SYRACUSE — Finding ways to save on energy costs can be a full-time job. That’s why BlueRock Energy Holdings says it founded BlueRock Energy Services — a new company focused on helping businesses and homeowners reduce their energy consumption and cut energy costs.

The company expects to add 40 new jobs over the next two years to fill energy audit, engineering, design, sales, accounting, and purchasing positions. BlueRock Energy Services is funded by international private investments in cooperation with Global Alliance Securities, an investment bank with offices in New York City, under the EB-5 program, a federal program designed to stimulate the economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.

BlueRock Energy Services celebrated its grand opening on Dec. 10 with a ribbon-cutting at BlueRock Energy Holdings’ headquarters at 432 N. Franklin St. in Syracuse.

“We have a team here at BlueRock of very skilled experts on energy,” Philip Van Horne, CEO of BlueRock Energy Holdings, says in an interview. These experts monitor the energy industry full-time, tracking things such as consumption and pricing trends. “We can leverage that knowledge and expertise … to help our customers reduce their overall energy costs,” Van Horne says.

It can be challenging for a business, in particular, to take on an energy-savings project on its own, he says, due to the sheer amount of information and technology out there. “New technology is coming out literally weekly,” he says. That can make it tough for a customer, whether it’s a business or a homeowner, to know which options are the best solutions to their particular energy problems.

BlueRock Energy Services (www.bluerockenergyserevices.com) provides site assessments as well as product procurement, financing, logistics, installation management, rebate programs, training, and support. 

For each customer, BlueRock Energy Services says it conducts an initial site assessment to collect information on the client’s current energy consumption. BlueRock project managers then design a plan with products/services to help reduce energy costs and increase operating efficiency.

“We use a consultative approach,” Van Horne says. “We look at the problem, and we’ll select the best brand, the best fixtures, and the best solution to the problem.”

Initially, BlueRock Energy Services is focusing on lighting solutions, he says. Lighting costs typically comprise anywhere from 25 percent to 40 percent of energy costs, so lighting changes can make a quick impact on those costs. 

LED lighting is BlueRock’s lighting of choice for a variety of reasons, Van Horne says. Along with being extremely efficient, LED lighting avoids the dangerous chemicals found in compact fluorescent bulbs, another popular energy-saving choice. In addition, LED lighting provides a large array of lighting choices, allowing customers to select the best choice for their needs, he says. For example, lighting that most closely resembles natural, bright sunlight in a doctor’s office can help the doctor see better to give more thorough exams, he explains. A restaurant may choose softer, dimmer lighting to create a certain mood. 

BlueRock Energy Services also provides energy monitoring services to help customers see when and where they are using the most energy. Eventually, BlueRock’s services will expand across the energy spectrum to include HVAC products and even on-site energy-generation options.

Marketing efforts
Van Horne expects the company will provide its services across the Northeast. The firm is currently marketing its services to existing BlueRock Energy Holdings customers as well as through sports-marketing channels. 

BlueRock has a strong affiliation with the Buffalo Bills, a customer, and leverages that connection to help market its services. The company recently had Bills safety Aaron Williams take over its Twitter feed for one hour, where he answered 196 fan questions. “The engagement was unbelievable,” Van Horne says. Other activities include the Bills BlueRock Player of the Week fan voting, which takes place on the BlueRock website.

It’s about building brand recognition and capitalizing on the loyalty of sports fans, Van Horne says. Those fans who click through to vote will generally also take the time to read the BlueRock information that pops up on the screen. “Sports fans are very loyal, very engaged,” he contends.

Along with sponsoring the Bills, BlueRock also sponsors the Rochester Lancers indoor soccer team, Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball team, and the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team and has in-venue, electronic, and social-media marketing plans with the teams.

“It brings in a lot of leads and a lot of customers,” Van Horne says. As the company is privately held, he declined to disclose any revenue information.

BlueRock Energy Holdings (www.bluerockenergy.com) provides electricity, natural gas, and renewable-energy products to more than 14,000 customers across New York.       

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — Ashley McGraw Architects, D.P.C.’s new downtown Syracuse office has numerous attributes and features incorporating sustainability.

The architecture firm moved to a 9,000-square-foot space on the 15th floor of the Onondaga Tower at 125 East Jefferson St. in September, from its previous 11,500-square-foot office at 500. S. Salina St., says Deborah Rhea, chief operating & finance officer for Ashley McGraw. 

Rhea and several of her colleagues spoke with the Business Journal News Network about it on Dec. 5.

The firm’s lease was ending at 500 S. Salina St. and the building was accommodating more residential space, says Rhea. Company officials sought new space both inside and outside the city.

“When we were offered the 15th floor of this building, it suited our purposes perfectly,” she adds.

Ashley McGraw rents its space at the Onondaga Tower from CBD Companies, which operates in the same building.

The architecture firm sought an office environment that reflects its “core belief” that a “habitable future depends on a mutually beneficial relationship between human made and natural systems,” according to an Ashley McGraw news release. 

That phrase greets visitors on the firm’s website.

The new office has 2,500 fewer square feet than the company’s previous home, so the employee work spaces are “significantly” smaller than they were before, says Susanne Gruening Angarano, an interior designer with Ashley McGraw.

“In order to do that, we had to cut down on paper and what we produce, and so we’ve moved to more digital elements,” she says.

The Onondaga Tower office also includes light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, daylighting, and occupancy controls, or motion sensors on the lights. 

“We have LED lighting throughout, which is much more energy efficient than fluorescent or halogen. We also have the lighting on a light sensor, which allows the lights to either turn off or dim when the window light or the natural light is sufficient,” says Nicholas Signorelli, a principal with the firm.  

In addition, the office features low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint and finishes, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and reused materials from its former office. 

When asked to explain VOCs, Jason Evans, architectural designer with Ashley McGraw, provided an example.

“When you have a really smelly paint … it’s usually indicative of a really high VOC count,” says Evans. He also noted the firm used mostly zero-count VOC paints. 

The flooring in the office’s studio area is a former gymnasium floor and the entryway features reclaimed wooden bleachers, both acquired from the Geneva City School District, says Gruening Angarano.

Ashley McGraw is targeting silver-level certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. 

Ashley McGraw developed the new office layout after months of lunch seminars, workshops, and discussions with employees. 

The office features an open-landscape concept with no furniture partitions between workstations, which the firm says is “promoting a visually open and collaborative environment with the flexibility for easy change of task and project teams,” according to its news release. 

The new space also has workspaces with sit-to-stand desks, breakout hubs, and larger gathering spaces. 

Many of those spaces are reconfigurable for design discussions, office presentations, client meetings, or lunch seminars, Ashley McGraw said.

About the firm
Founded in 1981, Ashley McGraw Architects designs, renovates, and constructs elementary and secondary schools, college and university facilities, and municipal projects across New York state. 

The firm employs 37 licensed architects, architectural designers, interior designers, and support staff.

It is currently working on projects that include the design of the Southern Tier High Technology Incubator in Binghamton. 

It is also designing a new artificial turf field and track for Jamesville-DeWitt High School and handling the upcoming renovation work on Chestnut Hill Elementary School and Chestnut Hill Middle School in the Liverpool School District, says Signorelli. 

Rhea declined to disclose the firm’s revenue information.

The principals in the firm include Edward McGraw, who serves as Ashley McGraw’s CEO; Signorelli; Sandra March, who is also the firm’s chief marketing officer; and Matthew Broderick.       

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com