Ecotope
Ecotope is a Seattle-based engineering and research firm providing MEP design and building science research for high-performance, all-electric building decarbonization. Founded in 1976, it serves architectural firms, utilities, government clients, and affordable housing developers primarily across the Pacific Northwest.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ecotope does
Ecotope, Inc. is a privately held engineering and research firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1976 by University of Washington architecture students as a non-profit focused on residential energy improvements and reorganized as a C-Corp in 1981. The firm designs high-performance mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems for all-electric, decarbonized buildings and conducts contracted building-science research. Its portfolio spans multifamily housing, commercial buildings, K–12 schools, municipal facilities, and tribal/community projects across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, with policy reach into California and federal energy code development.
Core offerings combine professional engineering services with a portfolio of proprietary tools and methodologies. Engineering services cover design-assist, energy modeling, commissioning, and decarbonization planning for architectural firms and direct government clients. The proprietary stack includes Design for Off™ (a passive-first mechanical design strategy), the Technology Innovation Model (TIM) five-step framework for commercializing emerging building technologies, the Advanced Water Heating Specification (AWHS) and Qualified Products List (QPL) for heat pump water heaters, the Ecosizer sizing tool, the EcoDash online performance-monitoring platform for commercial HPWH systems, and a Cistern Sizing Tool. The firm also led the first U.S. deployment of wastewater heat recovery for domestic hot water heating (Sitka Apartments) and the first U.S. installation of a Mitsubishi QAHV CO2 heat pump water heater (Bayview Tower).
Ecotope generates revenue through project-based engineering design fees and contracted research engagements with utilities (Seattle City Light, Bonneville Power Administration, Avista), government agencies (Seattle Public Schools, City of Seattle, Seattle and King County housing authorities, Skokomish Indian Tribe), and regional energy organizations (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, NEEA). Customer segments span architecture and development firms, affordable housing developers, K–12 districts, utilities, and state/municipal agencies. The firm has won dozens of ASHRAE, AIA, USGBC, and Seattle 2030 District awards. In 2016 the firm shifted its stated mission from energy efficiency to building decarbonization, and in 2020 it formalized three core strategies — Electrify Everything, Design for Off™, and When Matters — to support market transformation toward climate-responsive, electrified buildings.
Ecotope firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ecotope
- Legal name
- Ecotope, Inc.
- Website
- https://ecotope.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ecotope is a Seattle-based engineering and research firm providing MEP design and building science research for high-performance, all-electric building decarbonization. Founded in 1976, it serves architectural firms, utilities, government clients, and affordable housing developers primarily across the Pacific Northwest.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ecotope industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Building Engineering & Energy Consulting
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (541620)
- SIC
- Auto Controls For Regulating Residential & Comml Environments (3822), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Energy Optimization & Retro-Commissioning for MEP Systems (BPABACAL), Energy Services (Retrofits/Commissioning/Testing & Balancing) (IMAIABAI)
Keywords
Where Ecotope is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ecotope business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Engineering Design Services: Consulting fees for MEP engineering design services on high-performance building projects. Projects range from multifamily housing to commercial buildings, schools, and municipal facilities. Revenue is project-based and typically contracted through architectural firms, developers, or direct government engagements.
- Research and Technical Consulting: Contracted research engagements for utilities (Seattle City Light, Bonneville Power Administration), government agencies, and regional organizations (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, NEEA) for building performance evaluation, technology assessment, and policy development.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ecotope product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ecotope provides licensed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering design for high-performance, all-electric buildings, including multifamily, commercial, educational, and municipal facilities. The firm also conducts contracted building science research for utilities, regional energy organizations, and government agencies, and develops proprietary tools, design guides, and performance standards supporting building decarbonization.
Product overview
Ecotope offers a portfolio of software tools and technical resources focused on building energy efficiency and decarbonization. The core offerings include EcoDash (performance monitoring for heat pump water heaters), Ecosizer (sizing tool for central water heating systems), the Advanced Water Heating Specification (AWHS) and Qualified Products List (QPL), CHPWH Design Guides, the Technology Innovation Model (TIM), and a Cistern Sizing Tool. These products support designers, installers, utility program implementors, building science researchers, manufacturers, and policymakers in adopting high-performance building technologies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- EcoDash Online performance monitoring platform for commercial heat pump water heater systems, providing real-time data visualization, summary plots, event logs, and automatic flags for hot water outages to support reliability, optimization, and widespread adoption. Designed for utility program implementors, building operators, and researchers.
- Ecosizer Free online sizing tool for central heat pump water heating systems (CHPWHs) used in multifamily and commercial buildings. Developed in 2020, the tool provides a sizing method that significantly improves upon ASHRAE sizing methods, producing more accurate and smaller system sizes. Used by designers, installers, and utility program implementors.
- Advanced Water Heating Specification (AWHS) and Qualified Products List (QPL) Performance standard and qualified products list developed by Ecotope to advance high-efficiency heat pump water heaters and support nationwide adoption of heat-pump requirements, covering both commercial and residential product listings. Used by utilities, program administrators, manufacturers, and policymakers.
