Working With Pathline
What it's like to work with Pathline.
Every facility and decision is different, but the engagement shouldn't feel mysterious. Pathline defines the question, the work required, the information needed, and the decision you should be able to make at the end. This page is written so a facility manager can forward it to whoever approves the spend.
The Pathline Method and client role
Five stages, one engineer throughout.
What Pathline does at each stage, what your team typically does, and what the stage produces. Not every engagement uses all five; a compliance filing may stop after Prioritize, and an ongoing relationship lives in the last stage. The order doesn't change.
- 1
See
Establish what is happening.
- What happens
- Benchmark energy use against comparable facilities, read at least twelve months of utility bills, walk the facility and its systems where that is needed, and identify which requirements and programs apply.
- Pathline role
- Establish current conditions and the decision context
- Typical client role
- Provide data, access, and knowledgeable contacts
- Output
- Defined baseline and decision question
- 2
Quantify
Determine what the opportunity may be worth.
- What happens
- Translate findings into energy, operating cost, project cost, possible incentives, and payback, with every assumption stated beside the number it affects.
- Pathline role
- Analyze performance, opportunity, cost, incentives, and risk
- Typical client role
- Validate assumptions and constraints
- Output
- Defensible opportunity range
- 3
Prioritize
Decide what deserves action and what does not.
- What happens
- Rank operational changes, phased improvements, and capital projects by value, and say plainly when the right answer is no immediate investment.
- Pathline role
- Compare actions and identify what deserves attention
- Typical client role
- Confirm operational and capital priorities
- Output
- Recommended path and business case
- 4
Implement
Carry approved recommendations into action.
- What happens
- Stay with approved measures as they move into action: incentive applications, technical questions from contractors, and keeping the numbers current as the scope firms up.
- Pathline role
- Support approved recommendations through execution
- Typical client role
- Authorize work and coordinate internal or third-party resources
- Output
- Action supported by technical continuity
- 5
Verify and Monitor
Evaluate performance and keep it visible over time.
- What happens
- Compare performance against the baseline over time, catch drift early, and identify the next measure worth doing, in software where it fits.
- Pathline role
- Evaluate results and keep performance visible
- Typical client role
- Provide ongoing data and operating context
- Output
- Measured or monitored performance
What you typically provide.
Where you don't have something, finding it is part of the work.
- Utility records and available interval data
- Building, process, schedule, and equipment information
- Access to appropriate facility and financial personnel
- Site access when required
- Relevant project, maintenance, controls, or vendor information
How projects begin.
Five steps, in order, before any fee is charged or any work is done.
- 1Schedule an initial conversation.
- 2Describe the facility, problem, deadline, or planned project.
- 3Review available utility, building, equipment, and project information.
- 4Determine the applicable service and whether onsite work is required.
- 5Confirm the scope, deliverables, schedule, responsibilities, and compensation structure.
What happens after the assessment.
The assessment is a decision point, not necessarily the end of the work. Depending on the findings and what you need, Pathline may support implementation, coordinate with qualified providers, maintain software visibility, monitor performance, verify outcomes, or provide a clear path your team can lead internally. Each piece past the report is a choice, scoped on its own.
| Tier | What it covers | How it's priced |
|---|---|---|
| Included in the assessment | The baseline, the findings, each measure costed and ranked, a written report you keep, and a summary written for whoever approves the spend. | Part of the defined project fee. |
| Optional | Incentive applications, implementation support, answers to your contractor's technical questions, coordination with qualified providers, and verification of savings. | Scoped and priced when you choose it. |
| Recurring | Monitoring, forecasting, ongoing benchmarking, and energy management, in software where it fits. | A recurring fee agreed up front. Performance-aligned only where the economics support it. |
How engagements are scoped and priced.
Project pricing depends on facility size, complexity, required analysis, regulatory requirements, site access, travel, data quality, and the level of implementation or monitoring support required. Pathline defines the scope and deliverables before work begins, and you'll have the scope and fee in writing before anything starts.
- Facility size and complexity
- One building is a different job from a campus, a plant, or a multi-site portfolio.
- Required analysis
- A screening of where the money goes is lighter than a detailed ASHRAE Level 2 audit with costed measures.
- Regulatory requirements
- A compliance submittal or an incentive application adds documented engineering work of its own.
- Site access and travel
- Whether the work needs a site visit, and how far away the facility is.
- Data quality
- Twelve months of bills is a starting point. Interval meter data and control system trends allow a sharper answer and take more analysis.
- Implementation and monitoring support
- How much support you want after the findings is a choice, and it is scoped separately.
Compensation options.
Compensation takes more than one shape, and the shape follows the work. These are options, not one model for every engagement.
A defined project fee
Assessments, compliance plans, and incentive applications. The scope and the fee are agreed in writing before work begins.
A recurring fee
Monitoring, forecasting, ongoing benchmarking, and energy management, agreed up front for as long as the ongoing work runs.
Performance-aligned, where the economics support it
Part of the fee tied to the savings or project value the work creates. Not every engagement uses it.
Pathline may structure compensation around a portion of the savings or project value it helps create in applicable engagements. The structure depends on the project and does not guarantee savings or performance: it's an alignment of incentives, not a guarantee. Pathline doesn't sell equipment or construction, so nothing I recommend earns me a commission on what you buy.
Some work cannot be performance-aligned at all, and that is by design. Where a program requires an independent reviewer, the fee is fixed and does not depend on the project going ahead. On a USDA REAP energy audit, federal conflict-of-interest rules make that a requirement: I cannot hold a stake in the retrofit on a project I audited.
Funding and incentives.
Utility, state, federal, or other funding may be available for qualifying facilities and measures. Eligibility, timing, incentive levels, and program requirements are site- and program-specific, and should be confirmed before a project decision is made. Part of the work is checking what your facility may qualify for, and whether it changes the economics enough to be worth the paperwork.
