The first step for an electrical contractor that is considering entering or expanding its presence in the energy services market is to identify the target customers. Many ECs skip this step, believing that, if they try to define their customer base too early and narrowly, they may exclude potentially profitable customers.
READ MORE
Thomas E. Glavinich
Freelance Writer
Thomas E. Glavinich is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas. He can be reached at 785.864.3435 and tglavinich@ku.edu.
Articles by Thomas E. Glavinich
February 2013
| under
The electrical contractor (EC) is usually one of the first contractors to mobilize on a construction project to install temporary power and underground raceway systems. READ MORE
December 2012
| under
The lighting retrofit was one of the first services that electrical contractors (ECs) entering the energy services’ market offered their customers. In the beginning, lighting retrofits almost sold themselves because customers recognized that their lighting systems were outdated and believed upgrades would reduce recurring energy expenses and be environmentally responsible. READ MORE
December 2012
| under
In this eleventh and final step of the energy services project delivery process, the electrical contractor (EC) follows up with the customer to verify that the project continues to perform as planned and helps the customer correct any warranty, guarantee or performance issues discovered since project closeout. This step is vital to marketing performance-verification services.
Why verify? READ MORE
November 2012
| under
Steps No. 8 and No. 9 of the energy services project delivery process involve procurement, installation, and integration of materials and equipment into operational systems to meet the customer’s energy conservation, efficiency, production and reliability needs. READ MORE
October 2012
| under
Fuel cells are an evolving technology and a current new market for the electrical contractor (EC). As a result of research and development, fuel cells have become feasible to implement with greater capacity, reduced costs, increased reliability and improved efficiency. READ MORE
October 2012
| under
For a design/build energy services project where the electrical contractor (EC) is the design/builder, project execution follows Step No. 7 of the project delivery process, which involves system design and specification. READ MORE
September 2012
| under
Once the owner has secured funding for an energy services project, the next step is installation design. Most energy services projects follow the design/build method of delivery, since they are typically retrofit projects and the result of working directly with the owner on the previous six steps in the project delivery process. READ MORE
August 2012
| under
One of the barriers to the energy services market is the ability of the electrical contractor’s customer to fund the energy services project that Step No. 5 defined. Unless the customer can fund it, the EC will not have the opportunity to do the work, and the time and effort the EC invested to perform the first five steps will be wasted. READ MORE