Pivotal Energy Solutions - Demo

About us

Pivotal Energy Solutions is a technology company focused on delivering innovative software solutions for the energy efficiency industry.

AXIS, our flagship product, is a cloud-hosted software platform designed to enable operational efficiencies and transparency for energy efficiency program administrators, participants, and downstream stakeholders.

APEX, a web-based simulation solution, enables much needed consistency missing from the industry today for residential energy efficiency program sponsors and downstream stakeholders while maintaining flexibility for energy raters and modelers to utilize their preferred simulation engines.

Pivotal's mission is to enable the transformation of the energy efficiency industry through innovative software solutions that deliver efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. Our passion is to create and deliver software solutions that radically improve the way energy efficiency data is collected and shared to empower a more sustainable future for our world.

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Products

AXIS

AXIS, used by leading program sponsors such as NEEA and Energy Trust of Oregon, and most recently deployed for the national NGBS Green program, serves as a centralized data collection, storage, and sharing hub with integrated workflow management and messaging functionality. In addition to supporting the RESNET energy rating and NGBS Green certification processes, the modular architecture of AXIS allows for customization of functionality, visibility, and workflows to meet program-specific needs.

AXIS is a cloud-based data and workflow management platform that streamlines energy ratings and energy efficiency program participation through data sharing by connecting raters/verifiers, certification organizations, QA organizations, utilities and others using a centralized data repository and modern user interface. Contact us to learn more about AXIS.

APEX

APEX, a cloud-based energy rating software solution targeting residential new construction, leverages the power of DOE's EnergyPlus simulation engine and NREL's OpenStudio-ERI calculation platform to assess the modeled performance of a home relative to a reference home. The energy rating index (ERI) calculated by APEX can be used in a variety of ways, including performance-based energy code compliance, utility incentive program submission, national energy efficiency program certification, 45L tax credit eligibility, and sustainability/ESG reporting. APEX is available today and features a fully supported GUI, supports multiple text file input formats, and is accessible via API or through our AXIS integration.

Latest News

Pivotal Energy Solutions Unveils Graphical User Interface for APEX Energy Rating Software

Gilbert, Arizona – Pivotal Energy Solutions, LLC, an innovator in residential energy efficiency software, proudly announces the launch of a graphical user interface (GUI) for its APEX energy rating software platform.

Pivotal’s APEX platform is a cloud-based energy rating software solution built on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) open-source EnergyPlus simulation engine and National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) OpenStudio-ERI calculation platform. In June 2024, a version of APEX supporting HPXML (Home Performance eXtensible Markup Language) text file input, was accredited by RESNET, the nation’s largest ENERGY STAR® Home Certification Organization (HCO). The new intuitive, web-based graphical user interface for APEX significantly expands the market for Pivotal by offering functionality directly targeting energy raters and modelers.

“With our GUI offering, APEX will be the only web-based, RESNET-accredited energy rating software built on the DOE's open-source EnergyPlus engine and NREL's OS-ERI software platform,” said Steven Klass, co-founder of Pivotal Energy Solutions. “Leveraging DOE’s and NREL’s technology allows us to focus on delivering enhanced web-enabled functionality and user experience, setting us apart from competitors. Coupled with our AXIS platform, we provide the most powerful and configurable solutions in the industry for energy raters, modelers, and utility program administrators."

The new GUI enables energy modelers to:

• Efficiently capture structural and mechanical home properties
• Simulate home performance against integrated standard reference homes or a custom user-defined reference home (UDRH)
• Utilize real-time data validations during model entry, ensuring accuracy and efficiency
• Access built-in industry-standard and custom library elements to simplify model creation
• Share simulation results via API integration or directly to Pivotal’s AXIS platform

The energy rating index (ERI) calculated by APEX can be used for a variety of purposes, including performance-based energy code compliance, utility incentive program submission, national energy efficiency program certification, and 45L tax credit eligibility.

Expanding the Pivotal Product Ecosystem
The APEX platform joins Pivotal’s flagship product, AXIS, a robust web-based platform for energy efficiency program delivery and data sharing. AXIS enables energy raters, verifiers, and inspectors to seamlessly submit and manage data for homes participating in industry leading energy efficiency and “green” certification programs. To date, over 191,000 homes and buildings have been certified using the AXIS platform. Both AXIS and APEX are powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s leading cloud-computing service provider, ensuring scalable, secure, and reliable performance.

Bob Burns, Pivotal co-founder, added, “With the climate challenges we face today, we’re committed to delivering software solutions that advance the residential energy efficiency industry. Our technology is designed to enable operational efficiencies and drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future.”

Availability
APEX is now available for beta testing. The APEX GUI and calculation engine are currently pending accreditation by RESNET.

About Pivotal Energy Solutions
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, Pivotal Energy Solutions is a self-funded software-as-a-service (SaaS) company dedicated to advancing the residential energy efficiency industry. The company develops innovative, cloud-based platforms to support energy modeling, compliance, program delivery, and data sharing. Contact Pivotal for more information about AXIS and APEX.

