Buying HVAC Efficiency Treatments in the Public Sector

Public buyers do not just need a good product; they need a purchase that survives an audit. A school district, city, county, university or federal site has to show that it followed the right procurement method for the dollar value, documented why it chose the vendor, and can prove what the taxpayer got. This guide covers the main routes for buying an HVAC efficiency treatment or service, the federal ESPC and UESC frameworks, Texas specifics, the documents to request from any vendor, how to run a pilot inside the rules, and what measurement and verification (M&V) to require. Thresholds and program details below are as of October 2026.

The main procurement routes

Cooperative purchasing contracts

Cooperatives let one public entity buy from a contract that another entity or a purchasing cooperative has already competitively procured. In Texas, Local Government Code Section 271.102 allows a local government to participate in a cooperative purchasing program with other local governments or a local cooperative organization in Texas or another state, and states that a local government purchasing this way "satisfies any state law requiring the local government to seek competitive bids." The Education Code likewise lists an interlocal contract among the methods a school district may use. Examples of purchasing cooperatives include TIPS, BuyBoard, Sourcewell and OMNIA Partners, and federal buyers use GSA schedules. Before relying on any of them, check the cooperative's own contract listing to confirm whether a given vendor holds an awarded contract that covers the specific product or service. This guide does not state that CryogenX4 holds any cooperative or GSA contract; ask the company and verify with the cooperative.

Texas thresholds as of October 2026

The 89th Texas Legislature raised several local competitive-procurement thresholds from $50,000 to $100,000 in Senate Bill 1173, which took effect September 1, 2025 and applies to purchases made on or after that date. As of October 2026:

Two details matter for an efficiency project. First, for municipalities, SB 1173 also amended Section 252.0215 so that purchases of more than $3,000 but less than $100,000 require contacting at least two historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) on a rotating basis, where the Comptroller's list includes HUBs in the county. Second, the school district threshold is an aggregate over a 12-month period, so a pilot and a follow-on rollout with the same vendor in the same year may need to be counted together. Many districts and cities also set lower internal thresholds by board policy; the stricter rule applies. State agencies and public universities follow their own purchasing rules and delegated authority, so check with the agency's purchasing office.

Federal funds change the rules

If any federal grant money is involved, the Uniform Guidance procurement standards in 2 CFR 200 also apply. MRSC's November 2025 summary notes that the federal micro-purchase threshold rose from $10,000 to $15,000 and the simplified acquisition threshold from $250,000 to $350,000 effective October 1, 2025, and advises following "the most restrictive of your local, state, or federal procurement requirements." The same FAR thresholds apply to direct federal purchases.

Federal sites: ESPC and UESC through FEMP

The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) supports two main alternative-financing routes for federal facilities.

• Energy savings performance contracts. FEMP says ESPCs "allow federal agencies to procure energy savings and facility improvements with no up-front capital costs," through a partnership between an agency and an energy service company (ESCO). Agencies have used DOE's indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) ESPC vehicle since 1998, and FEMP provides project facilitators and guidance.
• Utility energy service contracts. FEMP describes a UESC as "a limited-source acquisition between a federal agency and serving utility" for energy management services, authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8256). The utility may finance the project, and the agency may pay with any combination of appropriations and financing.

A treatment like CRYOGENX4 would enter either route as one energy conservation measure proposed by the ESCO or utility, and its savings would be verified under the project's M&V plan like any other measure. Our government and public facilities guide covers the federal framework in more depth.

Texas ESPCs, SECO and LoanSTAR

The Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), part of the Comptroller's office, lists the ESPC statutes by entity: Government Code §2166.406 for state agencies, Local Government Code Chapter 302 for cities and counties, Education Code §44.901 for school districts and §51.927 for institutions of higher education. In SECO's summary, "the contractor must guarantee that the savings will always be at least equal to the payments," and state agencies must notify SECO before pursuing a contract. Contract terms, M&V and approval steps differ by statute, so check the current text with counsel.

SECO's LoanSTAR revolving loan program offers low-interest loans for energy-related retrofits to public school districts, public colleges and universities, and local governments including counties, cities and public hospital taxing districts. Borrowers repay from the energy cost savings the projects produce. SECO publishes a Notice of Loan Fund Availability each year with the loan cap and deadlines; as of October 2026, check the current notice for whether applications are open. Utility incentives may also apply; see Texas utility commercial incentives.

Documents to request from any vendor

1. Form W-9 (current IRS revision) and your entity's vendor registration forms.
2. Certificate of insurance naming your entity as required by your risk office, with general liability, auto and workers' compensation limits you specify.
3. Safety Data Sheet for every product introduced into the equipment.
4. Test documentation in full, not logos: compatibility reports naming the lab, method, refrigerants and oils covered, and any energy performance test reports with methods and conditions. See what each lab test proves.
5. Technician credentials, including EPA Section 608 certification for anyone connecting to refrigerant circuits.
6. References from comparable facilities, with contact names you can call yourself.
7. A proposed M&V plan and a sample report format.
8. Warranty position: the vendor's own warranty terms in writing and its view of any effect on OEM warranties, which you then check against your equipment contracts.
9. Required public-sector forms, such as conflict-of-interest and other disclosures your state requires.

Our vendor due-diligence checklist expands on each item.

Running a pilot inside procurement rules

A pilot is the cleanest way to test a claim on your own equipment before committing public money at scale. To keep it defensible:

1. Buy the pilot by the right method. A small pilot will often fall under the informal-purchase threshold. Get the quotes your policy requires and document the price as reasonable.
2. Do not split purchases. Do not break a larger intended purchase into pieces to stay under a threshold, and remember the aggregate rules.
3. Write the M&V plan before installation. Define the units, metrics (kW, kWh, kW per ton), baseline period, normalization method and what result would count as success.
4. Keep the follow-on open. A successful pilot does not by itself justify a sole-source award. Use the pilot results to write performance-based specifications for a competitive solicitation, or confirm with counsel whether a statutory exception applies.
5. Put the result in the file, whether positive or not, with the data and calculations.

Our pilot program guide describes a one- to three-unit pilot in detail.

M&V requirements to write in

Most public efficiency programs rely on the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), published by the Efficiency Valuation Organization. Measures on specific equipment usually use retrofit-isolation Options A or B; whole-facility Option C applies when several interacting measures are verified together. For federal ESPCs, FEMP lists four required M&V activities: determining baselines and estimated savings, developing the M&V plan, the post-installation M&V report and annual M&V. For a treatment purchase, require at minimum:

• a baseline measured before installation, with independent variables recorded;
• a stated IPMVP option and boundary;
• normalization for weather and load;
• raw data delivered to you, not only a summary;
• a report you can audit, as described in how to read an M&V report.

Where CryogenX4 fits

CryogenX4 reports that CRYOGENX4 is a one-time application installed while the system runs, with no downtime and no system modifications, typically in one day, by trained, certified technicians. The company states energy savings of up to 30% and a typical payback of 12 to 36 months, with results varying by equipment condition, and that a first-generation Tri-S product was tested under the DOE Federal Energy Management Program. Testing under a program is not an endorsement or a guarantee for your site, so request the underlying reports and measure your own units. For the company's public-sector overview, see CryogenX4 for government.

Next step: check your threshold and method with your purchasing office, then request a pilot on one to three representative units with an M&V plan agreed in advance.