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I Don’t Have a Meter for That Machine: How Can I Justify the Energy Savings for IVACE 2026?
- 05/10/2026
- Aids
Many industries know their total electricity consumption very well, but they do not know exactly how much corresponds to a compressor, a pump, a refrigeration installation or a specific production line. Does that mean they cannot justify an energy efficiency project under IVACE 2026? Not necessarily. The key is to establish a coherent, quantifiable and technically defensible baseline situation.
By Ana González, CEO and Agricultural Engineer – Industrial consultant in energy efficiency and grant management at AGB Ingeniers
This is a fairly common situation when we visit an industrial facility. The company has electricity bills, knows its production figures and knows which equipment operates for many hours. But when we ask:
“How much does this machine actually consume?”
the answer is: “We do not know, it does not have its own meter”. And then the question arises: how am I going to demonstrate to IVACE that the new installation will save energy?
Does IVACE 2026 require every machine to have a meter?
The call establishes that projects must achieve quantifiable and documentarily justified energy savings and CO₂ reductions. It also requires the submission of an energy audit or technical report and establishes that the measurement of savings must follow the methodology indicated in Annex V of Directive 2012/27/EU.
However, the publicly available information for the call does not establish that every piece of equipment to be replaced must previously have its own individual meter.
Therefore, not having sub-metering does not automatically mean that the project cannot be assessed.
What changes is the technical work required to justify the baseline situation.
It is not about inventing consumption: it is about reconstructing it
To calculate savings, we need to compare two scenarios: how the installation currently operates and how it will operate after the measure is implemented.
If we have a dedicated meter covering a sufficiently representative period, the baseline situation is easier to document. When this does not exist, we may need to reconstruct it technically. Depending on the installation, at AGB Ingeniers we may analyse information such as:
- power and characteristics of the existing equipment;
- actual operating hours;
- load percentage;
- operating cycles;
- annual production;
- pressures, temperatures or flow rates;
- operation by shifts or production seasons;
- available historical consumption data;
- spot measurements taken on the installation.
Not all of this data will be necessary for every project. What matters is that the assumptions used can be justified and reasonably represent how the installation actually operates.
A 75 kW compressor does not necessarily consume 75 kWh every hour
This is a simple example. We find a compressor whose nameplate indicates a power rating of 75 kW. Simply multiplying those 75 kW by all the hours during which the factory is open may produce a result that is far from reality. The compressor may operate at partial load, switch in and out of service, alternate with another unit or vary significantly depending on production.
That is why we need to know more than what appears on the nameplate.
We can study its operating hours, loading and unloading cycles, compressed air demand, production conditions or carry out measurements that allow us to represent its behaviour more accurately.
The technical data sheet helps. But it does not replace knowledge of the process.
The same problem appears in refrigeration, pumping or motors
In the agri-food industry of the Valencian Community, we encounter similar situations all the time. A refrigeration installation may operate very differently in August than in February. A pump may run for many hours, but not always at the same load point. A production line may only be used during certain production seasons.
That is why, when calculating the energy savings of an IVACE 2026 investment, I consider it particularly important to understand when, how much and why the equipment consumes energy.
The call specifically includes measures involving process equipment, compressors, motors, refrigeration, variable speed drives, control systems and other energy efficiency measures.
What should we avoid doing?
There are three mistakes I would avoid.
The first is using only the theoretical consumption provided by the manufacturer of the old equipment.
The second is assuming operating hours without being able to explain where they come from.
And the third is calculating first the savings we need in order to comply with the call and then trying to make the data fit.
The order should be exactly the opposite.
First we reconstruct reality. Then we calculate the savings.
In addition, the project must achieve the minimum ratio established by IVACE of 150 toe of annual primary energy savings per million euros of eligible investment.
The technical report must tell a story that makes sense
A good technical report should make it easy to understand:
what installation we have, how it operates, how much it consumes, what we are going to change and why the new scenario will consume less.
If there is no individual meter, the methodology used to determine the baseline situation becomes even more important. We are not looking for false precision. We are looking for a calculation that is traceable, reasoned and technically defensible.
And the sooner we gather the data, the better. The IVACE 2026 call remains open until 29 October, and the application must be accompanied by the corresponding energy audit or technical report.
Our approach at AGB Ingeniers
When a company tells us that the machine it wants to replace does not have its own meter, we do not begin by ruling out the project. We begin by asking questions.
How does it operate? For how long? What does it produce? How does its load vary? What historical information do we have? Can we measure it now?
From there, we can determine whether there is enough information to establish a solid baseline.
Because not having a meter can make the calculation more difficult, but the real problem is not having data capable of explaining how the installation consumes energy.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an individual meter to apply for IVACE 2026?
The call requires the savings to be quantifiable and documentarily justified, but its publicly available information does not generally establish that all equipment must previously have an individual meter.
Can operating hours be used to calculate consumption?
They can form part of the technical analysis, but they must reasonably represent actual operation and be properly justified.
Is the machine's technical data sheet enough?
Normally not. Rated power alone does not reflect loads, cycles, actual operating hours or operating conditions.
What happens if I cannot justify the current consumption?
If we cannot establish a sufficiently reliable baseline situation, it will be difficult to demonstrate robustly the energy savings required by the call.
Until when is IVACE 2026 open?
The application period ends on 29 October 2026.