Man in safety vest in industrial building

Xcel Energy Efficiency Summit

Thursday, September 19, 2024 |Stoney Creek Hotel | 3060 S Kinney Coulee Rd, Onalaska, WI 54650

Join us at the Energy Efficiency Summit to explore new advances in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies for your business and your customers. Our half-day event offers workshops tailored for Xcel’s C&I customers and trade allies, led by local and national energy experts.

Explore innovative solutions for your business, learn about commercial building electrification, solar electric systems, HVAC controls strategies, state and federal incentives, rebates, and tax credits, and more. Engage with Xcel Energy staff and learn from experts on a range of topics, from power quality and energy metering to understanding utility bills.

The Energy Efficiency Summit concludes with a keynote presentation on the potential usages of AI in buildings over lunch. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn new strategies to optimize energy conservation measures, discover new technologies and approaches, and prepare your business for success.

7:30–8 AM: Registration, networking breakfast

8–8:35 AM: Welcome

Alex Lueck, Community Services Manager, Xcel Energy
Focus on Energy programs and incentives. Peter Speckman, Focus on Energy
IRA: What you need to know. Robin Lisowski, Director of Service Solutions, Slipstream

8:35–8:45 AM: Networking break, visit exhibitors

8:45–9:45 AM: Breakout session #1

Commercial building electrification: Understanding HVAC systems and their heat pump upgrade options. Ryan Hoger, Director of Training, Temperature Equipment Corporation
Renewable Energy Programs at Xcel Energy (Wisconsin). Katie Dietlin, Wisconsin Solar Program Manager, Xcel Energy; and Jackson Schmidtke, Renewable*Connect Program Manager, Xcel Energy
Energy metering: An important first step on your sustainability journey. Chris Brown, Solar Preconstruction Manager, Schneider Electric

9:45–10:00 AM: Networking break, visit exhibitors

10:00–11:00 AM: Breakout session #2

Advanced RTU Controls and Strategies. Ryan Hoger, Director of Training, Temperature Equipment Corporation
Power Quality Influences of VFDs and LEDs. John Houdek, President and Co-owner, Allied Industrial Marketing, Inc.
Microgrids 101. Michael Voigt, Business Development Manager, EnTech Solutions

11:00–11:15 AM: Networking break, visit exhibitors

11:15–12:15 PM: Breakout session #3

Commercial building electrification: Understanding HVAC systems and their heat pump upgrade options. Ryan Hoger, Director of Training, Temperature Equipment Corporation
Solar electric systems for your business: what to know before you buy. Chris Collins, Solar Preconstruction Manager, Westphal & Company
Insights and Innovations in Lighting Technology. Mike Herbst, Project Manager, Faith Technologies

12:15–12:45 PM: Lunch

12:40–12:45 PM: ASHRAE La Crosse Chapter presentation

Steve Kujak, President, ASHRAE La Crosse Chapter

12:40–1:45 PM: Keynote lunch presentation

Unlocking the Potential of AI in Buildings. Erin Rau, Trane Technologies Digital Services

1:30 PM: Energy Efficiency Summit concludes

Unlocking the Potential of AI in Buildings

Discover the future of smart buildings, where artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the built environment, unlocking unparalleled performance and insight. This future entails indoor spaces that achieve new levels of performance, energy efficiency, and occupant comfort through intelligent building systems. Join our Trane controls and building intelligence expert as we delve into the latest technologies, key considerations, and invaluable resources that will guide you through every crucial step to reach your goals. Learn how a Trane customer introduced predictive optimization using an AI-enabled service. By incorporating variables such as weather data, occupancy trends, and equipment performance, they maximized efficiency and cost savings. The customer sought guidance on how to make progress towards aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals across a national portfolio of facilities. Implementing an AI solution helped this customer exceed their initial targets on their journey towards the long-term goal of becoming net zero by 2035. It stands as a testament to the benefits of sustainable practices for both the environment and the bottom line.

