The finalized Energy Management and Information Systems EMIS Field Validation Protocol, published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is available as of September 2021. EMIS are combined hardware and software products that comprise a broad range of analytics functionality and services to manage commercial building energy use.
The EMIS Field Validation Protocol was developed to provide a standardized approach to assessing the energy and non-energy benefits. EMIS support the identification and implementation of operational improvements in commercial buildings, with a major Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study, Proving the Business Case for Building Analytics, (October 2020) showing median whole building savings of 3 percent for EIS and 9 percent for FDD analytics.
The Protocol covers three main types of functionality:
Energy information systems (EIS): EIS analytics focus on meter-level monitoring, analysis, and charting, and may incorporate automated opportunity analysis
Fault detection and diagnostics (FDD): FDD analytics automates the process of detecting faults and suboptimal performance of building systems and helps to diagnose potential causes. It focuses on system-level monitoring, analysis, and charting
Automated system optimization (ASO): ASO analytics continuously analyzes and modifies BAS control settings to optimize heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system energy use while maintaining occupant comfort
The Protocol specifies a minimum set of standardized EMIS performance metrics, supplemented with a broader set of optional metrics. A project sponsor may also include any number of custom assessment metrics tailored to their specific needs, in addition to the minimum required criteria defined in this Protocol.