energy assessment guide for commercial buildings - ECO-III

ENERGY ASSESSMENT GUIDE FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
2.7 Request For Proposal
The Request for Proposal (RFP) is the process by
which the building owner solicits proposals from
the short listed companies selected through the
EOI. The proposals will be evaluated to determine
which firm will be hired for the energy assessment
project. Short listed companies will be invited to
submit proposals based on pre-defined criteria
provided by the owner. The successful bidder is
selected through a competitive bidding process
utilizing both technical and financial criteria for
the basis of selection.
2.7.1
Scope of the RFP
Development of the RFP is a critical step for the
building owner as they must communicate clearly
to the prospective firms the requirements of the
assessment. The owner must include a clear and
concise detailing of the work to be done and
reports to be provided [BEE, www.bee-india.nic.
in]. An RFP should begin with the background of
the project, giving a brief description of building
history and use, reason for undertaking an
assessment and overall expected outcomes. This
should be followed by the facility location and
general information on the buildings to be energy
assessed, such as building area and facility use.
Next, the scope of work should give an overall
framework of the project.
Expanding on the scope of work, detailed
instructions on the tasks to be undertaken as a
part of the assessment should be listed, including
any special analysis and the assessment format,
such as [ASHRAE 2004]:
•• At least two years’ worth of utility bills
be collected and the data be recorded in a
specified format for benchmarking purposes.
•• A clear graphical presentation of annual
utilities consumption and cost data should
be constructed for presentation in the
introduction of all assessment reports.
•• An inventory of all energy-using equipment,
including the capacity and rated consumption
data for each, should be developed.
•• Methods of measurement and systems
requiring special focus to be specified if
required.
•• Service levels that are desired should be listed
if know.
This section should describe the level of
assessment to be undertaken and basic audit
protocols to be followed.
The RFP should list the required deliverables
from the assessment. This may include preliminary
list of projects, draft and final energy reports, or
preparation of performance specifications. This
is the section where the specific contents required
in the assessment report should be detailed. A
schedule for the energy assessment should be set
by the building owner, including start date for
assessment, and due dates for deliverables.
The roles and responsibilities of all involved
parties need to be clearly stated in the RFP and
award process. This can include the role of the
building owner, Energy Efficiency Committee,
auditor/ consultant or ESCO awarded the
work, sub-contractors, financing agencies or any
other outside parties who will play a role in the
project. The members of the Energy Efficiency
Committee should be set out, designating staff
positions to be represented on the committee.
The building owner carries the additional
responsibility of ensuring the full cooperation of
all staff during the assessment process.
The RFP should include detailed instructions
to the bidders regarding the format of responses
that will be accepted, and the deadlines. The
Energy Efficiency Committee may choose to use
a standard form to be completed by the bidders
to assist in their comparison of responses.
Requiring a site visit that ensures a higher quality
of submissions as the bidders will have a better
15