Taitem

What Taitem does

Taitem Engineering, DPC is a privately held professional engineering firm founded in 1989 by Ian Shapiro and headquartered in a LEED Platinum-certified building at 110 South Albany Street in Ithaca, New York. Operating under the mission 'Technology As If The Earth Mattered,' Taitem delivers integrated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural (MEP+S) design engineering alongside energy modeling, commissioning, Passive House consulting, LEED advisory, and measurement-and-verification (M&V) services. The firm employs 11-50 staff, holds professional engineering licenses in 10 US states (NY, PA, MA, CT, NJ, VT, ME, NH, CO, MI), maintains B Corporation certification, and serves commercial, institutional, higher-education, multifamily, healthcare, industrial, and government clients across the Northeast and selected Mountain West markets.

The firm's technical differentiation rests on a unified design-and-energy team under one roof, with credentialed staff including ASHRAE Building Heating Design Professionals (HBDPs), Certified Energy Managers (CEMs), CPHC Passive House Consultants, LEED APs, and ASHRAE-published researchers. Taitem developed the TREAT residential energy audit software (R&D 100 Award winner in 2005, still in active use) and led several first-of-kind Northeast projects, including the first fully monitored steam-to-heat-pump conversion at 212 W 105th Street in Manhattan, the regional-first PHIUS+2018 Passive House affordable housing project (Village Grove, 46 units), and a Passive House-certified 'Net Zero Living Lab' dorm retrofit for Syracuse University. The firm authored the technical specifications for the NYCHA/NYPA/NYSERDA Cold Climate Packaged Heat Pump competition and delivers recurring technical assistance and quality assurance across NYSERDA's New Construction, FlexTech, OsEM, Retrofit NY, and Buildings of Excellence programs.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees from private developers, universities, housing authorities, and government agencies, plus authorized Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) contracts for NYSERDA and NYC HPD (Affordable Housing Retrofit Electrification Pilot, REDi:EB). Distribution is direct, sales-led, and reinforced by heavy community/event engagement (NYS Green Building Conference, NESEA BuildingEnergy NYC/Boston, ACEEE Hot Water Forum, PHIUS Alliance, Passive House Accelerator), peer-reviewed publications, NYSERDA technical reports, and the academic presence of founder Ian Shapiro at Syracuse University. Taitem is not venture-backed and operates as a partner-owned professional corporation.

Name

Taitem

Legal name

Taitem Engineering, DPC

Website

https://taitem.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ithaca-based Taitem Engineering, a B Corporation founded in 1989, delivers integrated MEP+S design and energy/sustainability consulting for high-performance, Passive House, and net-zero buildings. The firm serves commercial, institutional, affordable housing, and government clients across 10 US states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAIAE

MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) Engineering Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

SECONDARYBPAHAIAL

Testing, Inspection, Certification & Commissioning (TICx) Technical Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

Keywords

• Building engineering services
• Energy consulting services
• Sustainable building design
• MEP engineering consulting
• Commissioning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Design Consulting Services: Taitem generates revenue through professional engineering consulting engagements including MEP+S design, energy modeling, commissioning, and sustainability consulting for new and existing buildings. Revenue is project-based and fee-for-service.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Taitem Engineering provides integrated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural (MEP+S) design engineering and energy + sustainability consulting services for new and existing buildings. The firm delivers energy modeling, commissioning, Passive House and LEED certification consulting, measurement and verification, and incentive-program navigation for commercial, institutional, multifamily, industrial, and government clients across the Northeast U.S.

Product overview

Taitem Engineering is a mission-driven engineering firm offering integrated design engineering and energy solutions for buildings. The company provides a portfolio of interconnected services centered on high-performance, sustainable building design. Core offerings include MEP+S (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural) design engineering and Energy + Sustainability consulting, which together encompass energy modeling, commissioning, building certifications (Passive House/PHIUS, LEED, Energy Star, HERS), and measurement and verification. Supporting services include technical research and publications, training programs, and specialized consulting for electrification and net-zero energy targets. The company serves commercial, industrial, higher-education, and multifamily building sectors across multiple states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design Engineering (MEP+S)