- CHPWH Design Guides Technical guidance documents for designing reliable, high-performance commercial heat pump water heating systems, developed from years of field research and industry collaboration. Used by engineers, designers, and installers.
- Technology Innovation Model (TIM) Five-step methodology used by Ecotope and partners to bring emerging building technologies from early product stage to proven, documented, repeatable, and reliable systems ready for market adoption, code compliance, and utility program inclusion. Applied to heat pump water heating and other emerging efficiency technologies.
- Cistern Sizing Tool Free online tool for quickly estimating rainwater storage (cistern) sizing needs for construction projects, helping designers and builders determine appropriate storage requirements.
- High-Performance MEP Engineering Design Services Licensed MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) engineering design services for high-performance, all-electric new construction and renovation projects spanning multifamily housing, commercial buildings, schools, municipal facilities, tribal buildings, and adaptive reuse. Engagements include full MEP design, design-assist, energy modeling, and commissioning for projects targeting net-zero or deep energy reductions.
- Building Science Research and Technical Consulting Contracted research and technical consulting services for utilities (Seattle City Light, Bonneville Power Administration, Avista), government agencies, and regional energy organizations (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, NEEA). Services include building performance evaluation, technology assessment, building stock characterization, savings estimation, program evaluation, and policy/code development support.
Quantifiable outcome
- Projects achieve 50-70% energy reduction compared to code-compliant baseline buildings
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Ecotope
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ecotope technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Ecotope partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Runberg Architecture GroupcoreLong-standing design partnership on multifamily housing projects including Sitka Apartments (first US wastewater heat recovery system) and Batik Apartments. Ecotope provides MEP engineering while Runberg leads architectural design for high-performance affordable housing.
- Dykeman ArchitectscorePartnership on HopeWorks Station North, an innovative affordable housing project integrating workforce training with high-performance design. Project targeted Net-Zero Energy and achieved LEED Platinum.
- Rice Fergus MillercoreMultiple project partnerships including the award-winning office renovation in Bremerton and Seven Cedars Hotel & Casino expansion. Ecotope provides mechanical-plumbing design for sustainable, high-performance buildings.
- Seattle City LightcoreHistoric partnership dating to early 1980s when Ecotope conducted research for Seattle City Light on residential energy conservation as alternative to nuclear power investment. Ongoing partnership includes energy efficiency programs, incentive programs (Exemplary Buildings Program), and demonstration projects.
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)coreMajor research partner supporting technology transformation from early product to proven systems. BPA Emerging Energy Efficient Technologies program has supported multiple Ecotope projects including Sitka Apartments, HopeWorks Station, and Bayview Tower demonstrations.
- Northwest Power and Conservation CouncilcoreTechnical partnership since 1982 supporting development of regional power plans. Ecotope developed first optimized residential supply curve and contributed to conservation supply curves for residential and commercial sectors across multiple power plans.
- Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA)coreCollaborative partnership on regional building stock assessments and technology evaluations. Ecotope led the 2011 Residential Building Stock Assessment covering 1,728 homes and multiple multifamily buildings across the Northwest.
- Environmental Works (Puyallup Tribal Housing)minorPartnership on Place of Hidden Waters, a culturally significant affordable housing project for the Puyallup Tribe featuring geothermal heat pump systems and VRF technology.
- SERA ArchitectscorePartnership on Portland Galleria, a historic 1910 building fully decarbonized while preserving historic character. Project achieved LEED Platinum and 80% energy reduction below national baseline.
- BuildingWorkcorePartnership on Metropole Building adaptive reuse in Seattle's Pioneer Square. Ecotope is Engineer of Record for all-electric, fossil fuel-free mechanical systems targeting LEED Platinum.
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries / Steffes / SkyCentricscoreTechnology partnership for first US deployment of Mitsubishi QAHV (HEAT2O) heat pump water heater at Bayview Tower. Steffes provided skid-mounted package design; SkyCentrics contributed load-shifting controls. Demonstrated CO2 refrigerant technology for multifamily domestic hot water.
- Miller Hull PartnershipcorePartnership on Northwest Maritime Center featuring innovative ocean-source heat pump system using titanium heat exchangers beneath the pier. Project achieved LEED Gold and 35% lower energy than comparable buildings.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ecotope competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ecotope social profiles
Digital presenceEcotope compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance17 records
Ecotope financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ecotope leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Ecotope funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ecotope M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ecotope
What does Ecotope do?
Ecotope provides licensed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering design for high-performance, all-electric buildings, including multifamily, commercial, educational, and municipal facilities. The firm also conducts contracted building science research for utilities, regional energy organizations, and government agencies, and develops proprietary tools, design guides, and performance standards supporting building decarbonization.
Is Ecotope a public or private company?
Ecotope is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ecotope founded?
Ecotope was founded in 1976. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ecotope based?
Ecotope is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ecotope make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Engineering Design Services are the primary driver. The others are research and Technical Consulting.
Does Ecotope have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ecotope.
What industry is Ecotope in?
Ecotope's product category is Building Engineering & Energy Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAE, MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of BPABACAL, Energy Optimization & Retro-Commissioning for MEP Systems. Its NAICS code is 541620 and its SIC code is 3822.