What CUNY Building Performance Lab does

CUNY Building Performance Lab is a university-affiliated research and training institute founded in 2006 as a program of The City College of New York within the City University of New York system. The institute advances high-performance building operations and practices in existing commercial and public buildings, primarily serving New York City municipal agencies - including NYC DCAS, NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Department of Education, NYC Department of Small Business Services, and the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice - together with federal sponsors and trade audiences. Its programmatic footprint spans the Energy Data Lab partnership with NYC DCAS, Building Optimization Support, Technical Services, Building Operator Training, the Sustainability Help Center (compliance support for NYC Local Laws 33 and 87), NYC Energy Tools (a field equipment lending library), and a structured internship pipeline.

The lab's product surface consists of several proprietary analytical tools. BEMA (Building Energy Modeling and Analysis) supports IPMVP Option C whole-facility measurement and verification; BASAT is a Building Automation System Assessment Tool; the Ventilation Increase Impacts (VII) Calculator and the Airborne Infection Risk Calculator (AIRC) were launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 emergency, with AIRC co-developed with the University of Cassino and Queensland University of Technology; and the noBAS Building Re-tuning (BRT) protocol, published in 2015, extends PNNL's building retuning methodology to buildings without building automation systems. Underlying these tools is a building and operations database built through the Energy Data Lab, which the partner cite (PNNL) reports as covering more than 642 facilities with utility, BMS, project, and operations data.

The business model is funded almost entirely through long-term government sponsorships and discrete grants rather than commercial sales. Revenue mechanics consist of programmatic awards from NYC DCAS (the primary sponsor), other NYC agencies, NYSERDA, U.S. DOE, NSF, NIST, and PNNL; more than 100 publications have been produced and tools are made openly available. Services, training, and equipment lending are delivered free of charge to target audiences as public-good programs. CUNY BPL is not a SaaS business: revenue is not disclosed and the entity operates as a non-commercial research organization embedded in the CUNY system, with a focus on policy-relevant building decarbonization, retro-commissioning, and operator workforce development for the public sector.

Name

CUNY Building Performance Lab

Legal name

CUNY Building Performance Lab

Website

https://cunybpl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CUNY Building Performance Lab is a CUNY-affiliated research and training institute advancing high-performance building operations for NYC municipal agencies through proprietary energy analytics tools, operator training, and technical assistance programs funded by government sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Energy Performance Research

NAICS

Facilities Support Services (561210)

akta.pro primary industry

Testing, Adjusting & Balancing (TAB) & Performance Verification (BPABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) & Building Health Assessments (EUAHAGAG), Green Building & Energy-Efficient Construction (LEED, Weatherization) (EDAOAAAO)

Keywords

• Building energy analytics
• Building performance research
• HVAC system assessment
• Energy efficiency training
• Facility management consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Government Sponsorships: Long-term sponsorship from NYC city agencies including DCAS Division of Energy Management, NYC Department of Small Business Services, Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, and NYC Department of Buildings for ongoing research, training, and compliance programs.
2. Grant Funding: Discrete grants from NYSERDA, U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, National Science Foundation, and National Institute of Standards and Technology for specific research projects, technology development, and training products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CUNY Building Performance Lab advances high-performance building operations in commercial and public buildings through applied research, workforce training, and proprietary analytical tools. The organization provides energy data analytics, building automation system assessment, ventilation and indoor air quality analysis, and Local Law compliance support primarily to NYC municipal agencies. It complements these services with continuing education for facility managers and CUNY student internship programs in building energy and sustainability.

Product overview

CUNY Building Performance Lab is an institutional research and training organization operating as a single organization with interconnected programs rather than a unified platform. The core portfolio includes the Energy Data Lab (EDL) with its dashboard tools, Building Optimization Support (BOS), Technical Services, and Application Development team that creates specialized tools including BEMA (building energy modeling), BASAT (building automation assessment), the Ventilation Increase Impacts Calculator, and Airborne Infection Risk Calculator. These analytical tools are complemented by public service programs including the Sustainability Help Center, Building Operator Training, NYC Energy Tools equipment lending library, and an internship program. The organization provides research-based building performance analysis services primarily for NYC municipal agencies rather than a traditional SaaS product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Energy Data Lab (EDL): A program launched in 2012 (originally as Open Collaborative Lab) that develops, deploys, and administers tools enabling DEM and partner agencies to meet emissions reductions goals.
• NYC Energy Tools
• Sustainability Help Center

Products and services

• Energy Data Lab (EDL) Centralized energy data analysis, measurement and verification, building optimization support, and technical services program for NYC DCAS-managed buildings. It has produced baseline energy models for 642 facilities, conducts continuous commissioning, and partners with universities to support citywide energy and GHG reduction targets.
• Application Development In-house development of standalone analytical tools (BEMA, BASAT, VII Calculator, AIRC) used to support NYC building performance, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality initiatives.
• BEMA (Building Energy Modeling Application) Standalone analytical tool used to model and analyze building energy performance, supporting high-performance operations and efficiency evaluations of public and commercial buildings.
• BASAT (Building Automation System Assessment Tool) Standalone tool for assessing building automation systems (BAS), used to evaluate the performance, configuration, and operational effectiveness of HVAC control systems in buildings.
• VII Calculator (Ventilation Increase Impacts Calculator) Web-based calculator that quantifies the energy use, cost, and greenhouse gas impact of increasing ventilation rates in commercial and public buildings, supporting the NYC Department of Education and other agencies.
• AIRC (Airborne Infection Risk Calculator) Tool that models and quantifies airborne infection risk in indoor spaces, used by NYC agencies to inform ventilation and occupancy decisions in schools and public buildings.
• noBAS BRT Protocol (Building Re-tuning without BAS) Structured protocol for re-tuning/retro-commissioning buildings that do not have a Building Automation System, enabling no-cost or low-cost operational efficiency improvements.
• Sustainability Help Center Free assistance service for NYC building owners and managers to comply with city sustainability and energy benchmarking Local Laws (LL84, LL87, LL97), with hundreds of buildings helped since 2011.
• Building Operator Training Workforce development and continuing education program providing certification and training in building operations, energy efficiency, and Indoor Air Quality for over 1,000 NYC building professionals.
• NYC Energy Tools (Field Equipment Lending Library) Free lending library of field energy measurement and diagnostic equipment for NYC building operators, students, and practitioners to perform measurement, verification, and re-tuning activities.
• Internships and Energy Boot Camp Paid internship program and Energy Boot Camp providing CUNY students with hands-on experience in building energy, sustainability, and HVAC operations, serving as a workforce pipeline.

