When the alternative is the right choice
We’d rather lose a project we’re wrong for than win it and disappoint you. Here is where each alternative is genuinely the better call.
The manufacturer’s rep
If your building is standardized on a single platform and you intend to keep it that way, the rep’s team knows that product line more deeply than any independent firm. Some platforms require factory startup to keep warranty coverage, and the rep’s support plan may be the simplest way to keep the system current. In that situation, hire us alongside the rep only if you need whole-building functional testing, BMS integration, or data the platform’s own software doesn’t provide.
Your electrical contractor
For a straightforward LED retrofit with standalone sensors, no network, and no data requirement, a good electrical contractor with manufacturer startup is usually enough. Adding a controls specialist adds cost without much benefit. Our rule of thumb: if nothing needs to talk to anything else and nobody needs the data, you may not need us. Call us when the project grows past that, or when the code official or a utility program asks for functional testing documentation.
An ESCO or national rollout firm
If you operate hundreds of sites across many states and want one contract, one standard design, and financing with a savings guarantee, a national firm’s scale is hard to match. Their programs are built for repetition, and repetition is what a large chain needs. We work best from a single building up to a regional portfolio in the Mid-South, where each site is a little different and someone needs to be there in person.
Where we fit best
- More than one controls brand in the same building or portfolio.
- Networked controls that have to work with a BMS, an IT department, or a utility program.
- Systems that were installed but never properly commissioned, or whose platform is being discontinued.
- Owners who want to keep the configuration, the credentials, and the data.
- Mid-size buildings and portfolios that national programs tend to overlook.
How to compare any proposal, including ours
Ask every firm the same questions:
- Who commissions the brands you don’t carry?
- Who holds the admin credentials and the system database after closeout?
- Can we export our data as CSV without your help, and what does it cost to leave?
- What happens to support if the platform is discontinued?
- Who talks to our IT team, and what will they be asked to approve?
Our Controls Buyer’s and RFP Guide has the full list, with specification clauses worth insisting on. To see how we’d answer these questions in practice, read our approach or browse the services.
