Join us for the Smart Buildings Exchange 2026!

Smart Buildings Center

Energy Efficiency Innovation Center, Tool Library & Data Visualization

SBX 2026 Keynote Announcement & Hotel Room Block

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We’re excited to announce our SBX Day 2 Closing Keynote “What Will It Take to Reach Scale?”

Dawn Lindell, former CEO of Seattle City Light, will deliver a forward-looking closing keynote focused on where we should go from here and what it will take to truly accelerate the industry. Dawn has 20 years of utility experience in electric distribution and transmission, water, wastewater, and gas. Before her time at City Light, Dawn served as the General Manager at Burbank Water and Power, setting strategic direction and delivering water, power, and business high-speed internet to the media capital of the world. She has experience leading two federal multi-state regional transmission utilities, serving as a transformational Chief Information Officer at both municipal and federal utilities, and leading customer service at a large municipal utility to top-quartile J.D. Power customer service performance. Dawn has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in business administration, with a focus on information technology, from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Register now to join us at the event on November 9th & 10th!


Hotel Room Block – reservation deadline 10/19

We secured a limited number of rooms at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront across from the Bell Harbor International Conference Center where SBX will be held for $239/night plus tax. The deadline for booking is Monday, October 19th. You can use the link below to book a room for Nov 9-10th, and if you’d like to add Nov 8th or 11th to your reservation, please email Ethan Vollers with your confirmation # and desired dates of stay.

Book a room here

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SBX 2026 is where the Pacific Northwest’s smart buildings community comes together to do the hard work of figuring out what’s next. Whether you join us as an attendee, a speaker, or a sponsor, we hope to see you there.

Questions? Reach us at [email protected]

More information: www.sbxconference.org

10/21 and 10/23 Qualified Energy Manager Training

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The next virtual Qualified Energy Manager Training is coming up this month!

The Qualified Energy Management (QEM) course is designed to equip building professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to comply with the Tier 2 requirements of the Washington State’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS). This course is brought to you by the Smart Buildings Center in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Commerce. This comprehensive training is ideal for building operators, energy managers, and facility staff.

Upon completion of the Qualified Energy Management (QEM) course, you will be able to:

  • Establish the energy use intensity target (EUIt) according to Section 7.
  • Calculate the building’s measured energy use intensity (EUI) by completing Form C according to Section 5.2.
  • Submit forms as specified in Normative Annex Y documenting compliance.
  • State in writing on Form A that the Energy Management plan and Operations and Maintenance program requirements have been developed, implemented and maintained.
  • Submit and sign Form A.

    Dates: 10/21 and 10/23Time: 8:30 am to 12:30 pmYou will need to participate both days as each day covers different content.Register

Help Move Building Projects from Scope to Financing with C-PACER 10/27

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Energy engineers, contractors, ESCOs, and other building professionals are often among the first to identify the improvements a building needs — and the capital required to get the work done. Understanding available financing options can help those projects move from recommendations to implementation.

Join C-PACER program administrators and professionals from across the Puget Sound region on October 27 at 9Zero in Seattle for the 2026 Puget Sound C-PACER Symposium to learn how Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience (C-PACER) financing can support eligible building improvements, including energy efficiency, HVAC, electrification, resilience, and other qualifying projects.

The symposium will bring together the key players involved in C-PACER projects, including building owners, C-PACER lenders, first mortgage lenders, brokers, engineers, contractors, commercial real estate professionals, and program administrators.

For professionals who help owners identify, scope, and implement building improvements, the symposium is an opportunity to learn when C-PACER may be a good fit, how to introduce it earlier in project planning, and who to connect with when a project needs financing. It’s also an opportunity to build relationships with the owners, lenders, and other professionals needed to move more projects forward.

The event is free, but registration is required.

Register: https://luma.com/z6jermrp

For questions about C-PACER financing or the symposium, please contact Don Robinson at [email protected].

Back to School Season – For All of Us!

