Smart $aver® Custom Incentives FAQs

Custom Incentive applications may include, but are not limited to, non-prescriptive lighting measures such as reflectors, variable speed air compressors, thermal improvements to the roof and wall insulation, upgrades to windows and doors, on-demand ventilation systems, energy management systems, HVAC tune-up initiatives, energy recovery systems or energy-saving process upgrades.

Proposed energy conservation measures may be eligible for Custom Incentives if they clearly reduce electrical consumption and/or energy demand. Customers must submit a complete Custom Incentive application, questionnaire and supporting documentation, which outlines the proposed project and provides energy-saving estimates and implementation costs. To avoid delays in receiving your preliminary incentive offer, ensure that the application is completely filled out and that all the additional supporting data that is needed to review the project is attached to the application.

Currently, program guidelines do not allow for incentives that reduce the simple payback below 1 year.

If you would like more information on the application data requirements for your project and/or a general idea of what incentive you might expect, please utilize the Smart Saver Custom Incentive Pre-Screen Form. Provide us with a little information on your proposed project, and we will respond with advice on submitting a full application form.

Please allow at least one month for the custom incentive application to be reviewed. Trade Allies that are completing an application to be incorporated into a customer proposal should plan well in advance to allow sufficient time.

Phase I: Application Process
The process begins when Duke Energy receives a Custom Incentive application (see application for submission instructions). After receipt, the application will be initially reviewed and the customer will be notified if there is any missing information. Once the application is complete, a technical review of the project takes place. During the technical review, the customer may be contacted again with a request for additional supporting data. Once the technical review is complete and all data has been accepted, the preliminary incentive is calculated and communicated to the customer. The goal is to review applications as quickly as possible – currently reviews are taking between 1 - 2 months; the length of time varies with the number of applications under review and the complexity of your project. If at any time during the process Duke Energy determines that the Energy conservation measures do not meet its requirements, then the customer will be notified immediately.

Phase II: Installation and Payment
After a preliminary incentive has been approved and accepted by the customer, the customer may proceed with installation. Once installation is complete, the customer notifies Duke Energy by submitting receipts, invoices, or other proof of installation. Duke Energy then issues the payment in approximately 10 business days.

Phase III: Measurement & Verification
Duke Energy is verifying a portion of approved Custom Incentive applications. This involves an independent third-party visiting the facility where the energy conservation measures were installed and taking measurements of the energy reductions.

Duke Energy calculates an incentive for every individual Custom Incentive application, so an exact incentive cannot be predicted without a completed application. The incentive is ultimately tied to the impact the measures have on the customer’s load profile. Past incentives have ranged from approximately 25% - 150% of the projected annual electrical savings from the proposed energy efficient equipment.

Duke Energy’s Custom Incentive program is designed differently from other utilities. We do not have a limit on how much we can provide in incentives, but we are only compensated for real, verified electrical energy and demand reductions that result from approved projects. Duke Energy performs a significant amount of due diligence on the information submitted in each application to ensure that the claimed energy conservations impacts will be realized after installation.

If you are unsure whether it is worth your time to submit a custom application, please utilize the Smart Saver Custom Incentive Pre-Screen Form. Provide us with a little information on your proposed project and will respond with advice on submitted a full application form.

Refer to your bill(s) or ask your Business Relations Manager about your electricity rate schedule. If your facility is billed on a time of use rate then the cost savings estimate should be calculated using on-peak and off-peak charges and the appropriate energy and demand for on peak and off peak hours.  The application requests that you provide the Duke Energy billing account number(s).

If equipment that is eligible for a prescriptive application is submitted through the custom application, the equipment will still receive the same incentive as it would through a prescriptive application.

If the equipment that requires a custom incentive application is not integrated with the equipment that qualifies for a prescriptive incentive, then we encourage you to only submit the equipment that requires a custom incentive application. This will speed up the review process. If a combination of prescriptive-eligible and custom equipment is submitted, then you may be asked some questions about the equipment in order to determine the most appropriate way to calculate an incentive.

Duke Energy’s Smart $aver Custom Incentive program is only applicable to projects that reduce electrical energy and/or demand through energy efficiency measures.

Possibly yes. Submit a Custom Incentive application and the energy conservation measure will be considered.

No. Custom Incentives require pre-approval, which means that you must apply and receive approval before you start your project. The timing of the application is critical. You should apply once you have a proposal for a measure that will reduce your electrical usage, but BEFORE any equipment has been ordered, purchased, or installed.

