Resiliency & Electrification

Our Services

Leading Specialists in Resiliency & Electrification.

kW Engineering is your dedicated partner in resiliency and electrification, providing support from strategic planning through full-scale implementation, tailored to your facilities and your goals. We help large enterprises, from tech campuses to universities and municipalities, navigate the decarbonization journey with confidence.

Our Process

A Clear Path to Decarbonization, In Five Steps.

Baseline

Document your building's current energy use, equipment condition, and electrical capacity to establish a clear starting point.

Optimize

Front-load cost savings by improving the efficiency of the equipment you already have before laying on new capital planning.

Prioritize

Sequence equipment replacements around end-of-life timing and available funding, so every dollar is spent at the right moment.

Engineer

Right size electrical equipment for your facility, backed by engineering analysis and confirmed code compliance.

Verify

Commission every installed system to make sure it hits your energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets — not just on paper, but in practice.

Retrofit Electrification

Retrofit Electrification, Done Right.

Before decarbonization became a widespread goal, kW Engineering was pioneering energy efficiency retrofit projects for clients. Today, we continue to support these clients in their decarbonization efforts, specifically through the electrification of existing buildings.

Overcoming Retrofit Challenges

Our deep understanding of the unique challenges that existing buildings present on their decarbonization and net zero journey sets us apart. Unlike new building construction, where all-electric systems can be economically integrated from the start, the cost and complexity of electrifying existing buildings vary widely based on the existing building constraints. We excel at overcoming retrofit challenges by providing creative, innovative, cost-effective design strategies for retrofit electrification.

Planning

Electrification Planning.

As your technical partner in electrification planning we turn ambition into an actionable plan by assessing the sources of your carbon footprint, sequencing gas-to-electric replacements, and streamlining portfolio-wide electrification with smart, cost-efficient design. Our expertise extends to planning retrofit electrification with strategies including:

Replacing gas equipment with electric alternatives when due for replacement

Prepare for electric replacements before failure

Capture available incentives and rebates to reduce first costs

Consider Hybrid Resilient Solutions if full electrification is not feasible

Resiliency

Keep Critical Facilities Running Through the Outage.

Aging grid infrastructure and climate-driven stress have made resiliency a core part of the decarbonization conversation — especially for the counties, cities, and public agencies we work with most. We help clients plan solar PV, battery energy storage, and microgrid systems that keep critical facilities powered through multi-day outages, and evaluate how those systems pair with existing backup generators. We help our clients with:

Feasibility studies pairing solar PV and battery energy storage systems supporting critical loads at the facility
Microgrid feasibility studies that assess design capable of powering critical building through multi-day outage
Integration strategies with existing diesel or backup generators
Financing guidance, including review of power purchase agreement (PPA) structures

EV Charging & Fleet Decarbonization

Plan for the Electric Parking Lot.

EV charging is now part of nearly every decarbonization conversation — whether it’s driven by a fleet electrification mandate or by code requirements triggered on new construction and major renovations. We help clients plan the electrical capacity, charger counts, and site strategy to support it, often as part of the same feasibility study covering their broader decarbonization and resiliency goals.

Hybrid Resilient Solutions

Hybrid Resilient Solutions.

Most of the organizations we work with today choose to fully electrify — but hybrid-resilient design remains a valid path for teams that aren’t ready to go all-in. For organizations looking to maximize impact while minimizing cost and increasing flexibility, our hybrid-resilient approach offers a realistic alternative to full electrification. It involves converting a facility to nearly all-electric — typically 80–90% — while retaining some gas systems for backup and peak loads. A hybrid approach is valuable in scenarios where resiliency is critical, electrical capacity is limited, or a full electrification solution isn’t yet financially viable.

Heating systems must be designed for peak loads, but for more than 90% of the year a building doesn’t need that full heating capacity. Our hybrid-resilient approach typically specifies a small heat pump that handles the building’s heating loads for most of the year, with gas boilers in place to assist with peak winter loads and morning warm-up. This allows for much smaller heat pumps that can reduce installation cost by 3–5x compared to full electrification, while still capturing 80–90% of the carbon savings.

Hybrid-resilient solutions offer several key benefits including:

Enhanced Resilience

By maintaining some gas systems for backup, we improve resilience where it is needed most.

Cost Efficiency

This approach can significantly reduce initial costs, allowing more buildings to be "mostly" electrified faster with the same available funding.

Maximized GHG Reductions

We ensure that greenhouse gas reductions are maximized per dollar spent.

Strength in diversity.

kW Engineering is a proud minority-owned business, reflecting our commitment to fostering a more inclusive, innovative environment while delivering exceptional energy solutions.

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Ready to Kick-Start Your Electrification Journey?

Tell us about your buildings and your goals. We'll show you the right team and the right approach to get there.