Ecotope, Inc

08/11/2026

We’re excited to welcome Elijah Marcum, PE Marcum to Ecotope as a Mechanical Engineer on our Design and Engineering team.

With a passion for sustainable design and a thoughtful, systems-based approach to engineering, Elijah will help create high-performance solutions that balance energy efficiency, constructability, and long-term building performance.

Glad to have you on the team, Elijah!

08/11/2026

Congratulations to Midea, winner of the Hot Water Innovation Prize! 👏

Midea’s compact, split-system heat pump water heater concept addresses a real challenge in multifamily buildings: making efficient water heating work in apartments and other space-constrained homes.

As a co-sponsor of the Hot Water Innovation Prize, Ecotope was glad to support this effort to encourage practical new approaches to high-efficiency water heating. Congratulations to Midea and everyone involved—we look forward to seeing where this technology goes next.

Meet the winner: www.hotwaterinnovationprize.com

07/20/2026

📄 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥-𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬? That's the question explored in Ecotope's latest study for the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA).

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. Proper design, control, monitoring, and alarming is needed to minimize emissions and maximize cost savings.

Authored by Ecotope's Scott Spielman and Jonathan Heller, the 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘋𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘏𝘰𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 examines where dual-fuel domestic hot water systems may fit, the challenges and opportunities they present, and considerations for future market adoption.

Research like this helps building owners, designers, manufacturers, utilities, and policymakers make informed decisions as technologies and markets continue to evolve.

📖 Read the study here: https://neea.org/resource/dual-fuel-domestic-hot-water-feasibility-study/

Shout out to Scott Spielman and Jonathan Heller on this contribution to the industry's growing body of research.

07/02/2026

It's great to see the City of Seattle continuing to make progress toward decarbonizing its municipal buildings.

Ecotope has been fortunate to support many of these efforts, helping identify practical ways to reduce energy use, improve building performance, and transition to cleaner, all-electric systems. Check out the City's new Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Dashboard to see the progress being made!

Kicking off summer with upgrades that make our public buildings more sustainable, welcoming, and ready for everyone 🌞

Across Seattle, we’re upgrading pools, community centers, libraries, and more to cut climate pollution, reduce energy use, improve indoor air quality, and make buildings more comfortable for the communities who use them 🏊‍♀️

You can now track this progress through Seattle’s new Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Dashboard, which shares energy and emissions data for more than 300 City-owned buildings and shows how the City is leading the way in reducing climate pollution 🏛️

So far, we’ve made upgrades in North Seattle, South Seattle, and more. See what’s happening in your neighborhood: https://greenspace.seattle.gov/2026/07/seattles-progress-toward-climate-resilient-and-efficient-community-centers-libraries-pools-and-more/

06/25/2026

🏢 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐈𝐇𝐈 125𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫

We're excited to share that Shawn Oram will be joining Passive House Northwest and the Housing Development Consortium for a tour of LIHI 125th Senior Housing, a high-performance affordable housing project designed to meet Passive House standards.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the project's design, construction, and sustainability strategies, while hearing directly from members of the project team.

🔗 Learn more and register here: https://www.housingconsortium.org/events/ #!event/2026/7/15/tour-lihi-125th-senior-housing-with-passive-house-nw-and-hdc-sustainability-partners?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=3d9f3841-ea4f-4886-bcf8-339b25dadab3

We hope to see you there!

06/18/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Last week, we celebrated 50 years of Ecotope alongside current and former staff, clients, partners, and friends who have helped shape our journey.

Looking around the rooftop, we were reminded that while projects, technologies, and industries evolve, the relationships built along the way are what truly endure. The stories shared, connections renewed, and memories revisited made for a meaningful celebration of Ecotope's past—and an inspiring look toward the future.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to the countless people who have contributed to Ecotope's work over the last five decades.

We're grateful for the opportunity to continue advancing sustainable buildings, energy efficiency, and decarbonization—and excited for what the next 50 years will bring.

Photography by: David Leong

06/17/2026

Using CY2025 data, 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 35 continues to demonstrate what's possible when efficiency and electrification are approached together.

As part of a decarbonization project delivered in collaboration with the City of Seattle's Facilities and Administrative Services (FAS) and Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE), the building's 𝐄𝐔𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 87 𝐭𝐨 38 𝐤𝐁𝐭𝐮/𝐬𝐟/𝐲𝐫 since 2018. Today, Fire Station 35 has one of the lowest energy use and emissions profiles among Seattle's fire stations.

Most notably, the building's current all-electric EUI is lower than it was before heat pumps were added for domestic hot water, apparatus bay heating, and energy recovery ventilators were added to provide outside air — a reminder that building electrification can be an opportunity to improve performance, not just reduce emissions.

Projects like this help demonstrate a practical pathway for reducing energy use and carbon emissions across existing municipal buildings.

06/11/2026

🎉 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥!

Measurement and Verification (M&V) plays a critical role in understanding how buildings and systems actually perform in the real world and in validating that efficiency and decarbonization strategies achieve projected savings.

We’re excited to see Madison continue growing her expertise in this important area of high-performance building analysis and research. 👏

06/04/2026

🏆 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐑𝐀𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞

We’re proud to share that Ecotope has received an 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐑𝐀𝐄 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐗𝐈 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 (𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠) for our work on the Metropole Building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square.

The ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize innovative building projects that demonstrate measurable performance, energy efficiency, and occupant-focused design through real-world operating results—highlighting projects that help move the industry forward.

Led by architect Matt Aalfs and the team at BuildingWork, this historic adaptive reuse project transformed a long-vacant 1890s masonry landmark into a high-performance, all-electric facility designed to meet ambitious sustainability goals, including LEED Platinum certification and alignment with the Seattle 2030 District initiative.

Ecotope designed high-efficiency mechanical engineering, plumbing engineering, and energy modeling services to support the building’s mixed-use program—including event and conference spaces, a community kitchen, offices, and childcare facilities—while preserving the historic character of the structure and dramatically reducing operational energy use.

This project demonstrates how thoughtful adaptive reuse and integrated system design can help historic buildings meet modern performance goals while creating resilient, low-carbon community spaces.

👏 Congratulations to the entire project team—and especially to Ecotope’s Greg Wentzell and Morgan Heater on leading the engineering effort on this award-winning project.

05/27/2026

Congratulations to our President, Jonathan Heller, on being named a finalist for the Vistage Leadership Award.

We’re grateful for Jon’s steady leadership, thoughtful approach, and long-standing commitment to advancing practical, scalable solutions for energy efficiency and building decarbonization. This recognition is a reflection of the collaboration, curiosity, and persistence that continue to shape Ecotope’s work and mission.

Congratulations as well to all of the finalists and honorees recognized this year!