C&I customers, large, medium, and small businesses, energy managers, building operators, facilities managers, engineers, architects and commercial trade allies.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Hallie Jahr (hjahr@slipstreaminc.org)

Speakers

Erin Rau
Digital Services Commercialization Leader – North America
Trane Technologies

Erin Rau is the North America Digital Service Commercialization Leader for Trane Technologies. She is responsible for commercializing and supporting all of Trane’s new and existing digital offerings throughout the North American sales channels. She also works closely with Product Management and development teams on new functionality needs from the voice of the customer and Trane Associates. She is passionate about data analytics and the additional insights it can bring to building owners, team members, and students. Erin Rau graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and in 2024 with an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Erin currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri and likes to spend time with her husband Chris and her kids Jackson (11) and Scarlett (9). Her hobbies include cheering on the St Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Chiefs, Missouri Tigers, traveling, wine and exploring the outdoors.

Robin Lisowski
Managing Director of Policy
Slipstream

Robin is Director of Service Solutions at Slipstream, where she leads new service development efforts. Robin has more than 20 years of experience conducting and managing technical and policy analysis projects, facilitating stakeholder engagement processes, and designing programs in public, for-profit, and nonprofit environments. She has worked directly with state and local governments and energy utilities for 18 years and in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industry since 2008 when she became the Assistant Director of the Business Programs Portfolio for Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program. Robin is an interdisciplinary thinker and doer with a passion for clean energy and environmental justice policy. In her work, she has a reputation for centering these passions alongside analytical rigor and the importance of understanding human experience with and attitudes toward energy efficiency, electrification, and other clean energy options in buildings and transportation.

Ryan Hoger
Temperature Equipment Corporation

Ryan Hoger has been with Temperature Equipment Corp. since 1997. He was the 2007-08 president of the Illinois ASHRAE Chapter and is actively involved with several gas/electric utility committees. He has extensive experience with building automation systems (BAS), energy recovery ventilators (ERV), variable refrigerant flow (VRF), demand-controlled ventilation (DCV), and other energy conserving HVAC systems. Ryan has written HVAC articles for various publications and has a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois.

John Houdek, Allied Industrial Marketing, Inc.

John Houdek
President and Co-owner
Allied Industrial Marketing, Inc.

John Houdek is president and co-owner of Allied Industrial Marketing, Inc., a company that specializes in electrical power quality. John serves the power quality industry as a resource for a variety of services including: power quality problem diagnosis and filter design, harmonic analysis, computer simulation, training and seminars, and technical marketing support for key components used in the assembly of high-performance power quality equipment.

Prior to forming Allied Industrial Marketing, John held senior management positions for two electrical power quality equipment manufacturers. John earned an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management in 1989 and has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from MSOE, where for twenty years he also taught a course in Electrical Power Quality for Buildings. John is a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Michael Voigt, EnTech Solutions – Faith Technologies Inc.

Michael Voigt
Business Development Manager
EnTech Solutions – Faith Technologies Inc.

As a Business Development Manager, Michael works with customers to support various types of clean energy projects. This includes solutions that involve metering, efficiency improvements, energy generation, and energy storage, determining which mix of solutions will provide the most value to customers. Michael graduated from St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wisconsin, with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. He has a strong passion for renewable energy, electric vehicles, microgrids, and science. Outside of work, Michael enjoys living an active lifestyle, boating, snowboarding, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Michael Herbst , Faith Technologies Inc.

Michael Herbst
Project Manager
Faith Technologies Inc.

As a project manager, Mike provides the overall management and staff oversight for Faith Technologies projects. Mike is the main point of contact for owner’s ensuring they are confident in the current status of their project. Some of Mike’s additional responsibilities include planning and reviewing project schedules and budgets, reviewing estimates, visiting jobsites, and establishing and maintaining strong customer relationships.

Chris Collins
Solar Preconstruction Manager
Westphal & Company, Inc.

Chris has worked in the solar industry since 2005. Starting with residential and small commercial systems project development, he currently assists with projects from 150 kW to 15 MW. His role is to guide customers from initial discussion about solar to final completion and commissioning. Solar project development requires relationships with developers, business owners, non-profits, utilities This requires a knowledge of tax credits, incentives, permitting requirements and utility interconnection policy. Chris believes it is important to understand customer’s needs and provide realistic solutions with predictable results. With technology constantly improving it is important to stay current on new advancements and approaches to solar installation. Chris holds a B.A. from UW Madison and is Vice Chair of the UW Platteville SRES advisory board.

Peter Speckman

Focus on Energy

Xcel Energy Efficiency Summit

Thursday, September 19, 2024 |Stoney Creek Hotel | 3060 S Kinney Coulee Rd, Onalaska, WI 54650

Overview

Agenda

Featured Session

Who should attend?

Questions?