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% thermal energy savings targeted in Syracuse Sustainable South Campus retrofit
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Syracuse University School of ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem collaborated on the Net Zero Living Lab — a Syracuse University-led three-year interdisciplinary research project focused on replicable approaches to deep energy retrofits in student housing. Taitem provided MEP+FP design and construction phase services as well as energy consulting. The project was supported by $1.39M NYSERDA grant and $200K Syracuse University Climate Action Plan funding. Taitem founder Ian Shapiro serves as Associate Director for Building Science and Community Programs at SCoE.
• Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem collaborated with INHS on Village Grove — a 46-unit PHIUS+2018 certified affordable housing project in Trumansburg, NY. Taitem provided MEP+S design services and was awarded $932,280 through NYSERDA's Buildings of Excellence competition for this project. Village Grove was the first affordable housing in the region to achieve Passive House certification and use ground source heat pumps.
• DaikinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaikin donated equipment for the steam-to-heat pump conversion at 212 W 105th Street in NYC. Taitem coordinated with Daikin on the retrofit project, which Taitem led as the first fully monitored steam-to-heat pump conversion project in the city.
• Cornell University Department of Mechanical EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem worked with Cornell University's Department of Mechanical Engineering to involve students in the 212 W 105th Street steam-to-heat pump conversion project as an innovative real-world project component.
• NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem serves as a technical assistance provider (TAP) for HPD's Affordable Housing Retrofit Electrification Pilot Program (Phase 1) and the REDi:EB (Resilient & Equitable Decarbonization Initiative Existing Buildings) program. Taitem supported program development including creating technical requirements, compliance guidelines, and supports projects from design development through construction completion. Phase 1 provided developers up to $2M grants.
• Steven Winter AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTaitem partners with Steven Winter Associates on the REDi:EB (Resilient & Equitable Decarbonization Initiative Existing Buildings) program alongside HPD, supporting electrification of hot water and space heating with envelope improvements in HPD-financed preservation projects.
• NYSERDAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem is an authorized technical assistance provider (TAP) and quality assurance contractor for multiple NYSERDA programs including New Construction Program, FlexTech, On-Site Energy Manager (OsEM), Cold Climate Packaged Heat Pump competition, Retrofit NY, Energiesprong, and Buildings of Excellence. Taitem developed specifications for NYCHA/NYPA/NYSERDA Cold Climate Packaged Heat Pump competition.
• Ashley McGraw ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem provided early design support for Syracuse Bread Factory, designed by Ashley McGraw Architects — an adaptive reuse of a historic 1912 building into 60,000 SF mixed-use space with 19 rental units.
• Beacon CommunitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaitem's design and energy teams collaborated on a decarbonization study for Southwood Square, a 315-unit mixed-income community in Stamford, CT developed by Beacon Communities. The report will guide efficiency, electrification, and sustainability improvements aligned with state/federal financing requirements.
• Syracuse Housing AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSyracuse Housing Authority serves as an advisory partner for the Sustainable South Campus project — a retrofit initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and NYSERDA targeting 75% thermal energy savings in student apartment buildings.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with deep sustainability, building physics, and decarbonization practices. Competes for large institutional, university, and developer commissions where Taitem also bids, though at much larger scale.
• Buro Happold: International engineering firm with sustainability, MEP, and building performance expertise across higher-education, cultural, and commercial real estate. Overlaps with Taitem on integrated MEP+S and decarbonization projects.
• WSP USA Buildings Practice: Large multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy with growing Passive House, electrification, and commissioning practices. Increasingly competing for NY affordable-housing decarbonization work.

Direct peers

• ME Engineers: National MEP engineering firm with strong sustainability, commissioning, and high-performance building practices. Competes for the same institutional, higher-education, and cultural-building commissions as Taitem's design engineering practice.
• PAE Consulting Engineers: MEP+S design firm with deep sustainability, Passive House, and net-zero expertise serving higher-education, civic, and commercial clients. Overlaps with Taitem's integrated MEP+S value proposition on West and East Coast high-performance projects.
• AKF Group: MEP, fire protection, and energy/sustainability consulting firm serving healthcare, education, and commercial real estate across the Northeast and beyond. Comparable practice mix including commissioning and LEED/Passive House consulting.
• Bright Power: NYC-headquartered energy and sustainability consultancy providing energy benchmarking, MEP design, building analytics, and Passive House services to multifamily and institutional owners. Directly comparable in service mix and Northeast affordable-housing focus.
• Integral Group: Mission-driven MEP+S and building performance consulting firm with strong Passive House, net-zero, and decarbonization practices. Direct competitor for high-performance institutional and affordable-housing projects.
• Steven Winter Associates: NYC-based building science and MEP consulting firm offering energy audits, Passive House, commissioning, and sustainability services. Already partners with Taitem on NYC HPD's REDi:EB program and serves overlapping developer and affordable-housing clients in the Northeast.

Emerging players

• New Ecology Inc: Mission-driven sustainable building consulting nonprofit working on affordable housing decarbonization in the Northeast. Competes for some NYSERDA technical assistance work alongside Taitem, with overlapping client base among community developers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Taitem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taitem-engineering
• Instagraminstagram.com/taitemengineering
• Xx.com/TaitemEng

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Taitem