IPMVP is the most widely cited protocol for showing that an efficiency project saved what it promised. Published by the Efficiency Valuation Organization, it defines four measurement options and the content of an M&V plan, so savings are reported against an adjusted baseline instead of a simple year-on-year comparison. See M&V.

What is a non-routine adjustment in IPMVP?

A correction to the baseline for a change that is not part of the project, such as an added floor or a new production line, so the savings result is not distorted. IPMVP expects the M&V plan to say how such static factors are tracked and documented, which is easier when sub-meter data shows exactly when the load changed.

Who chooses the IPMVP option?

The parties agree it in the M&V plan before work starts, weighing the expected size of the saving against what can be metered at the boundary. A small saving inside a large facility bill usually points to an isolated boundary with its own meter, which is where measurement and verification with sub-metering helps.

Does IPMVP apply to water savings?

Yes. IPMVP covers water efficiency projects as well as energy, using the same idea of comparing measured use with an adjusted baseline. Aqueduct applies the same baseline method to water lines in aQ WaterGuard, so a fixture retrofit or leak repair can be reported in volume and in money.

Glossary

Energy standards and regulation

What is IPMVP?

Definition

IPMVP, the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol, is a framework owned by the Efficiency Valuation Organization (EVO) for determining savings from energy and water efficiency projects.

Where IPMVP is used

Energy performance contracts, utility incentive programs, green loans and internal efficiency programs cite it so that owner, contractor and lender read a savings number the same way. EVO describes it as a largely non-prescriptive framework of current best practice, and the current edition is IPMVP Core Concepts 2022. Because savings are an absence of use, each option compares measured consumption with an adjusted baseline.

The four options

Option A, retrofit isolation with key parameter measurement: measure the parameters that define the system's energy use and estimate the rest
Option B, retrofit isolation with all parameter measurement: meter every parameter at the system boundary
Option C, whole facility: use the supply meters for the whole facility, useful when several measures interact
Option D, calibrated simulation: use a calibrated model when baseline or reporting data is unreliable or missing, as in new construction

Which options Aqueduct's data fits

Option C matches the whole-site baseline in aQ EnergySmart and aQ WaterGuard, built from main incomer data or uploaded bills. Option B matches a sub-metered boundary, such as a chiller feeder or a single water line, where kW or flow is measured before and after the change. Calibrated simulation for Option D is outside what Aqueduct does.

What is IPMVP?

Where IPMVP is used

The four options

Which options Aqueduct's data fits

IPMVP: common questions

See Aqueduct on your own facility.