Last reviewed: . Eligibility and current rounds are confirmed for your facility before anyone counts on the money.
Programs I check first, by state
- Idaho
- Idaho Power's Custom Projects and Energy Management offerings, which need pre-approval before work starts.
- Washington
- Department of Commerce incentives for Clean Buildings compliance, and the local utility's programs.
- Oregon
- Oregon Department of Energy programs for building performance, and Energy Trust of Oregon.
Who I work with.
On larger projects I work as one team with these firms. You get the capacity the job needs, and the same engineer from the first walkthrough to the final report.
West Ridge Energy
Energy engineering and audits
I work with West Ridge on commercial, industrial, and public-sector energy work: ASHRAE Level 1 and Level 2 audits, building performance compliance, lighting, and industrial energy projects.
Straven Strategy Group
Building performance strategy
I work with Straven on building performance and energy strategy, bringing Qualified Person, Qualified Energy Auditor, and Qualified Energy Manager credentials to compliance and planning.
Questions.
Grouped by who is asking. Tap any question to open the answer.
If you run the facility
What the person who lives with the building usually wants to know first.
Does Pathline understand our facility and our problem?
The first stage exists to answer that before anything is recommended: bills read, the facility walked where that's needed, and the requirements that apply identified. You hear what's actually happening, in plain terms, before you're asked to act on anything.
How much work will this create for my team?
Mostly access and answers: bills or a utility portal login, a walkthrough if the work needs one, and someone who can say how the building runs. Finding what's missing is part of the work, not homework for your staff.
Will Pathline help us move from analysis into implementation?
Yes, if you want it. Implementation support is scoped on its own, and it's the same engineer who did the analysis.
Can I trust the recommendations?
Every number carries its assumptions, and Pathline doesn't sell equipment or construction, so nothing I recommend earns me a commission. A measure that doesn't pay its way gets called out, not sold.
What do I need to take to leadership?
A summary written for whoever approves the spend, with the cost, the value, the payback, and the assumptions. The next section answers the questions they're likely to ask, and the capability statement below is built to be forwarded.
If you approve the spend
If this page was forwarded to you, these are answered as plainly as they can be before your facility has been looked at.
What will this cost?
It depends on the facility and the scope, for the reasons listed above. You'll have a defined scope and fee in writing before any work starts, and nothing beyond that scope is billed without a separate agreement.
What is the potential financial value?
Each opportunity is quantified in energy, operating cost, project cost, and payback, with the assumptions stated beside the number so you can test them.
What incentives or funding may be available?
Funding may be available for eligible projects. Availability, qualification, and approval are determined site by site, and part of the work is checking what applies before anyone counts on it.
What is the expected payback?
Payback is stated per measure, with its assumptions. Any example given before your facility has been assessed is for illustration only.
What are the assumptions and risks?
Every number carries its assumptions: the utility rate, the operating schedule, and any incentive amount before a program confirms it. The risks worth naming up front are that a measure's value depends on those assumptions holding, that incentive approval isn't decided until the program reviews it, and that timing depends on your contractor. Each is stated next to the number it affects, and the cost of doing nothing is priced too.
How is Pathline compensated?
A defined project fee, a recurring fee for ongoing work, or, where the economics support it, a fee partly tied to the value created. It is an alignment of incentives, not a guarantee of savings.
What happens if the project doesn't make financial sense?
Then I'll say so. Not every measure deserves capital, and a project that doesn't pay its way shouldn't go forward because an assessment found it.
Process, cost and logistics
The practical questions that come up before a first conversation.
How much time will our team need to provide?
Usually a kickoff conversation, pulling utility bills or granting portal access, a walkthrough if the work needs one, and a review of the findings. Tracking down missing information is part of my work, not your team's.
What information should we gather before the first call?
Nothing is required to book. If it's handy: twelve months of utility bills, the building's size, type, and rough age, and any deadline, program, or capital project you're working against.
When is an onsite visit required?
For any ASHRAE audit, Level 1 or Level 2, for assessments that qualify for utility programs, and before I recommend changes to a building. Benchmarking and compliance determinations can run remotely, and forecasting and custom tools do.
How long does an assessment take?
It depends on the number of buildings, the data available, and site access. The schedule is part of the written scope, agreed before work starts and set around any deadline you're working against.
How is Pathline compensated?
A defined project fee for assessments, compliance plans, and incentive applications; a recurring fee for monitoring and ongoing energy management; and, where the economics support it, part of the fee tied to the savings or project value created. That structure depends on the project and does not guarantee savings or performance.
Can incentives help fund the work?
Sometimes. Some utility programs reimburse part of a qualifying assessment or the upgrades it identifies. Funding may be available for eligible projects; availability, qualification, and approval are determined site by site, and I check before anyone counts on it.
Does Pathline install equipment or perform construction?
No. Pathline doesn't sell, install, or build. When a project moves forward, your contractor or another qualified provider does that work, and I can stay involved to support it and answer technical questions.
What support is available after the assessment?
Implementation support, coordination with qualified providers, verification of savings, monitoring, and software visibility, each optional and scoped on its own. Or a clear path your team can lead internally.
What happens to our findings, software access, and data afterward?
The report and its findings are yours to keep. If the work includes a client portal, how long access continues is set in the written scope. Your facility's data is used for your engagement and is never used to describe your facility publicly without your written permission.
Something to take to leadership.
The capability statement is one printable page on who Pathline is, what it does, and the credentials behind it. This page prints cleanly too, so a facility manager can hand both to whoever approves the spend.
Find out what's happening in your facility, and what's worth pursuing.
A 30-minute conversation is usually enough to tell whether Pathline is a fit and what the next step should be.