Regional news and analysis
Energy management connects technical analysis with the day-to-day operation of buildings and organizations. This collection covers retrofit projects, efficiency programs, professional development and the changing role of demand-side management.
Explore career guidance and the embedded energy manager model alongside building case studies and policy analysis. Historical work is attributed to the organizations involved, separately from PB Energy engagements.
Customer-sited resources can defer local grid upgrades, with avoided transmission and distribution costs in constrained areas nearly three times the system-wide value.
Read article : The Locational Value of Customer-Sited Energy Resources
Halifax Water’s district energy project is advancing the infrastructure needed to heat and cool downtown buildings.
Read article : Wastewater heat recovery moves forward at Cogswell
Why Atlantic Canada’s heating-oil dependence matters for affordability and energy security.
Read article : Heating oil and household exposure to volatile energy prices
Regional electricity planning should include rooftop solar, batteries, efficiency and flexible demand from the start.
Read article : A Maritime grid needs distributed energy
Three opportunities to connect demand-side management with deeper building retrofits: resource stacking, project support and better data.
Read article : How DSM could help unlock deep energy retrofits
What a cost-effectiveness test counts as valuable helps determine which energy solutions receive support.
Read article : The regulatory barrier holding back strategic electrification
The people working inside businesses and institutions are a regional strength worth building on.
Read article : The Maritimes’ energy management advantage
Heating and cooling degree-day trends show how a changing climate is entering utility load forecasts.
Read article : How a warming climate changes electricity planning
What the 2012–2023 sector comparison shows about the shift from fuels to electricity.
Read article : Atlantic Canada’s electrification progress
A waterfront community building brings energy-conscious design together with boatbuilding and youth programming.
Read article : Solar and resilient design at Halifax’s new Boat School
An illustrative comparison of electricity efficiency, electric vehicles and heat pumps replacing oil heating.
Read article : What will drive the next phase of demand-side emissions reductions?
Diverging costs across residential, small business and large business programs point to opportunities for the next generation of DSM.
Read article : Why energy efficiency program costs are changing
A long-term decline in residential oil consumption connects heating upgrades with energy security and local economic benefits.
Read article : Nova Scotia’s declining dependence on home heating oil
Research and development incentives can help Atlantic Canadian businesses advance storage, microgrids, heat pumps and energy software.
Read article : SR&ED: an opportunity for Atlantic Canadian energy innovators
The evolution of the Nissan LEAF illustrates changing EV capability, with important qualifications to a circulated price comparison.
Read article : Electric vehicles and the perception gap
A comparison of diesel and electricity costs illustrates the operating-cost opportunity from electrifying Halifax’s bus fleet.
Read article : Halifax’s electric buses: the operating-cost opportunity
Rising program costs point to a need for technical expertise, project coordination and support that helps businesses act.
Read article : Small businesses need more than efficiency incentives
The proposed 2027–2031 plan opens a new planning cycle for efficiency, demand response and innovation.
Read article : The next chapter of Nova Scotia’s demand-side management plan
A memorable David Suzuki advertisement offers a way to explain the cumulative impact of air sealing.
Read article : Air sealing: small improvements at a national scale
The Mi’kmaw Home Energy Efficiency Project is improving housing comfort and reducing energy costs across Nova Scotia’s First Nations communities.
Read article : Energy-efficiency improvements in Mi’kmaw communities
Heat recovery, ice storage, controls and lighting upgrades come together in a Halifax project I had the opportunity to work on.
Read article : Inside the Scotiabank Centre energy retrofit
Funding and tax incentives are increasingly important to how energy projects are designed, evaluated and delivered.
Read article : Why engineers need to understand clean-energy tax incentives
A spring and summer 2026 event calendar illustrates the breadth of the region’s energy conversations.
Read article : Halifax as a meeting place for energy and building innovation
Higher performance tiers are changing the requirements for building design, mechanical systems and energy modelling.
Read article : What higher building energy standards mean for Nova Scotia
Why electricity demand-side management planning should be distinguished from provincial departmental budgets.
Read article : Understanding Nova Scotia’s electricity-efficiency funding
Home energy upgrade data highlights Nova Scotia’s progress on insulation and building envelopes, and the region’s strength in energy efficiency.
Read article : Nova Scotia’s home-envelope retrofit advantage
EnerGuide data illustrates the waves of activity associated with federal retrofit programs and the case for more stable financing.
Read article : The boom and bust of home energy audits in Canada
Mentorship and practical experience can help new professionals build careers while strengthening energy management teams.
Read article : Creating pathways into energy management careers
Could energy advisors support households over time as their decisions expand to solar, batteries, EVs and flexible demand?
Read article : From energy audits to ongoing home energy advice
Public buildings offer an opportunity to modernize infrastructure, cut fuel use and put guaranteed energy savings to work.
Read article : A bigger role for energy performance contracts
The Quebec City gathering provided an opportunity to exchange experience across the decentralized energy sector.
Read article : Sharing experience at the 2025 Decentralized Energy Forum
How eligible heat-pump investments can benefit from tax credits, and why deductions must be evaluated separately.
Read article : Understanding federal tax support for business heat pumps
Two municipal projects illustrate how efficient design, solar and building renewal can support local climate goals.
Read article : Halifax’s next generation of efficient municipal buildings
Embedded energy managers help organizations capture deeper savings and integrate efficiency into everyday investment decisions.
Read article : The next evolution of demand-side management
Lessons from David’s former role at EfficiencyOne: building trust, developing energy managers and turning technical expertise into lasting organizational change.
