FAQs

Automated M&V and Aristotle

1. What is Aristotle?

   Aristotle is our comprehensive data platform designed to power your organization's decarbonization journey. It serves as an auditable system of record to track all energy consumption, energy savings, energy production, and carbon impacts across your entire building and energy portfolio. Aristotle combines Automated Measurement & Verification (M&V) with Hourly Carbon Accounting to provide data-driven insights that accelerate your path to net-zero.

2. How does Aristotle help me manage my building portfolio?

   Aristotle consolidates data from all your buildings into one intuitive interface. The platform automatically pulls information from utility meters, building management systems, and IoT sensors, eliminating manual data entry. This unified dashboard enables portfolio benchmarking, real-time alerts for anomalies, custom reporting aligned with net zero frameworks, and seamless data integration—all accessible through a secure cloud platform that scales with your needs.

3. What is Automated Measurement & Verification (M&V)?

   Automated M&V is a modern "M&V 2.0" approach that continuously analyzes high-frequency building data to provide near real-time savings estimates. This methodology delivers results more quickly, accurately, and at lower cost than traditional manual verification methods. Our platform uses established IPMVP-compliant techniques and the latest advances from M&V 2.0 research to ensure accuracy and reliability in savings calculations.

4. What are the benefits of Automated M&V?

   Key benefits include:

   Continuous Performance Tracking
   Instantly see the impact of efficiency upgrades or operational changes in real time.

   Increased Confidence in Savings
   Meter-based verification increases trust in reported results, validating the ROI of sustainability projects.

   Reduced Effort and Cost
   Automation saves time and reduces the need for external consultants or manual calculations.

5. What is Hourly Carbon Accounting?

   Hourly Carbon Accounting calculates your portfolio's carbon footprint in real time, reflecting the actual carbon intensity of the electricity and fuels your buildings use each hour. This granular approach goes beyond traditional annual or monthly averages, revealing when emissions are highest and helping you optimize accordingly.

6. Why does Hourly Carbon Accounting matter?

   Granular Insights
   Identify daily and hourly emissions peaks and patterns that annual accounting would miss.

   Transparent & Defensible Data
   Maintain a verifiable record of carbon impact that holds up to scrutiny from investors, regulators, and boards.

   Maximize Renewable Usage
   Track how effectively you leverage renewable energy and storage hour by hour.

Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs)

1. What's an EAC?

   An EAC is an Energy Attribute Certificate, which represents the proof required to claim the environmental benefits of a decarbonization project. EACs are granular certificates assigned to a watt-hour of electricity or a gram of CO2 that specify all attributes of the underlying energy resource, including asset type, production time, precise location, local grid carbon emissions intensity, resource operation start date, etc. Think of it as a full nutritional label for the energy involved with carbon reduction projects.

2. What's the difference between an EAC and a REC?

   An EAC represents the full scope of environmental and social benefits associated with clean energy, whereas a REC (Renewable Energy Credit) represents the generic environmental attributes of a megawatt-hour of clean energy production. By providing visibility into specific attributes like carbon impact and hour of the day, EACs enable clean energy buyers to be more strategic with their investments.

3. Can you track Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?

   EACs can certify energy and carbon emissions related to Scopes 1, 2 & 3. EAC ownership is based on the ownership of the asset from which the EAC was sourced. Scope 1 and 2 emissions always accrue to the asset owner. Scope 3 emissions always accrue to a third party. Similarly, EACs that represent emissions savings can be assigned to asset owners and third parties by Scope.

4. What does it mean to retire EACs and how do I do that?

   "Retiring" an EAC means that you retain ownership of it in perpetuity; it cannot be sold to or claimed by someone else. Only the party that "retires" the EAC can claim the environmental benefits in a sustainability report. Retiring an EAC is simple through your "EAC Management" tab when logged into your WattCarbon account.

5. How does WattCarbon ensure that EACs are not counted twice?

   WattCarbon's registry, WEATS, prevents double counting by assigning a unique ID for each EAC. The unique identifier enables WattCarbon to identify the specific source and timing of the Energy Attribute Right and allows for complete auditability for all transactions. WEATS is designed to maintain compliance with the requirements of existing standards, such as the GHG Protocol.

Measurement and Verification (M&V) Services

1. What M&V can WattCarbon perform?

   WattCarbon is able to perform M&V directly for:

   • Solar Projects
   • Electrification (Heat Pumps)
   • Energy Storage Projects (Batteries)
   • Demand Flexibility
   • Energy Efficiency Projects
   • EV Charging
2. How does automated M&V differ from traditional methods?

   Traditional M&V often involves manual calculations, periodic assessments, and simplified models. Our automated M&V continuously analyzes high-frequency data using advanced analytics to validate energy savings and emissions reductions in near real-time. This provides more accurate results, faster verification, and typically lower costs than conventional approaches.

3. How do you calculate carbon emissions savings?

   WattCarbon follows methodologies approved through the OpenEAC Alliance. Each methodology is implemented through an M&V Plan, hosted at docs.wattcarbon.com. The M&V outputs are shown in the public WEATS Registry for every set of minted EACs.

4. Can I use my own organization's Measurement and Verification methodology?

   Any outside M&V must be submitted and certified by the OpenEAC Alliance. Once certified, WattCarbon can implement this methodology so that the outputs can be independently validated.

Getting Started

1. How can I try Aristotle for my organization?

   You can sign up for a free 30 day trial of our Building Portfolio Decarbonization Dashboard to see how automated insights can accelerate your decarbonization efforts. Launch your trial in minutes and start uncovering opportunities from day one. Alternatively, book a personalized demo with our team to see exactly how this dashboard fits your organization's needs.

   Get started
2. What makes WattCarbon's solution different?

   Our platform combines standards-based M&V methodologies with hourly carbon accounting to provide unprecedented visibility into your building portfolio's performance. The secure cloud-based solution integrates data from multiple sources automatically, scales from small to large portfolios, and provides actionable insights through customizable dashboards and reports—all accessible anytime, anywhere.

3. How quickly can I implement Aristotle for my portfolio?

   Implementation time varies based on portfolio size and existing data infrastructure, but many customers can be up and running within minutes. Our team can work with you to establish data connections, configure assets, and train your team to maximize the platform's value. The system is designed to deliver immediate insights once connected to your data sources.