, including the tricky questions about baselines, data forensics, and the dual-baseline “everybody’s nightmare” of early replacement measures.
Whether you need a new measure developed, an existing TRM reviewed, or help navigating measure updates for your program portfolio, we can help. Get in touch to talk about your measure development needs.