Start by measuring, not guessing
Efficiency proposals that arrive before anyone has looked at the building are sales documents, not engineering. The savings quoted in them are generic, and they rarely survive contact with a real meter.
We begin with what your building actually consumes and when. That distinguishes a genuine efficiency problem from equipment simply running longer than it needs to.
- Utility bill analysis across a full year, including demand charges
- Load measurement at the panel under real operating conditions
- Equipment inventory with hours of operation
- Comparison of consumption against how the building is actually used
- Identification of loads running outside occupied hours
Where commercial electricity usually goes
The proportions vary by building type, but the pattern is consistent enough to guide where to look first.
The usual order of opportunity
- Lighting, especially where fluorescent or HID remains
- Lighting hours, where controls are absent or overridden
- HVAC electrical loads, including motors and fans
- Refrigeration in food service and retail
- Compressed air, where leaks make the compressor run constantly
- Phantom load from equipment left energised overnight
- Demand charges driven by short peaks rather than total use
Check demand charges before chasing kilowatt-hours
On many commercial tariffs, a large share of the bill comes from peak demand rather than total consumption. Staggering equipment start-up can cut that peak without reducing usage at all, and it costs almost nothing to try.
Upgrades we carry out
We only recommend work we can quantify. Where we cannot show why something will save money in your building specifically, we say so rather than selling it anyway.
- LED retrofits across interior, exterior, and high-bay lighting
- Occupancy, vacancy, and daylight-responsive controls
- Time scheduling matched to real operating hours
- Power factor correction where the tariff penalises it
- Sub-metering, so departments and tenants see their own usage
- Electrical infrastructure for heat pump conversions
- Circuits and capacity for EV charging on commercial sites
How an efficiency project runs
- 1
Assessment
We review a year of billing, measure loads at the panel, and inventory equipment with its operating hours.
- 2
Prioritised plan
Measures are ranked by payback, with the cost, the expected saving, and the confidence level stated for each. Low-confidence estimates are labelled as such.
- 3
Incentive application
We confirm what qualifies under Mass Save and handle the application before work begins, since retroactive claims are usually not possible.
- 4
Install and verify
Work is scheduled around operations. Afterwards we measure again, so you know what actually changed rather than what was projected.
Verifying the saving actually happened
Most efficiency work is never measured after installation. The projection goes in the proposal, the equipment goes in the building, and nobody checks.
We measure the same circuits before and after. Sometimes the result beats the projection, sometimes it does not, and either way you have a real number for the next capital decision.
Mass Save and commercial incentives
Massachusetts has among the strongest commercial efficiency incentives in the country, and much of it goes unclaimed because the process is unfamiliar. Lighting and controls are the most consistently supported categories.
Incentive levels change by program year and equipment type, so we confirm eligibility for your specific project rather than publishing figures that go stale. As a Mass Save partner we handle the application.
Applications generally have to be approved before work starts. Installing first and applying afterwards usually forfeits the incentive.
Related commercial services
Jobs we're often asked about alongside this one.
Frequently asked questions
- Where do we get the biggest saving? +
- In most commercial buildings, lighting and lighting controls. Not because fixtures are the largest load in every case, but because the cost to change them is low and the hours are long. We measure before recommending, so the answer is yours rather than generic.
- What are demand charges and why do they matter? +
- Many commercial tariffs bill partly on your highest short-term peak, not just total consumption. A few minutes of simultaneous equipment start-up can set that peak for the month. Staggering start-up sometimes cuts the bill without reducing usage.
- Do you handle the Mass Save application? +
- Yes. We are a Mass Save partner, confirm eligibility for your project, and handle the paperwork. Applications generally need approval before work begins, so it is worth starting that conversation early.
- Will you verify the savings afterwards? +
- Yes. We measure the same circuits before and after so you have a real figure rather than a projection. That number is what makes the case for the next phase.
- Can this be done in phases? +
- Usually, and often it should be. Starting with the highest-return, lowest-disruption measures generates the evidence and sometimes the budget for later phases.
- We are considering heat pumps. Can you help with the electrical side? +
- Yes. Heat pump conversions usually need additional electrical capacity, sometimes a service upgrade. We assess that as part of the plan, and this category often carries strong Mass Save support.