What Do L Prize Partners Do?
L Prize partners assist DOE in the evaluation of proposed products, conducting field assessments and providing input to the overall selection process. Once the winners are selected, L Prize partners will play an important role in promoting and developing markets for the winning products.
Product Evaluation
Products entering the L Prize competition will be evaluated in a multi-step process designed to provide a high level of confidence in their performance and energy efficiency. While performance testing will be conducted by independent test laboratories, program partners will play a critical role in the evaluation process by conducting field assessments of proposed products.
Field assessments will include
- installation in host customer facilities, such as homes, commercial spaces, or outdoor locations
- installation in utility technology demonstration facilities
- focus group testing with retailers, builders, and/or consumers.
Program partners involved in field assessments will use criteria established by the DOE GATEWAY Demonstration program.
L Prize field assessments will
- evaluate energy use of the products when installed in-situ as compared to the existing technology, and generate reproducible energy and demand savings data
- characterize the lighting system performance of the products installed in-situ as compared to the existing technology
- assess reliability of the products during the test period
- evaluate customer acceptance of the products
- assess criteria for cost-effective deployment of the product through a utility energy efficiency program.
Field assessment results will provide valuable input to the overall evaluation process and ultimate selection of winners.
L Prize Product Promotion
Program partners will play an important role in promoting and developing markets for the winning L Prize products. The comprehensive evaluation process defined for the competition will provide a large amount of quantitative and qualitative data to support promotion of the winning products.
Product promotions might include
- product incentives paid directly to manufacturers or to consumers
- collaborative marketing and promotion
- print, radio, TV, and online advertisement
- point of purchase information
- educational materials
- training
- partnerships with local, regional, and/or national retailers
- demonstrations and promotions with local homebuilders, commercial developers, hospitality chains, local government, schools, universities, etc.