SnapCount Insights

2024 is off to a brisk start in the energy efficiency industry, and there appears to be no slow-down ahead.  In a landscape etched through evolving challenges and opportunities, service providers and building owners alike must navigate a complex array of factors to drive success this year. Let’s dive into the key retrofit trends that are sure to drive innovation and transformation in the industry in 2024.

Electric vehicles are everywhere. In the space of just five years, from 2017 to 2022, EV sales have increased tenfold. And all the hype around EVs comes with plenty of opportunities. The EV charging sector is projected to reach $53 billion in 2027.

With available government incentives and relatively low material costs (Level 2 ports can range from about $4,000 to $6,000), electric vehicle charging stations can seem like a clear-cut, easy business opportunity, especially for business owners with electrical or energy backgrounds.

What this means for you as an electrical contractor or energy retrofit service provider, is that the market is ripe for accelerated growth! SnapCount is currently helping clients extend their offering into the growing world of EV charging with:

• EV-specific site audit data collection
• Ready access to leading EV charging manufacturers
• Bid workflow for subcontracting electrical or civil work
• Graphical proposal templates that quickly tell your story of why the customer should work with you

To help you assess if the EV charging market is for you, here are some things to keep in mind before adding EV charging stations to your business.

As an energy retrofit professional, you don’t need anybody to tell you about conventional energy retrofits.

But these are unconventional times when it comes to the demand for more energy efficiency, especially for commercial and industrial buildings. That’s because, as Energystar.gov reports, those buildings are responsible for half of the nation’s energy use and nearly half of its greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that on average, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted due to inefficiencies.

So, it’s no surprise that deep energy retrofits are an increasingly popular topic of discussion among building owners and managers. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Is it better to have a few big clients or dozens of small ones? Maybe the answer is both. Having a diverse client base that includes large and small companies offers unique advantages that can help your company maintain a steady cash flow.

Adding some large clients can help you achieve a balanced mix that creates a safety net for your company. Because, let’s face it, smaller clients often have tighter budgets — and missed or late payments can be devastating. Bigger clients, on the other hand, bring in more revenue and push your business to meet higher standards.

If your retrofit business has focused mostly on smaller clients, adding larger ones can help you get a more balanced mix. However, selling to larger accounts takes a different approach.

The energy industry is changing at… well, light-speed. As both regulations and demand shift toward greater sustainability, and as new technologies and applications rise to meet those demands, it’s hard to keep up with it all.

And if you’re a busy energy contractor growing your business, where will you find the time to figure out which trends and advancements are worth investing in … and which are just passing fads?

That’s why we spoke to Timothy Unruh, the Executive Director of The National Association of Energy Companies (NAESCO), who gave us his thoughts on where the industry is going.

Today, the retrofit industry is enjoying some very strong tailwinds. Government mandates, decarbonization strategies, ESG goals, the Inflation Reduction Act: Everywhere you look, you’ll see trends that favor energy-saving retrofit projects.

Yet too many businesses struggle to capitalize on this momentum. Why? Because they’re so busy with what’s right in front of them, they never look up to see the larger macro trends at play. And if they do notice these trends, they may feel too busy to do much about them.

We want to help you think bigger. If you want to grow your retrofit business, here are some smart places to start.

As a business owner, you understand the value of a dollar. While there will always be someone trying to sell you on the “latest and greatest” or some new bells and whistles, you need a pretty compelling reason to change what you’re doing, especially when you’ve got a solution that works.

It’s this line of thinking that accounts for why many auditors still rely on spreadsheets to complete their work. But while spreadsheets might seem like the most inexpensive solution, on closer inspection, you might be surprised to discover they come with plenty of costs of their own, both in terms of your time and your money.

To explain what we mean, here are 10 reasons your spreadsheets cost you far more than you think.

Conducting a successful lighting audit is no simple feat. But in an industry where time equals money, the most savvy auditors are always looking for ways to streamline the process for greater efficiency. Some even go so far as software design in an attempt to create their own custom tool that can quickly resolve the most common problems they face.

But that’s no simple thing, either. Just ask Ty Clark, the founder of LightBids. LightBids is a lighting audit software Ty developed in his quest to help auditors overcome the most common challenges they face on the job. The lessons he learned in the process are invaluable for anyone thinking of going down the same path.

Call us ahead of our time: While we’ve always understood the incredible impact efficiency measures have on energy operations, we’re seeing the mainstream take notice in a big, big way. As corporations work to achieve significant sustainability goals, it has led to a reality where energy efficiency has become a de facto obligation for leading business and their facilities.

Given the nearly 6 million non-residential buildings in the United States representing over 100 billion square feet of space, energy and electrification represent a $2 trillion opportunity over the next 10 years.

Yes, that’s a lot of opportunity for our industry, but we’re also putting our own dollars, reputations, and human capital and energy at stake on these projects. With so much work on the horizon, now is the time to make sure our energy audits are the best they can possibly be. If we don’t, there will be a high price to pay.

When we talk about return on investment in the retrofit business, it’s usually because we’re talking to customers. Guiding them through the ROI of retrofit projects and explaining the most meaningful metrics is one of the best ways to get them on board with a project. Who could turn down the opportunity to save money and even increase their margins?

Great question. Because today, we’re going to talk about how you can see a great return when you invest in retrofit software.