BlueUrbn: we scale energy efficiency and clean energy in buildings using ML

by  Team BlueUrbn

How our solution addresses the problem

SF’s transition to a new energy model over the next three decades will be a majestic achievement. Ultimately, every fossil fuel power plant will need to be shuttered. Natural gas must be phased down, and coal consigned to the past – there is no way around it. Our objective and vision is to make every building in the city – commercial and residential – 100% electric and emissions free by 2030.

We achieve this by leveraging hundreds of thousands of data points from satellite imagery, Google street view images, weather data, ownership records, and techno-economic information to map the energy consumption and emissions for every single building in the city, and determine the cost of electrifying and retrofitting with energy efficiency and distributed renewable energy technologies. We start with the low hanging fruit – we electrify commercial buildings that account for 50% of the city’s energy consumption and emissions. And specifically, we target buildings and portfolios that are cost-negative to electrify and upgrade (close to 12,000 of 17,000) buildings. Providing tangible and visually appealing measures that building owners can adopt for decarbonizing their properties contributes significantly to widespread building decarbonization.

From here, we scale to residential buildings, engage in city-wide decarbonization campaigns and continue to improve our automated energy recommendation engine. We only stop after making every major city in the US completely carbon free and 100% electrified.

My solution and its purpose

BlueUrbn is a one-stop energy efficiency platform to decarbonize buildings using machine learning at city-scale. We use proprietary technology to analyze, finance and upgrade homes and buildings with the latest in energy-efficient, electric technology and appliances. In this way, we decarbonize the built environment, reduce soft costs, shorten project timelines and make the benefits of these upgrades accessible to all.

Using our technology-enabled platform, we identify building-level energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades for individual commercial buildings and homes. With just an address and historical electricity data, our platform identifies the best projects to implement, and their associated cost savings, carbon abatement potential, relevant financing mechanisms, and applicable rebates and incentives. We then liaise with our nationwide network of providers and match with technology vendors and contractors and also present a range of financing options. We meet building owners and homeowners where they are – not the other way around.

The current way to do this is to manually evaluate each building individually and conduct time-intensive in-person assessments. With our platform, we eliminate the hassle, streamline project identification and execution, and get things done all in one place – for an entire city. Achieving net zero emissions by 2040 will require a strategic shift from natural gas to 100% renewable electricity – and the only way that this can be done is through leveraging a one-stop platform that combines machine learning, data analytics, and remote assessments for efficiency and clean energy at scale.