Energy costs money. Saving money is good. Save energy, keep more money. You don’t need Mr. Spock to point out the logic. And while homes and businesses try to squeeze every kilowatt, engineering grads can earn some money as energy efficiency specialists.
Energy efficiency isn’t anything new. But as conventional energy sources like oil fluctuate on the market, it’s more important for business and homeowners to get the most DC for their dollar.
Assya Moustaqim, 23, a McMaster University graduate in electrical and biomedical engineering, shared why she’s interested in the field. “I enjoy finding innovative solutions to decrease waste and increase output. Seeing as energy efficiency projects are often economically beneficial as well, it’s an under-utilized area of profit.”
Moustaqim is interested in energy efficiency in water treatment systems, but currently, energy efficiency is especially popular for homes and offices. According to Dr. Hamidreza Zareipour, associate professor at the University of Calgary’s computer and electrical engineering department, this is because “This area is a low-laying fruit. There are many reasons that saving energy in this sector is more achievable and less expensive to do. For example, the scale is low, people start to care as energy bills go up, et cetera.”
Energy efficiency goes far beyond buildings. It’s not just about how much juice your gadgets use, but how you use those gadgets in the first place. At the end of the day, the potential for energy efficiency exists wherever energy is. Not a bad market, right? However, that wide market makes energy efficiency hard to prepare for academically. “Energy efficiency may require very different skills in different sectors,” says Zareipour. “The thing all energy efficiency jobs have in common is that they all look to provide services at lower energy costs. It is very broad and sometimes goes back to how innovative a person is.”
So you won’t be able to specialize in energy efficiency at school. Instead, interested grads should focus on the core skills they learned in university of analysing and solving a problem with science. “You’re doing what you’ve always been taught as an engineer,” says Fanny Wong, a project engineer at CH2M HILL. If you have strong fundamentals, you’ll be able to adapt to any job.
And, to show interviewers that you know your stuff, keep in mind that energy efficiency is a big ol’ balancing act. “You need to balance the budget, balance the environment, balance energy efficiency,” says Wong. “You can’t just focus on energy efficiency. You’ve got to be open-minded.”
The ultimate goal of efficiency is holistic. It’s bound up with everything from the design of the product to the people who have to live with it. After all, an empty room with no lighting, heat, or ventilation uses very little energy, but no one would want to work there. Working in energy efficiency means working with other disciplines — architects, accountants, product designers, etc. “The best advice I can give,” says Moustaqim, “Is to learn how to communicate and sympathize with others. Don't let yourself get too narrow-minded. Get involved in things that let you interact and work with people who are different than you.”
At the end of the day, if you want to be a good energy efficiency specialist, be a good engineer. If you want to be a great energy efficiency specialist, go a bit further. “Think out of the box,” says Zareipour, “And question typical practices. Sometimes you get surprised how wasteful they are.”