Case Study: Clean Markets achieves accurate ROI forecasting for building energy-efficiency retrofits with PromptWorks

Clean Markets: Building efficiency retrofit modeling

Clean Markets, a market development firm that helps utilities, governments and clean energy entrepreneurs grow demand for energy‑efficient technologies, needed an online tool to show contractors and building owners the financial return of retrofit projects. Clean Markets engaged PromptWorks to build the Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Investment Model (B‑RIM), a web‑enabled forecasting and statistical modeling tool to predict costs and savings from efficiency upgrades and make the business case for investment.

PromptWorks implemented B‑RIM using regression analysis and a web app stack (including Ruby on Rails and R) to deliver ROI, IRR, payback period, cash‑flow impacts and financing options without requiring an initial energy audit. The PromptWorks-built solution can be trained with more data over time and supports equipment‑level and bundled project analyses; B‑RIM became the basis of Clean Markets’ grant proposal and won the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation’s Commercialization Challenge (winner among five finalists and from an initial field of 200), earning grant support, mentoring and networking to expand the product.

Clean Markets

Ellen Lutz

Founder and CEO