In 2024 we saw little change or impact on the markets surrounding energy and engineering in West Michigan and beyond and that’s not a bad thing.
In December of 2023 when I looked ahead into 2024 there was a fair amount of uncertainty around interest rates and while we did see those fluctuations in 2024 they didn’t have as big of an impact as expected.
In that same post I also shared that businesses weren’t quite ready for net zero but were starting to make incremental changes to their energy strategy as costs rose. This holds true for 2024 and I anticipate it will remain in 2025. We continue to see corporate mandates on energy consumption from national or international companies trickle down to local plants and buildings and they have to figure out how to meet those mandates.
In reflecting on 2024 the big news in Michigan was the impending 2025 energy code changes that impact commercial construction. These changes will be enforced on April 23, 2025 and there is a huge learning curve for the industry to fully understand these changes. In June of 2024 we held an event presenting on these changes, we presented a series through ASHRAE in December and have additional presentations coming in early 2025 where we are trying to educate as many people as possible. For now, check out the post I wrote on Functional Performance Testing (FPT), which is part of the new code, and sign up to receive code change details on our contact page.
Other than the code changes in Michigan we generally saw more of the same from 2023-2024. An election year generally has some slowing or “wait and see” impact and we did see that in some design projects being delayed or paused but work remained steady. The cost of construction materials has plateaued, inflation has cooled and we expect more of the same into 2025. Bottom line: companies are still investing in energy (whether they want to or not) and companies are still designing and building and I expect that to continue throughout 2025.