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Buildings

Accelerating the deployment of clean, efficient and flexible demand-side opportunities at scale

The building sector presents an opportunity to not only decarbonize its energy use, but also help decarbonize other sectors indirectly by releasing grid capacity.  Both require a coordinated, multi-pronged approach that reduces energy consumption, enhances load flexibility, electrifies and switches fuels, and deploys local or networked clean energy solutions through a combination of voluntary and regulatory measures.

 With extensive experience in building decarbonization, Dunsky employs a blend of deep building science, analytics and strategic insight to guide clients through effective decarbonization solutions, encompassing all technologies, market segments, and energy sources.

Our Services

Efficiency is widely recognized as a cost-effective alternative to supply-side investments that helps lower customer bills, yet its role is evolving in the transition to a net-zero economy. While focus is now shifting to saving GHGs, a well as enhancing grid capacity where it is lower emitting but constrained, energy efficiency continues to deliver broader societal and non-energy benefits, making it a central pillar of the energy transition across all regional contexts.

We support clients in accelerating energy efficiency through:

  • Potential assessments: We conduct comprehensive potential studies that assess the technical, economic and achievable potential for energy savings across all fuels and sectors.
  • Program and portfolio design: We design DSM programs and strategies that target every program strategy, sector, end use and technology to help unlock demand-side opportunities.
  • Evaluation: We develop evaluation plans and frameworks, and perform impact (including equity) process and market evaluations to quantify the energy, GHG, economic and related impacts (e.g. rate and bill, non-energy benefits), and identify actions for improvement.
  • Financing: We assess, design and evaluate effective, equitable and practical financing programs that unlock capital and move projects forward. Our efforts have supported projects collectively worth over $2 billion for utilities, all levels of government, program administrators and financial institutions.
  • Codes and standards: We support enhancements to building codes and standards to support decarbonization as well as building and equipment labelling policies, and performance standards.
  • Market transformation: We assess and develop strategies to expand and transform markets, as well as evaluate transformation impacts. We support utilities, governments and industry with market transformation efforts across residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Dunsky brings wide-ranging experience helping clients design and evaluate demand response (DR) strategies and flexible load strategies. We bring a deep understanding of related measures, programs and strategies, having supported dozens of utility and program administrators.

Our services include:

  • Potential assessments: We assess the technical, economic and achievable potential for peak reduction strategies, including dynamic rates and DR technologies such as smart thermostats, EV smart charging and storage, and always considering their interactions with other DERs.
  • Pilot programs and program design: We aid in designing DR pilots, including cost-effectiveness analysis, participant selection, strategy development, impact analysis, and program evaluation.
  • Program evaluation: Our team evaluates DR programs’ impact and process efficiency, utilizing our expertise to provide detailed and accurate assessments of various demand-side practices.
  • Demand forecasting: We forecast the impact of growing loads on peak demands, from the system-wide down to spatial, feeder-level granularity, so that grid owners can better plan to meet their customer needs.

Decarbonizing heating is already complex, but having to do it quickly while considering system-level impacts and maintaining affordability makes it a significant, region-specific challenge. Our assessments explore opportunities for combinations of full and partial electrification, peak management, thermal and electric storage, renewable natural gas, thermal energy networks, and distributed generation.

Our services include:

  • Potential assessments: We provide assessments of building decarbonization opportunities using our proprietary models that consider the nuances of different technology measures, baseline equipment and control strategies; as well as the market, policy and customer drivers that influence their uptake. Our potential assessments offer clients precise, actionable insights.
  • Demand forecasting: We forecast the impact of growing loads due to heating electrification, including all types of heat pumps (ductless, ducted or hydronic; both air-source and ground-source), as well as energy configurations (hybrid-heating or all-electric) so that distributors can plan accordingly, and program administrators can influence uptake to maximize benefits.
  • Feasibility studies: We assess the technical and economic merit of building decarbonization technologies and initiatives, offering clients precise, actionable insights that aid decision-making.
  • Decarbonization roadmaps: We develop clear, actionable decarbonization roadmaps that combine policy, technology, and financial measures for effective emission reduction strategies.
  • Program design: We design ambitious yet practical strategies and programs to accelerate electrification and decarbonization projects at scale across residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
  • Market evaluations: We help identify barriers, trends and opportunities that impact tbuilding decarbonization and develop strategies that align with market developments.

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Featured Experts

Lauren McNutt

Managing Consultant

Lauren co-leads Dunsky’s Buildings practice, bringing a keen understanding of consumer behaviour and markets to her work. She has led some of Dunsky’s most high-profile program design and evaluation projects.

Contact Lauren

François Boulanger

Senior Research Lead

François co-leads Dunsky’s Buildings practice, bringing in-depth knowledge of energy efficiency programs and opportunities spanning the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Contact François