Whenever feasible, energy efficiency equipment will be added to the list of Prescriptive incentives. If the Prescriptive Incentive program adds a measure for which you have already received a Custom Incentive offer, then the following will apply:

• If the measure is added to the Prescriptive application before you complete your project, then you may receive the higher of the two amounts for your project.
• If the measure is added to the Prescriptive application after you have applied for a Custom Incentive payment for your project, then you will receive the Custom Incentive. There will be no adjustments to the incentive paid if the Prescriptive and Custom incentives differ.

Note that, because the Prescriptive Incentives involve averages across all customers and Custom Incentives are based on one customer, it is not uncommon for there to be some variation in Custom Incentive offer amounts and Prescriptive Incentive offer amounts

• Capacitor Banks: No. In most cases, the benefits of installing capacitors do not include significant energy and/or demand reductions.
• De-lamping: Some de-lamping is eligible. As with any lighting project, the proposed light levels must be appropriate to the space involved. Provide a lumen method and study with a Custom Incentive application for de-lamping, and keep in mind that that to be eligible for an incentive, the de-lamping must have a simple payback of 1 year or more.
• Induction Light Fixtures: Yes. As with any lighting project, the fixture application must be appropriate to the proposed induction fixture. This prevents subsequent retrofits from negating the projected energy savings.
• LEDs: Some LEDs are eligible and others are not at this time. See detail below.
• New Construction: Yes. With new construction and major renovation, the baseline is equal to the equipment or facilities that the customer would install if an incentive was not available from Duke Energy.  For a new building construction, the baseline would be the facilities/equipment that would meet the building code requirements for the new construction, usually ASHRAE 90.7 2004. For new construction, the incremental implementation cost is the difference between the cost of the baseline equipment/facilities and the cost of the proposed energy-saving equipment/facilities. The proposed design must consume less electrical energy than the baseline design to receive an incentive.
• Polarized Refrigerant Oil Additives: No. It is not clear that these additives can consistently produce savings in the ranges that vendors claim. Most manufacturers of HVAC systems do not recommend the use of these additives in their systems, and in some cases will void the warranty of the system.
• Power Factor Correction Equipment: No. The annual kWh savings of power factor correction equipment is negligible.
• Renewable Energy Generation Technologies: No; see detail below.
• Surge Protector/Voltage Control Devices: No. In most cases, the benefits of voltage control devices do not include significant energy and/or demand reductions.
• VFDs on new equipment: When a VFD is considered to be a standard feature then the VFD is not eligible for an incentive. On retrofit projects, VFDs can be considered if reduced electrical consumption is projected on the equipment on which the VFD is to be installed.
  

The currently approved Smart $aver programs in Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina do not allow Duke Energy to provide incentives to customers for renewable energy generation projects. Although these projects will reduce the customer’s electricity purchases from Duke Energy, the approved programs are designed specifically for energy efficiency.  Energy efficiency is defined as reducing the consumption of energy while maintaining or improving the end-use customer's existing level of functionality, or while maintaining or improving the utility system functionality.

Example technologies that are not eligible for Smart $aver incentives include solar PV, wind, biomass-fueled generation and combined heat and power. Any Smart $aver custom incentive application for these renewable energy generation projects will be declined. Currently, solar thermal for water heating is still under discussion and eligibility has not yet been determined. Any Smart $aver custom incentive application for solar thermal for water heating will be placed on hold until eligibility is determined.

Duke Energy is studying the potential of a new program that would allow incentives on renewable energy generation projects. If analysis indicates that such a program would be cost effective, then commission approval will be pursued.

LED light bulbs that have earned the Energy Star can be evaluated for a Custom Incentive.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=iledl.display_products_html

Energy Star qualified products are eligible for Custom Incentives where an LED light bulb will replace a non-LED light bulb in an existing fixture. On new construction, Energy Star qualified products are eligible for Custom Incentives as compared to the alternative non-LED light bulb that is appropriate for the fixture being installed

Some LED fixtures (where both bulb and ballast are replaced) are eligible for Custom Incentives. While we believe LED lighting has the potential to save customers a significant amount of energy, we provide incentives for only the most efficient and reliable products on the market.  For more information on these performance standards, please visit http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/standards.html.

Testing by the U.S. Department of Energy’s CALiPER (Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting) program indicates that some manufacturers are providing product specification sheets that show inaccurate or misleading information. Due to this, a Custom Incentive application for any proposed LED fixture requires a copy of a lab test report performed by a CALiPER testing laboratory, listed at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/test_labs.html. Test reports from any laboratory not listed on the CALiPER website will not be accepted.