30-Day Paid Pilots: Proving ROI in Energy Management

Why a short, focused pilot beats free trials for fast, measurable energy savings.

Scope for impact

Pick the smallest scope that can still prove the biggest idea. We like 2–3 representative sites and one system focus (e.g., HVAC).

• Choose sites with different ages/BMS vendors to de‑risk scale‑up.
• Limit measures to those you can implement inside 10 working days.
• Define a clear commercial hypothesis: “Reduce HVAC runtime by 25% while maintaining comfort.”

Align stakeholders early

Agree who owns what before you start:

• Site ops: approvals for schedule/setpoint changes and access windows.
• IT/BMS: integration and change control.
• Finance: M&V sign‑off criteria (baseline, normalisation, confidence).

Measure before/after

Capture clean pre and post windows, with weather/occupancy context.

• Trend runtime, kWh, and comfort KPIs (hours in band, complaint log).
• Normalise with degree days or modelled temperature response.
• Tag each action and timestamp to support attribution.

Manage risk and guardrails

Protect comfort and equipment:

• Change windows, rollback points, and auto‑reset on overrides.
• Alerting on extremes (supply temp, CO₂, humidity) with owners.
• Weekly pilot stand‑ups to review data and unblock.

Decide with confidence

Summarise results in one page: baseline, actions, savings with confidence, comfort impact, and next steps.

Case study: 30 days to scale

HQ + two regional offices. Focused on schedules, adaptive start/stop, and DCV.

• Outcome: −28% HVAC runtime, −12% HVAC kWh, zero comfort penalties.
• Decision: approved rollout to 18 sites with the same playbook.

30‑day pilot checklist

1. Agree scope, success criteria, and guardrails.
2. Connect data and confirm baselines.
3. Implement measures and tag actions.
4. Review weekly; adjust measures.
5. Publish M&V and decision pack.

Related reading

• Cut HVAC Runtime by 35% Without Comfort Loss
• How AI Detects Hidden Energy Waste
• ISO 50001: Turning Compliance Into Savings

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