Quantifiable outcome

• Buildings can reduce energy usage by up to 25% through Building Re-tuning
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Initial seed grant in 2006 made creation of CUNY BPL possible. NYSERDA has awarded BPL many grants since then, including support for the CUNY Benchmarking Help Center, Energy Management Institute, and REV Campus Challenge work at CCNY.
• NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsor of Energy Data Lab and Technical Services Team. Division of Energy Management (DEM) works with CUNY BPL leadership to define research questions and deliverables supporting DCAS DEM's mandate to reduce GHG emissions in municipal buildings.
• NYC Department of BuildingsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of the Sustainability Help Center and Building Operator Training as part of NYC's OneNYC commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050.
• NYC Department of Small Business ServicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongtime sponsor of Building Operator Training alongside the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
• U.S. Department of EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting development of BuildingCoach online training and coaching platform using energy data from participants' buildings.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Building Re-tuning (BRT) protocol developed by PNNL, one of DOE's national labs. CUNY BPL developed noBAS BRT for buildings without BAS based on PNNL's research.
• Northwest Energy Efficiency CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnering to develop new specialized training module for Building Operator Certification program in New York City.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded the Building Performance Toolkit informational website.
• Vornado Realty TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast SIBS center sponsor; adopted DCAS energy dashboard tool for bank's commercial property portfolio.
• Bright PowerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in building energy services; placement site for CUNY BPL interns.
• International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94 Training CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership enabled programs to become accredited by CUNY and explore co-development of retro-commissioning programming.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterminorOthersPrivate sector partner listed in partners section.
• Association for Energy AffordabilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate sector partner in energy affordability sector.
• New York Power AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic partner in NYC energy management efforts.
• Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites (SIBS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry/University Collaborative Research Center led by UNC Charlotte from 2012-2016. CCNY and CUNY BPL were part of SIBS with industry partners including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, Johnson Controls, and Vornado.
• City College of New York (CCNY) Grove School of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization. BPL is a program of CCNY. Dr. Robert 'Buz' Paaswell, Director of CUNY Institute for Urban Systems, is distinguished professor of civil engineering at CCNY.
• CUNY School of Professional StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer office location and partner in Field Equipment Lending Library program development.
• Baruch College Steven L. Newman Real Estate InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal office location (2014). Joint project on Building Performance Toolkit.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Building Performance Institute (BPI): BPI is the leading national credentialing body for building performance and energy efficiency professionals. Highly comparable to CUNY BPL because both deliver workforce certification, training, and standards for building operators, with overlapping audiences in facility management and energy services.
• New Buildings Institute (NBI): NBI is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization advancing energy-efficient buildings and zero-carbon building codes. Comparable to CUNY BPL in mission, methodology (research-driven), and audience (policy makers, building owners, operators) around high-performance building practices.
• Slipstream: Slipstream (formerly Energy Center of Wisconsin) is a nonprofit that drives energy efficiency through research, training, and program design. Comparable to CUNY BPL in its nonprofit research-and-training model, focus on building performance, and reliance on utility/state/federal program funding.
• Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP): NEEP is a regional nonprofit promoting energy efficiency across the Northeast, including workforce development and building performance standards. Directly comparable to CUNY BPL in nonprofit model, regional focus on building decarbonization, and stakeholder convening role.

Emerging players

• Bright Power: Bright Power is a NYC-based energy services firm delivering building energy analytics, benchmarking, and retro-commissioning for multifamily and commercial buildings. Listed as a CUNY BPL partner and serves a partially overlapping NYC audience with comparable building performance services.
• Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC): IREC builds the clean energy workforce through credentialing, training, and regulatory work. Comparable to CUNY BPL in workforce development mission and clean-energy training focus, though oriented more toward renewable energy than building operations.
• PHIUS (Passive House Institute US): PHIUS advances passive building standards through training, certification, and technical resources. Comparable to CUNY BPL in providing building performance training and certification for practitioners, though PHIUS focuses more on passive house standards than operations.
• Resource Innovation Institute (RII): RII is a nonprofit advancing resource efficiency in buildings through research, training, and benchmarking. Comparable to CUNY BPL in nonprofit research and training orientation toward building decarbonization, though focused on controlled environment agriculture and resource use.

Broad incumbents

• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE): ACEEE is a leading national nonprofit research organization focused on energy efficiency policy, technology, and behavior. Comparable to CUNY BPL as a research-driven nonprofit publishing analysis on building efficiency, though operating at a broader policy/national scale.

Others

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Building Re-tuning: PNNL originated the Building Re-tuning protocol that CUNY BPL adapted as noBAS BRT. PNNL is a research partner rather than competitor, but serves a comparable federal-laboratory function developing building efficiency protocols and tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CUNY Building Performance Lab