SnapCount Insights

If you lead an energy services organization, you know the game is about making your team operationally excellent to keep up with the pace and rigor of the energy transition boom. Like other innovators, you’ve needed to focus on transforming your business model by leveraging digital technologies to enable efficiency, improve precision, and set your team apart from the competition.

In today's economic landscape, the energy efficiency sector faces a significant challenge: the rising cost of labor. According to NECA, the average hourly wage for an electrician in the U.S. increased by approximately 3-4% annually between 2019 and 2023. In 2019, the average hourly rate was around $28.50, which increased to approximately $32.50 by 2023.

With the increasing focus on sustainability, major corporations like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Walmart are setting aggressive targets, aiming for carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions as early as 2030, some extending to 2040.

But even if your energy service business doesn’t work with giants like these, you might find yourselves working with any of their tens of thousands of suppliers … who will also be held to account for their sustainability practices.

As an energy professional, how do you lead these conversations and become more relevant and vital to your customers?

Rising energy costs, increased demand for energy efficiency among building owners, and stricter energy codes have all increased the demand for LED Lighting controls.

In our recent webinar, “Leveraging Controls to Specify Code-Compliant Retrofit Projects,” StreamLinx Director of Products Mike Seifert joined Wayne Callum, VP of Sales of North America for Linmore Labs, to discuss the importance of energy codes and controls, how advanced control systems can enhance your energy-efficient retrofit projects, and how to use tools like SnapCount to sell prospective clients on energy efficiency. Here’s a recap in case you missed it.

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.