Leave unproven equipment and methods to those who develop new products and have a laboratory budget. On the other hand, if you are in a position to work at the frontiers of energy efficiency, the Energy Efficiency Manual will help you survive as a pioneer. These too can be profitable if you give them the attention they need. The Energy Efficiency Manual devotes a lot of attention to the details that make the difference between a reliable system and one that is riddled with problems. This emphasis on avoiding pitfalls and dealing with tricky factors is intended to alert you, not to frighten you.
Energy conservation is still a new subject.
The blunt truth is that many energy conservation projects have failed, almost always because people ignored vital issues at the outset. These issues are often simple. For example, a common cause of energy waste is failing to mark controls so that people know how to use them. Only successful projects pay off. We want you to contribute to the successes, not to the failures.