What does an energy efficiency engineer do?
Energy Efficiency Engineer conducts audits to inspect, survey, model, and analyze the energy flows in existing buildings, whether commercial, residential, or industrial. These engineers apply engineering principles to develop energy distribution systems that operate efficiently. They analyze energy and make recommendations to reduce energy usage efficiently. An energy efficiency engineer must understand energy use, the ability to collect data and analyze it, develop business cases for energy efficiency projects, the ability to integrate energy, have good communication, and a sense of project planning and management.
Energy efficiency engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real energy efficiency engineer resumes:
- Manage the storage & shipment of hazardous/universal wastes (PCB ballasts, lamps, batteries, etc . )
- Approve all material and labor invoices ensuring that charges are base on current material and labor contracts and NYC labor rates.
- Provide training to clients, universities and chamber of engineers on energy efficiency and HVAC systems.
- Install metering on injection molds, lighting, compress air, on-site generators, and HVAC systems.
- Obtain regulatory closure of the site, which is now operate as a recreational property by the BLM.
- Perform plant audits to implement advance manufacturing, digital design, and sustainability.
- Calculate energy/water cost and usage savings that meet company-wide ROI requirements.
Energy efficiency engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Energy Efficiency Engineers are proficient in HVAC, Energy Efficiency, and Data Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Math skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Energy Efficiency Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HVAC, 26%
Analyzed Architectural plans, building envelopes, mechanical schedule for HVAC systems.
- Energy Efficiency, 18%
Consulted with industrial and commercial facility managers on energy efficiency options to identify opportunities for energy savings and demand reduction.
- Data Analysis, 14%
Performed data analysis of building utility usage and developed energy studies.
- Energy Analysis, 6%
Developed systems for engineer training, data collection, energy analysis and report generation for regional and nationwide team of engineers.
- Commercial Buildings, 6%
Performed over thirty detailed energy evaluations and energy service proposals on educational, institutional, industrial and commercial buildings.
- EQuest, 5%
Modeled buildings using eQUEST and EnergyPro to calculate energy savings potential.
Common skills that an energy efficiency engineer uses to do their job include "hvac," "energy efficiency," and "data analysis." You can find details on the most important energy efficiency engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an energy efficiency engineer to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "industrial engineers use creativity and ingenuity to design new production processes in many kinds of settings in order to reduce the use of material resources, time, or labor while accomplishing the same goal." Energy efficiency engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "achieved all material and equipment needs for the renewable energy projects including managing purchasing and controlling inventory. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform energy efficiency engineer duties is math skills. Energy efficiency engineers responsibilities require that "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." Energy efficiency engineers also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "analyzed renewable energy options for the manhattan center for science and mathematics in harlem, new york. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for energy efficiency engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how energy efficiency engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an energy efficiency engineer: "executed financial and energy analysis, by evaluating various alternatives to determine the most cost effective solution with the highest performance. ".
Speaking skills. For certain energy efficiency engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of an energy efficiency engineer rely on this skill, as "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what energy efficiency engineers do: "represented northeast utilities at the northeast energy efficiency partnership (neep). "
Writing skills. Another common skill required for energy efficiency engineer responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of energy efficiency engineers all the time, as "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." An excerpt from a real energy efficiency engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what an energy efficiency engineer does: "lead and assisted team members in report writing and calculation for all report. "
The three companies that hire the most energy efficiency engineers are:
- TRC Companies10 energy efficiency engineers jobs
- Nexant4 energy efficiency engineers jobs
- Eversource Energy2 energy efficiency engineers jobs
Compare different energy efficiency engineers
Energy efficiency engineer vs. Electrical/mechanical designer
Renewable energy consultants carry out energy surveys and audits and advise clients on sources of renewable energy. They also advise on sustainable solutions within the built environment and infrastructure sectors. Their additional duties and responsibilities include analyzing data to calculate and compare current and historical use of energy. Generating reports that are understandable to the management and help in decision-making is also an important task of the job.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an energy efficiency engineer are more likely to require skills like "energy efficiency," "data analysis," "energyplus," and "energy analysis." On the other hand, a job as an electrical/mechanical designer requires skills like "assembly drawings," "cad," "panel layouts," and "solidworks." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that electrical/mechanical designers earn slightly differ from energy efficiency engineers. In particular, electrical/mechanical designers are 25.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an energy efficiency engineer. Additionally, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Energy efficiency engineer vs. Distributed generation project manager
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that energy efficiency engineer responsibilities requires skills like "hvac," "energy efficiency," "data analysis," and "energyplus." But a distributed generation project manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project scope," "generation business," "process improvement," and "audit support."
In general, distributed generation project managers achieve similar levels of education than energy efficiency engineers. They're 2.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Energy efficiency engineer vs. Renewable energy consultant
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from energy efficiency engineer resumes include skills like "energy efficiency," "energyplus," "commercial buildings," and "equest," whereas a renewable energy consultant is more likely to list skills in "financial models," "solar pv," "lead generation," and "electric vehicle. "
When it comes to education, renewable energy consultants tend to earn lower degree levels compared to energy efficiency engineers. In fact, they're 7.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Energy efficiency engineer vs. Engineer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between energy efficiency engineers and engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an energy efficiency engineer might have more use for skills like "energy efficiency," "energyplus," "energy analysis," and "equest." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineers require skills like "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #. "
In general, engineers earn the most working in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $97,672. The highest-paying industry for an energy efficiency engineer is the utilities industry.engineers reach lower levels of education compared to energy efficiency engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 14.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of energy efficiency engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
