Case Study: BlocPower achieves faster, data-driven energy-efficiency retrofits and cost savings with IBM Hybrid Cloud

Uses data science to give insights to building owners to invest in energy upgrades and lower costs

BlocPower, a company that markets and finances renewable energy and energy-efficiency retrofits for churches, schools, small businesses and non‑profits in underserved inner cities, needed to scale inspections and turn large volumes of building data into actionable retrofit projects to reduce owners’ energy costs. To meet that challenge it partnered with IBM and adopted IBM Hybrid Cloud and IBM Data Science Experience (part of the IBM Watson Data Platform) to modernize data collection, analysis and collaboration.

IBM delivered a cloud‑based data science solution—enabling BlocPower’s team to build and share Jupyter Notebook analyses, create an online 3D map for owners, and accelerate model development—resulting in a 10% uplift in data scientist productivity and moving model development from weeks to days. The platform has helped reveal cost‑saving and safety insights, supported retrofits for more than 500 buildings in New York City, and underpins plans for mobile apps (using IBM Compose/Watson) and IoT sensors to further improve recommendations and scale impact.

BlocPower

Tooraj Arvajeh

Chief Engineering Officer