EMPEQ works to make energy audits faster to boost retrofits

ITHACA — After years of conducting energy-efficiency audits — checking buildings for things like drafty windows and outdated heating and cooling equipment — the founders of EMPEQ felt there had to be a better way than the inefficient pen-and-paper method most auditors used to take notes. And if enough time wasn’t spent on taking notes and photos on the scene, all that information then needed to be entered into a database to generate an energy model, says Herbert Dwyer, EMPEQ’s CEO. “There was just a ridiculous amount of time wasted by us collecting all this data,” he says. “This has to change. There has to be a better way.” About seven years ago, Dwyer, along with Derek LaClair, COO, and Ed Wilson, CSO, joined forces to create EMPEQ, which focuses on energy efficiency and equipment-management technology with instant equipment insights. The company, which operates from the REV: Ithaca Startup Works incubator space, uses technology and artificial intelligence to speed up the energy-audit process. With EMPEQ, an auditor really doesn’t have to do much more than take pictures while on site with the company’s Fast Site Survey product. By the time the auditor is back in the office, the data is ready for modeling, Dwyer says. Those models are the blueprints that tell building owners what is needed to improve the building’s energy efficiency, and they are important to help the United States reach its climate goals by the 2050 deadline, LaClair says. Actually, in order for everyone to meet that goal, building retrofits need to happen at a pace three times faster than the current one. That works out to about 7,100 buildings a day. “Eighty-three percent of buildings are using equipment that is beyond its useful life,” he says. That means more than four out of every five buildings are using old, less efficient equipment. With already thin operating margins, undertaking an energy audit and building retrofit can seem financially daunting, Dwyer concedes. But the bigger picture is that businesses are already spending that money. “They’re overspending on their electric bill, their gas bill, their steam bill,” he says. While an audit and retrofit is an investment, it will result in lower utility costs. Additionally, the state has many programs with rebates and other incentives to defray some of those costs. Starting with just an energy audit at least lets building owners know what equipment they have, and that information can help them leverage the programs that are available, Dwyer explains. “This is not about just saving the planet and doing the right thing,” he says. “Financially, it makes sense.” Currently, the U.S. Air Force is EMPEQ’s biggest customer, using the company’s technology to audit its bases. “We are also partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy,” Dwyer says. The department is using EMPEQ’s technology to audit college campuses. “We work with utilities as well,” Dwyer says, along with private multinational/multidivisional companies. EMPEQ was recently included in the SET100 List of 2024, a recognition by the German Energy Agency that highlights the 100 most promising energy startups around the world. The accolade comes just as EMPEQ is getting ready to release Fast Site Survey 3.0, the latest version of its flagship product. The company is also getting ready to add on more employees. With 14 currently, Dwyer says EMPEQ is looking for people to fill sales, marketing, development/coding, and project manager roles. “Things are going really well,” Dwyer says. “We finally have a tailwind. We’re looking for the best and the brightest.”