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It’s back to school season, and many of us at Building Potential and the Smart Buildings Center sent our own kids back to the classroom this week. Others among us have watched our kids grow up and walk across the stage at college and trade school graduations, launching into their first careers. Maybe back to school just means more buses and more traffic on the roads each morning. Maybe it means welcoming cooler, cozier weather after summer. Or maybe it means football season is finally here.

Whatever September means to you, here at Building Potential and the Smart Buildings Center, it’s always back to school season. We believe learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom, and there’s always an opportunity to build your knowledge, sharpen your skills, further your career, or start a brand new one in the energy efficiency and decarbonization field, and to meet others doing this work alongside you.

Here’s what’s on the calendar:

• Continuing education webinars through SBX Plus — ongoing opportunities to keep learning year-round. Learn more

• BOC courses are open for registration across the country — a great next step whether you’re just starting out or looking to formalize the skills you already have. Find a course

• Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) returns to Seattle on November 9th and 10th. Join us for two days of connection and learning with the region’s energy efficiency and decarbonization community. Register here

However you’re settling back into fall, we hope you’ll take a moment to invest in yourself, or your team. We’d love to see you at one of these upcoming events.

SBX 2026 Prize Drawings & 9/12 Early-Bird Registration Deadline

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This year, when you attend SBX 2026 on November 9th & 1oth you will be entered into a prize drawing for two great prizes: a $500 airline travel voucher and a $250 Hyatt travel voucher! All you need to do is check in at the registration table and be present when the drawings happen each day during the networking happy hours.

SBX features a great line up of inspiring speakers and engaging sessions(opens in new tab), and by just showing up you have a great chance at winning these prizes.

Early-bird registration ends on September 12th – register today and save!(opens in new tab)

(opens in new tab)Discounts are available for SBX sponsors, Building Potential members, and BOC students and grads. Please reach out to Britton Rife(opens in new tab) if you need a discount code.

Understanding Envelope Tradeoffs: Navigating the Component Performance Alternative Pathway in the Commercial Washington State Energy Code (WSEC-C)

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Registration Link:

https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/2ad2XZM8RReTc2GyKrVLrQ#/registration

Sponsors: 

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA)

Moderator:

Heather Burpee, UW Integrated Design Lab

Presenters: 

Teresa Moroseos, UW Integrated Design Lab

Pia Westen, SHKS Architects

Andi Burnham, Delta E Consulting

Date: Sep 30, 2026 from 12-1 via webinar

CEUs: 1.0 AIA HSW or Certificates of Completion

Description:

Architects make many design decisions that shape envelope performance, yet UA trade-off analysis is often viewed as outside their scope. This webinar introduces the UA trade-off pathway as a practical design and compliance tool for commercial buildings under WSEC 2021. Participants will learn the fundamentals of U-factor and total UA analysis, how the trade-off pathway differs from prescriptive compliance, when it can provide useful design flexibility, and how envelope design strategies can be evaluated using the WSEC Webtool.

Topics will include:

  • Why architects should care about UA trade-off analysis
  • UA basics: a building science overview and what UA means
  • Prescriptive compliance versus the UA trade-off pathway
  • When UA trade-off analysis is useful, including examples from practice
  • Where U-factors come from
  • Demonstration of using the WSEC Webtool to conduct a UA trade-off analysis

The webinar will also briefly discuss when the Total Building Performance (C407) pathway may be appropriate for projects requiring additional flexibility, as well as upcoming code considerations, such as thermal bridging calculations.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Explain the basic concepts of U-factor, envelope area, and total UA, and describe how they relate to building envelope performance.
  2. Distinguish between the prescriptive envelope compliance pathway and the UA trade-off pathway under WSEC 2021.
  3. Recognize common sources of U-factor information, including code lookup tables, manufacturer data, and calculated assembly values.
  4. Understand the basic workflow for using a UA trade-off tool to evaluate envelope design options and support energy code compliance documentation.

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