There is a saying that you never know what your insurance policy actually covers until you submit a claim and receive a check. The same can be said of product guarantees: a consumer may find out what it covers only when something goes wrong. Energy savings guarantees add a wrinkle: both parties may only find out what the guarantee covers when the customer claims that the energy-saving equipment did not deliver the guaranteed savings. How could an energy-services contractor not understand his own guarantee?
The short answer is that this result could happen in several situations, such as when a promise of savings is written in very general language and included within an equipment and services proposal to a facility owner: “We will save [your company] at least 20 percent in energy costs. The [equipment] will pay for itself within 3 years.” The proposal is incorporated into the contract.