JEFFREY J. GAVIN, LEED Green Associate

Based on the success of the U.S. Green Building Council-Illinois' first Annual Report (served as author and project manager), I took on the organization's follow-up in 2016. This marketing piece was not only an account of 2015 successes but a vehicle to generate further interest in USGBC-Illinois and its mission. The report’s theme of “Impact and Connection” was reflected through concise, engaging copy, testimonials and dynamic design. A coated metal wire binding was employed for easy reader navigation. The end result was a very happy client with an annual report that spoke to a motivated sustainability community. View PDF
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In a COVID-19 world, sanitizing and disinfecting the places in which work, learn or heal is more important than ever. Ultraviolet (UV) light is one tactic but it can be harmful to human eyesight and skin through prolonged exposure. Engineers have found a safer disinfectant by zeroing in on the violet spectrum within LED light. Over the past few years, manufacturers have introduced products featuring sanitizing LED light. View PDF View PDF
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Microgrids may not yet be ubiquitous but they certainly can be found supplying power in an array of settings both urban and non-urban. View PDF View PDF
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The outdoor office is an idea taking hold. Outdoor workplaces can be as simple as power-integrated tables and desks on a corporate patio to designed landscapes akin to an outdoor campus. Wireless support further contributes to the outdoor office ecosystem. View PDF
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Light can inform, de-stress, and stimulate both employees and patients in a hospital. Creative lighting can transform internal spaces devoid of natural light to support different needs (e.g. ORs, cath labs, electrophysiology labs and more). Meanwhile, LEDs support natural light differently in different hospital settings (e.g. patient rooms, special care units). An investigation in how healthy and effective lighting takes on multiple dimensions in today’s hospitals. View PDF
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A number of manufacturers have entered the marketplace offering a “two birds with one stone” approach. They are offering quality lights to match the workplace while offering a cheaper alternative to sound attenuation. Unique LED fixtures featuring sound deadening material are making suspended lighting a sound absorption solution. A look at why this is a new design imperative. View PDF
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The next evolution of communication technology, maybe the Holy Grail, is a 5G highway for communication traveling at true lightning speed. 5G will push mobile speeds from 100 Mbps to upward of 10 Gbps. Cities are working with phone carriers, federal labs and others to create test labs for 5G. Broader smart city connectivity efforts could expand and improve including harnessing LED for multiple purposes that include outdoor smart poles that use multiple sensors to capture and deliver information to city services and its constituents. View PDF
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A hallmark of sustainable design, the University of Chicago Keller Center's recent renovation is one driven by college's ethos for forward thinking public policy. View PDF
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Perhaps the easiest way for companies to make their older buildings smarter is to use sensors. But when retrofitting older buildings, newer technology can cause more problems than it solves. Buildings must be designed to be “smart around the user and not around the system” which can be challenging in decades-old structures. An exploration of added concerns and the troubleshooting expertise required when attempting to make an older building smart. View PDF
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The contributing author of KMPG's "The Agile Utility". Worked with company executives, marketing professionals, and energy experts to frame the discussion and eventual content of this extended white paper. Interviewing, researching, and final copy were my responsibilities. The majority of my work is represented in Part II of this publication.
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Once a curiosity, the Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to come on strong within the office space. It has already made strong inroads into manufacturing. View PDF
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What's better than a building achieving net-zero energy? One that generates enough alternative power to become net-positive. It's happening and getting easier as buildings become their own power plants. View PDF
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A wireless home is leading the way in wireless connectivity. It's the electrician who can harness this exploding market and become the all-in-one contractor for home power. View PDF
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Think of DC-to-DC power as energy efficiency 2.0. National labs, enterprising building owners and manufacturers see a big future for direct current as a safer, more efficient way to power the home and office. A look at an old idea made new. View PDF
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Teaching by example never goes out of style. When it comes to safety on the job, it is the only way to foster a safety culture that sticks. View PDF
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The lowly parking garage is ready for an update and it is surely getting one. Developers and owners see parking structures going green as a way to help their bottom line, build customer satisfaction, and open the door to innovations never before considered. View PDF
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Big things can come in small packages. Look at today's tiny houses. They are attractive, technology-enabled and answering an itch for simpler living. Communities for these small homes are even popping up. Tiny houses are now a market. View PDF
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Redirected and reintroduced the Smart Ideas for Your Business® energy efficiency electronic newsletter. It's mission remained to educate non-residential customers on ways to lower their energy costs. Tactics explored included monitoring-software, efficient HVAC, demand response practices, low-draw lighting, green building methods and more. The electronic publication was expanded to three separate editions (small business, commercial and industrial), each tailored for editorial and tone per customer focus. Goals of elevated newsletter quality, outreach, and needed customer-focus were met. View PDF
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By telling a story, case studies help ComEd sell its Smart Ideas for Your Business energy efficiency program. Project management of such vehicles includes content development, photography and working closely with the client whose story is being told.
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For ComEd, a utility would seem an unlikely candidate for a social media presence. The company has proven such an assumption wrong building a strong following as customers want to keep up with everything from power outages to ComEd programs that provide them benefit. Here's a sampling of weekly Facebook and Twitter messages I was responsible for authoring.
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Millennials embrace efficiency, mobility and collaboration. The better you understand how they work, the better you’ll understand how to get the best from them. This feature identifies and offers tips on developing a successful working relationship with this workforce.
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Energy analysts surmise that the energy storage market is ready to take off, in part due to state and federal policies. Energy storage is also being seen as the missing component in making the best use of alternative energy. Research firm IHS expects the storage market to soar to 40,000 MW by 2023. This feature explores that marriage of clean power---stored. View PDF
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Using no more power that you generate is called net-zero. This Folio award-winning feature shows the early success and variety of buildings achieving this ever reachable energy-use milestone.
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Tech disruption can be a scary . It can suggest too fast, too soon. In truth, technology can ease and improve process and performance. For the electrical contractor, maybe the time is ripe for a little disruption.

Urban agriculture is bringing farm-to-table in the purest sense to metropolitan customers while rewriting crop yields and farming resiliency. Light emitting diodes (LED) will be instrumental.

An exploration of the growing use of "independent" power generation at the community level as a way to address resiliency, sustainability, and grid stability. View PDF
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Urban infrastructure in the 21st century going forward may contain a confluence of power efficient sensors, wireless networks, and mobile-centric apps. These enablers combined with an expansion of clean energy and smart grid practices, are setting the connected, smart city table.