Read article : Lessons from 11 years at EfficiencyOne
Why building portfolios need coordinated project development, capital planning and implementation support.
Read article : Making deep energy retrofits easier to deliver at scale
Biosolids infrastructure creates opportunities to recover value from materials traditionally treated as waste.
Read article : Turning waste into resources: Halifax Water’s biosolids facility
A historical look at the connection area and planning considerations for Halifax Water’s district energy initiative.
Read article : Cogswell district energy: planning at neighbourhood scale
How EfficiencyOne’s embedded Energy Manager model connects technical expertise with client operations, capital planning and sustained energy savings. Program snapshot: November 2025.
Read article : The EfficiencyOne Energy Manager Team: a Nova Scotia success story
How building design, controls and flexible loads can support electrification while limiting peak demand.
Read article : Building Nova Scotia’s grid-responsive future
A look back at a gathering focused on the built environment.
Read article : BuildGreen Atlantic: connecting the building community
A personal reflection on how Nova Scotia’s energy sector has changed since my engineering graduation in 2007, and the opportunities now taking shape at home.
Read article : From brain drain to clean energy opportunity: Nova Scotia’s transformation
A look back at Solar Nova Scotia, Peter Allen and the region’s solar-thermal heritage.
Read article : Nova Scotia’s early solar innovators
Portable and window-format equipment raises useful questions about access, installation and winter performance.
Read article : Could smaller heat pumps broaden access to efficient heating?
A historical comparison shows how a cleaner electricity supply changes emissions from electric heating.
Read article : A heat-pump emissions milestone in Nova Scotia
Rondo’s thermal storage concept illustrates a different way to match electricity supply with industrial heat demand.
Read article : Heat batteries and the opportunity for industrial electrification
Food processing illustrates why efficiency, refrigeration and on-site electricity should be considered together.
Read article : Energy efficiency and solar at Oxford Frozen Foods
A municipal recreation facility demonstrates a visible use of public-building rooftops for electricity generation.
Read article : Rooftop solar at East Preston Recreation Centre
Lessons from Halifax’s corporate building roadmap on prioritizing heating conversions, coordinating retrofits and planning equipment replacements.
Read article : Transitioning Nova Scotia: Strategies to Phase Out Heating Oil for a Sustainable Future
A historical photograph records an international group visit at Woodside Ferry Terminal.
Read article : Welcoming international visitors at Woodside
A waterfront photograph from the original Eastern Passage post.
Read article : A gathering in Eastern Passage
A team gathering at the Old Triangle records the professional relationships behind the work.
Read article : The people behind energy management
A historical emissions-intensity chart provides context for the changing impact of electricity use.
Read article : Nova Scotia’s changing electricity emissions
Seven practical starting points, from understanding the local energy system to building relationships, technical skills and financial fluency.
Read article : Starting a Career in Energy Management: A Guide for New Grads and Young Professionals
A historical municipal-building example connects efficiency, renewable electricity and asset renewal.
Read article : Putting building energy improvements into practice
An archived pilot illustrates how businesses can be compensated for providing short-duration demand flexibility.
Read article : Demand response: lessons from the Smart Synergy pilot
A municipal building retrofit offers practical lessons in moving from plans to operating improvements.
Read article : Learning from the Woodside Ferry Terminal retrofit
A construction-stage view of a public recreation facility.
Read article : Building renewal at the Halifax Common
Municipal climate objectives become tangible through decisions about buildings and infrastructure.
Read article : HalifACT: connecting climate goals with building action
A historical photograph of an outdoor demonstration with young participants.
Read article : Making energy learning hands-on
Specialized equipment offers another practical setting for electrification beyond passenger vehicles.
Read article : An electric ice resurfacer at St. Margaret’s Centre
An industry visit connects building professionals with district cooling infrastructure.
Read article : Learning from district cooling at ASHRAE
A historical HRM case study in demand-controlled ventilation, LED lighting and energy monitoring.
Read article : Ragged Lake bus depot: improving a round-the-clock facility
A historical look at municipal oil reduction and the difference between achieved savings and future targets.
Read article : How HRM reduced heating-oil use in municipal buildings
A historical municipal solar layout illustrates the importance of planning around the roof and building.
Read article : Rooftop solar on municipal buildings in Dartmouth
A public washroom concept illustrates the integration of rooftop solar into a small municipal facility.
Read article : Solar in municipal building design
Wastewater and organic-material treatment can create opportunities to recover useful energy.
Read article : The power of the people: energy recovery through anaerobic digestion
A historical results sheet shows how lighting, controls and ongoing management can improve a prominent public building.
Read article : Energy performance at Halifax Central Library
Construction and design images document a Halifax fire station project.
Read article : Municipal fire station renewal
A historical energy summary compares a 2016 baseline with modelled post-retrofit use.
Read article : Woodside Ferry Terminal: the scale of a planned retrofit
A reflection on professional collaboration, illustrated with a photograph of colleagues.
Read article : Energy management: exchanging experience across borders
Solar thermal technology serves a different purpose from photovoltaic electricity generation.
Read article : Solar thermal: using sunlight as heat
A historical farm project illustrates the connection between organic waste, electricity and useful heat.
Read article : Courthouse Hill Farm: turning manure into useful energy
A Bayplex diagram illustrates an energy connection between a recreation facility and flooded mine workings.
Read article : Cape Breton’s mine-water energy opportunity
A Cape Breton arena provides a practical setting for considering building systems and operating needs together.
Read article : Energy management in an arena: Centre 200
A historical CBRM and Efficiency Nova Scotia partnership provides context for municipal energy management.
Read article : Municipal energy work in Cape Breton