Energy Transition Planning

The built environment is changing. Are you changing with it? Many municipalities have enacted sweeping natural gas bans or revisions to their energy code to combat climate change. Although this won't affect existing buildings immediately, the world is moving away from fossil fuels. We'd like to guide you and your stakeholders through this paradigm shift.

Energy Transition Planning is a strategic initiative to lock in high-ROI, long-term energy efficiency savings, followed by an exploration of electrification, energy storage, and renewable energy measures to fully decarbonize to meet regulations and boost resiliency in the face of increasing energy uncertainty.


Your Playbook for the Energy Transition

Discovery Assessment

Understanding energy use, regulatory outlook, organizational sustainability goals, and building owner & occupant requirements through utility bill analysis, local regulatory research, and an ASHRAE level I energy audit. Most importantly, we encourage everyone involved to think creatively about how to solve these challenges.

Energy Transition Playbook

We develop a 5 to 15 year energy transition playbook with all stakeholders to increase energy efficiency in the short term to fund future aging systems replacements and implement new technologies, such as renewables and energy storage over the following years. The plan's goal is to find the optimal, least cost path to achieve the necessary level of decarbonization. Most clients opt implement the highest yielding measures as early as possible. This is a living document and will be revised as needed to reflect new market and regulatory conditions.

Implement Playbook Measures

High-priority retro-commissioning and energy efficiency measures should be implemented first to create a positive cashflow waterfall to fund future capital expenses needed for full electrification and increased resiliency.  Each year, a selection of measures should be implemented, and large capital expenditure projects, such as boiler replacements, will be scheduled appropriately and with ample engineering study time. Since implementation is an iterative process, the measures will be evaluated continuously to fully document cost reduction and emissions impacts as they occur.

What Cities Are Doing

  • New York City's Local Law 154 phases out the use of fossil fuels such as fuel oil and gas in new construction starting in 2024. This law will help reduce ratepayer subsidy costs for expanding the natural gas distribution system, which will become more expensive to maintain as it becomes a stranded asset. 
  • California's new energy code incentivizes builders to use heat pumps for space heating and water heating, starting in 2023. The state's 2030 climate goal requires it to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% relative to 1990 levels. The California Energy Commission has decided the optimal path to achieve this is by transitioning the state's building stock from gas-fired appliances to heat pump systems.
  • Chicago's 2022 Energy Transformation Code aims to meet its decarbonization goals by requiring new residences to have the built-in electrical capacity and wiring needed to operate electric appliances, stoves, water heaters, and furnaces, regardless of whether they will have electric or gas appliances. Chicago's climate goals are to reduce the city's carbon emissions by 62% below 2017 levels by 2040.


Our Solutions

  • Improve energy efficiency with low-cost retro-commissioning and light capital replacements.
  • Retrofit with fuel switching and electrification-enabling technologies such as heat recovery chillers and heat pumps systems including heat pump water heaters, water-source & air-source heat pump systems.
  • Install energy storage and renewable energy such as batteries, thermal energy storage, solar, and cogeneration.
  • Assist with project management by helping with contractor selection and oversight, performing a final inspection and handling all utility incentive documents.
  • Evaluate building electrification energy savings and carbon emissions reductions with a full IPMVP protocol.


If your building is seeking Energy Star Certification, or just need to get on Energy Star Portfolio Manager, our energy professionals are standing by.


Book a call with an energy engineer