Pivotal Announces New APEX Simulation and Analysis Platform

Pivotal Energy Solutions, LLC, based in the Phoenix Arizona metropolitan area, has announced a new simulation solution targeting the residential new construction market. APEX, a simulation solution that utilizes the U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyPlus simulation engine and OpenStudio-ERI calculation platform, enables the simulation of residential energy model data to generate energy rating index (ERI) and consumption results. APEX results may be used for a variety of purposes including eligibility for 45L tax credits, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed security offerings, performance-based energy code compliance, sustainability/ESG reporting, and incentive calculation for utility incentive programs.

APEX offers unique functionality for energy raters and modelers, utilities and other energy efficiency program sponsors, home builders, code officials, and downstream stakeholders to both validate energy models against specific program requirements and simulate those models using standard program reference homes and/or custom, program-specific user defined reference homes (UDRH’s). APEX’s input validation functionality – which can be run independently from simulation – performs automated checks on the energy model input values to ensure they not only fall within prescribed bounds but are also internally consistent with other home characteristics and specified values. This functionality enables energy raters and modelers to identify and correct issues with their energy models prior to simulation or submission to energy efficiency program administrators.

APEX supports the simulation of energy models using the U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyPlus and OpenStudio-ERI simulation engine and calculation platform. The EnergyPlus/OpenStudio-ERI solution is an open-source offering from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), meaning that the source code of the software is accessible to anyone to read, examine, and critique – proprietary simulators do not support the same level of transparency. The EnergyPlus/OpenStudio-ERI platform provides consistent, accurate results for an industry under increasing scrutiny due to the availability of 45L federal tax credits for homes meeting specific ERI targets and conforming to federal energy efficiency program requirements.

APEX’s support for standard reference homes and custom user defined reference homes (UDRH’s) also enables unique flexibility within the industry. Using a single energy model, APEX can perform simulations using any number of program-specific reference homes or custom UDRH’s. For example, eligibility for ENERGY STAR, DOE Zero Energy Ready, performance-based energy code compliance, and utility program incentives can all be determined through a single submission to APEX. Energy efficiency program developers and sponsors can also use APEX to enforce program requirements using the APEX input validation and custom UDRH capability to define energy efficiency targets and incentives as their programs evolve. APEX supports energy consumption and ERI calculation for ENERGY STAR, DOE ZERH, and virtually any utility and/or municipality performance-based program.

Bob Burns, co-founder of Pivotal, said, “We’re very excited to be offering this new solution to the industry. APEX enables utilities, builders, code officials, and downstream markets that rely on the modeled performance of homes to utilize a single, DOE-funded, open-source simulation engine, which we believe is a huge benefit to multiple stakeholders. APEX can serve as a ‘normalization tool’ to enable energy raters and modelers to use whichever modeling software they prefer while also providing a single, standard set of results generated by re-simulation of the original input data with EnergyPlus.”

The APEX simulation solution is currently integrated into Pivotal’s AXIS cloud-based platform used for the administration of and participation in a variety of “green” and energy efficient buildings programs. In the near future, APEX simulation and analysis solutions will also be offered as stand-alone cloud-based solution accessible through an application programming interface, or API, for easy integration into existing utility program infrastructure and back office applications.

Burns concluded, “APEX is a very powerful solution being introduced at exactly the right time to meet the residential new construction industry’s needs and support our country’s push toward a more sustainable future. We’re excited that we can play a role in the evolution of the industry.”

For more information about APEX, AXIS or other Pivotal software offerings, please click here to contact us.

AXIS to be Deployed as NGBS Online Portal

Home Innovation Research Labs and Pivotal Energy Solutions have announced that Pivotal's AXIS software platform will be deployed as the online web portal supporting participation in and administration of the NGBS Green certification program as of September 7, 2021. 

After several years of regional success with AXIS in Arizona and the Pacific Northwest, this will be the first deployment of AXIS supporting a national program.  Pivotal has worked as a technical partner with Home Innovation Research Labs since 2016 to surface NGBS Green certifications within the AXIS database for use in analytics and markets utilizing green and energy efficiency certification data.  Most recently, Home Innovation and Pivotal have been pursuing opportunities to auto-populate NGBS Green certification data within real estate MLS platforms.

Bob Burns, president of Pivotal, said, "This is an exciting next step for Pivotal in working with Home Innovation to develop and support their online portal for the NGBS Green program.  We're thrilled to have this collaboration and to expand the use of AXIS to the national level." 

With the transition of the NGBS Green program to the AXIS platform, NGBS Green Verifiers and clients will be able to register projects, submit verification reports and compliance documentation, and monitor project status in real-time 24/7/365 from any modern internet web browser.  The volume of data available for downstream consumers will also be enhanced with the transition. 

Michelle Foster, Vice President of Sustainability for Home Innovation, added, "We are so excited to be working with Pivotal to streamline our NGBS Green certification process and provide even more value for our clients.  We're confident that over time NGBS Green Verifiers and clients will benefit from using the online portal and that it will enable Home Innovation to move the NGBS program forward in exciting new ways. We are also eager to provide greater transparency for the NGBS Green certification process which will benefit investors, financial institutions, government agencies, and the industry as a whole."

If you are interested in learning more about AXIS or the solutions that Pivotal offers, visit www.pivotalenergysolutions.com.

To learn more about the NGBS certification program, visit www.homeinnovation.com/services/certification/green_homes.

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