Join us for the Smart Buildings Exchange 2026!

Smart Buildings Center

Energy Efficiency Innovation Center, Tool Library & Data Visualization

Clean Building Performance Webinar Series and New and Updated Guidance Documents

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CBPS Webinar Series: How to submit a Tier 1 compliance application

The first compliance deadline for Tier 1 buildings over 220,000 square feet is approaching quickly. To help building owners and their teams, the Clean Buildings team is hosting a webinar on how to submit a Tier 1 compliance application through the Clean Buildings Portal.

Join us on May 6, 2025, at 10 a.m. This session is designed for all Tier 1 covered buildings and will walk participants through accessing the portal, setting up shared access, connecting your compliance application to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and completing the submission. Whether you’re preparing your first application or want to make sure everything is submitted correctly, this webinar will provide step-by-step guidance and helpful tips.

 

REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE

 

New and updated guidance documents added

We’ve updated and added new guidance documents! Visit the Clean Buildings Document Library to review new and updated guidance documents.

Updated:

New

FREE Webinars at The Lab at City Light May – June

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Our friends at the The Lab at City Light want you to know about some upcoming Webinars. Don’t miss your chance to enroll in these free sessions from The Lab at City Light! Learn more about The Lab at: Lighting Design Lab

Selling Energy Projects with Pro Forma Thinking
May 14, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Online | Free
You’ll also see how real-world capital pathways (C-PACE, performance contracting, Energy-as-a-Service, green bonds and tax credits) snap into a pro forma narrative that gets to “yes.” You’ll leave with a practical story arc, a sharper value stack and model inputs you can reuse to move bold projects from “interesting” to funded.
Performance Commissioning: Delivering High-Performance Buildings and Enabling Electrification
May 21, 2026 | 10:00 am – 11:30am | Online | Free
In this session, you’ll learn what performance commissioning is, how it differs from traditional approaches, and why it is essential for both new construction and retrofit projects. You’ll also gain insight into how it supports electrification and ensures reliable, efficient, and long-term building performance.
Urban Business District Lighting Review
May 28, 2026 | 10:00 am – 11:00am | Online | Free
This discussion will offer a review of human perception leading to practical tips on how to consider effective lighting including concepts. Real world examples will be used to illustrate effective design approaches as well as some cautionary tales.
Deliver High Performance Heat Pump Retrofits
June 4, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Online | Free
In this session, David Richardson will layout a blueprint for how you can add High Performance Heat Pump Retrofits to your product offerings and avoid the most common pitfalls.

ICYMI This Week at the Smart Buildings Center & Building Potential

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This week we hosted our third session in our SBX Plus webinar series, How to Utilize Diagnostic Tools to Identify Energy Savings. The presentation showcased how modern diagnostic tools uncover hidden inefficiencies in building systems and pinpoint actionable energy-saving opportunities. You can catch this recording, register for future sessions, and find more information and registration opportunities for Smart Buildings Exchange webinars and in person conference here.
Jorge Melendez, Senior Specialist of Conservation and Efficiency Programs at Southern California Edison, Robby Martin, Building Analytics Business Development Lead at ATS Automation and Britton Rife, Senior Project Manager at the SBC and Building Potential covered practical approaches to utilizing specific diagnostic tools, analyzing data, prioritizing improvements, and validating results. Many regions have access to commercial tool lending libraries, check them out here:

Washington & Oregon

Smart Buildings Center – https://www.smartbuildingscenter.org/tool-library/


Idaho

University of Idaho – Integrated Design Lab – http://idlboise.com/about-erl


California

Pacific Gas & Electric – www.pge.com/tools

Sonoma County – http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/General-Services/Energy-and-Sustainability/Tool-Lending-Library/

Southern California Edison – https://www.sce.com/business/consulting-services/energy-education-centers

San Diego Gas & Electric – https://www.sdge.com/energy-innovation-center/tool-and-book-lending-library


New York

CUNY Building Performance Lab – https://nycenergytools.com/

2030 Districts Energy Week

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Our partners at the Bellevue 2030 District and Seattle 2030 District are excited to share the line-up of events for Energy Week 2026! We hope you can join us at these energy-focused events highlighting energy efficiency in the built environment: 

To learn more about Energy Week and how you can get involved, visit: https://2030districts.org/bellevue/energy-week/ 

Smart Buildings Center and Building Potential Quarterly Snapshot

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Q1 Quarterly Recap

SBX ‘26

SBX Registration is OPEN – Smart Buildings Exchange Nov 9-10 2026 register today and use this link to direct your colleagues to the registration site

SBX+, our webinar series leading up to the 2 day in-person event, will be happening virtually from February to October. You can get access to both the webinar series and the in-person event for a bundled rate. Recordings are available.

Next up: April 15 – How to Utilize Diagnostic Tools to Identify Energy Savings

The BOC

We’re always launching new BOC courses and are excited to announce that Level I and Fundamentals are happening right now! New courses are starting soon and we have the schedule lined up well into the Summer and Fall. Register today or share the word with our website at: theboc.info

Tool Lending Library

The TLL continues to offer a wide array of tools to service professionals in Washington and Oregon. You can always find an updated list of tools here along with instructions on how to request a tool and videos and guides for tool use and care.

Have Con Will Travel!

We’re on the road and spreading the word at conferences around the region and beyond! Recently we visited EdCon and AEE West, sharing the news about SBX, The BOC and our advocacy work as Building Potential to lines of attendees at our booths. Will we see you at the next one? We keep a list of conferences we promote and attend at theBOC.info – Trade Shows

OBEP Fellowship Case Studies Series, McMinnville Community Center

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Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be sharing 3 case studies from our OBEP Fellow detailing buildings around McMinnville, OR starting today with the Community Center!

What is OBEP?

The Oregon Building Energy and Performance project (OBEP) is a collaborative initiative led by the Smart Buildings Center, Strategic Energy Innovations, San Timoteo Energy Associates, in coordination with the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). This partnership supports under-resourced building owners in meeting the requirements of Oregon’s Building Performance Standards (OR BPS).  As part of the initiative, the OBEP Fellow receives training in areas such as the Green Building Practicum, Building Operator Certification, and Oregon BPS compliance.

View or download the first case study here as a .pdf

Are you interested in the services provided by the OBEP Fellowship? Fill out the interest form here.

Contact Us

Smart Buildings Center
Pacific Tower
1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 110
Seattle, WA 98144

206-538-0832

[email protected]

Smart Buildings Center is a project collaboration with Building Potential