Hub April 2026 Newsletter
In this month's issue:
- Featured Case Study: Rush University Medical Center
- Featured Resource: Benchmarking Guide
- Partner Resource: Cutting Carbon in Co-ops & Condos
- Podcast: Practical Retrofit Strategies with Tom Bassett-Dilley
- Upcoming Webinar: Hub Resources for Your Building
- Partner Event: Utility Financing Programs
Diagnosing Energy Savings Potential at Rush
Rush University Medical Center turned to the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program to heal the inefficiencies in their building automation system. With low-cost solutions discovered through long-term, monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx), RUSH is saving an estimated $2 million annually and counting! Rush's success highlights what’s possible when smart strategy meets smart energy use. ComEd offers flexible project options—making it easier to uncover savings, improve performance, and deliver measurable, long-term impact.
Find out how Rush partnered with ComEd to treat energy inefficiencies by reading the case study below.
It's Time to Benchmark Your Building's Performance
Energy and water benchmarking are valuable processes for both building owners and occupants to better understand and quantify how their buildings are using resources. It can be used to compare energy and cost performance year-over-year, compare to similar buildings, and to better identify when a property is underperforming. Reviewing your benchmarking data, after ensuring its accuracy, will allow you to understand where there is opportunity to improve performance.
Review the Hub’s benchmarking guidance to learn about benchmarking requirements in your jurisdiction, why benchmarking matters, and tips and tricks to help you with the process.
Cutting Carbon in Co-ops & Condos:
Strategic Decarbonization Planning
Within the multifamily sector, co-ops and condos face particularly high barriers to decarbonization
given unique funding constraints and governance structures. Building Energy Exchange NYC’s Strategic Decarbonization Planning Resource educates stakeholders on what deep decarbonization means for co-ops and condos while equipping them with the technical solutions, financial expertise, and planning strategies they need to comply with local laws, reduce operating costs, improve building performance, and increase asset value.
New on The Building Energy Pod
In this episode with Tom Bassett-Dilley, owner at architecture firm TBDA, we dive into the world of sustainable architecture and passive house design, focusing on net zero adoption, the importance of retrofitting existing buildings, and the role of policy in advancing high-performance standards across Illinois. Listen and subscribe to hear Tom's insights on practical retrofit strategies and the future of materials and policy.
Upcoming Hub Events
Hub 101: Tools and Resources for Your Building
Wednesday, May 6 @ 12:00 PM
Join us for a virtual education session to explore how the Hub serves Illinois building professionals with critical trainings and practical resources to plan and implement energy efficiency and high-performance buildings retrofits. In Hub 101, we'll help you navigate these resources and demonstrate how they can help you improve your project, meet code requirements and sustainability goals, and accelerate building performance across Illinois.
Upcoming Partner Events
2026 Stretch Energy Code Overview
Hosted by Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
May 7 @ 11:00 AM
Join our partners for a high-level briefing on the 2026 Illinois Stretch Energy Code, an optional energy code now available in Illinois to help municipalities lead in energy efficiency and building resilience.
Getting Started with Building Decarbonization: Evanston
Hosted by Illinois Green Alliance and Climate Action Evanston
May 27 @ 12:00 PM
Join us and our partners at Climate Action Evanston and the Carbon League for an interactive webinar that will walk attendees through how to leverage the Building Performance & Decarbonization Guide to help Evanston building owners and managers future-proof their properties.
Utility Financing Programs: On-Bill Financing vs. 3rd Party Financing Options
Hosted by Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
May 27 @ 12:00 PM
Join the National Energy Improvement Fund (NEIF) for an expert deep dive into two primary vehicles utilities can consider for building a financing program: On-Bill Repayment Programs (OBR) and 3rd-Party Financing/Interest Rate Buydowns. We will break down the mechanics, benefits and hurdles of each model to help utilities, implementers and stakeholders determine the best fit for their program portfolios.
