Stacks+Joules Sisterhood of Automated and Efficient Power The number of trained BAS technicians, interns placed in jobs, and new careers launched by the Stacks+Joules program is growing fast.

Therese Sullivan Customer Marketing Leader, Tridium Inc. Contributing Editor

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“At first, I didn’t think I was smart enough for this program. Now, I’ve graduated from all the courses, and can teach Niagara, the synchronizing software for building automation systems [BAS] to anyone." - Fran, a Stacks+Joules Graduate and Current Facilitator

The number of trained BAS technicians, interns placed in jobs, and new careers launched by the Stacks+Joules program is growing fast. NYSERDA which has proudly supported Stacks + Joules since 2019 and Tridium, which has supplied it with training programs, software and JACE devices, are enormously pleased with these results. While the program started in New York City, its success is increasing demand for Stacks+Joules programs in other cities and regions around the country.

Stacks+Joules student interns developed a retrofit lighting proposal for the Lower Eastside (LES) Girls Club in Lower East Side of Manhattan, and share what they learned along the way in this video. As part of the Stacks+Joules program, the class audited all the lights currently in the LES Girls Club. Then partnering with professionals from RAB Lighting they designed a retrofit proposal focused on saving money, reducing the carbon footprint of the club facility, and improving the spatial experience. The video captures how many core concepts in building energy efficiency and comfort optimization that the student interns have already mastered. This ‘sisterhood’ has not stopped at lighting. Using the Niagara Framework® based building automation learning platform available to them as part of the Stacks + Joules program, they are also considering how to reduce energy waste in the delivery of heating and cooling to the LES facility. Some are graduating to the role of facilitators and trainers of other young women who want to follow their example and work in the burgeoning field of building automation.

Stacks+Joules works not only with female high-school students, but also with young men and adult cohorts.  The community is diverse, with graduates united in a shared sense of confidence and new-found excitement about joining the building automation industry and making a difference in the world.

Niagara Community members are excited about the Stacks + Joules program and are engaging interns from the program in projects. For example, one of the innovative new software companies with a cloud-hosted building-performance suite stacked atop Tridium’s Niagara Framework® is Resolute Building Intelligence. Resolute works with Stacks+Joules students at Energy Tech High School in Queens NYC to see trends in data, identify issues and solve building-wide problems.  It has signed on as a sponsor of the upcoming Niagara Summit, April 4-6^th in Charlotte, North Carolina and will be talking about its energy management work in NYC and with other big metropolitan school districts like Chicago Public Schools.

Certain NYC-based Niagara partners in the systems integration, engineering, commissioning, and maintenance business are also participating in the Stacks + Joule program.  TEC Systems (https://tecsystemsnyc.com/) has instituted a paid internship program for high-school-aged Stacks + Joules students.  It counts as successful outcomes both when those interns leave TEC to pursue additional college-level STEM education, and when they take jobs with the company.  As word travels, these companies are being joined by a dozen or more additional Niagara Community members looking to the Stacks + Joule program to find the building automation technician talent they need.

“Stacks+Joules opens the door to broader horizons, for inherently talented people to connect to the complex high-tech jobs that need them urgently, for tomorrow’s problem solving,” says Founding Educator J. Michael Conway.  The Niagara Community greatly appreciates the vision shown by Conway and the rest of the Stacks+Joules team. Based on the “Sisterhood” video it seems to be having real positive impact on the lives of these young people and filling a great need in the building automation industry for new talent.

On March 9, 3:00-4:00 est Stacks+Joules team are hosting a virtual event to highlight our work with ResoluteBI and Energy Tech High School. It's a super cool project! NYC students are analyzing real-time data from Chicago Public School buildings, identifying real performance issues, reporting them to CPS, and monitoring change in performance as the issues are resolved. Here's a link to the event invitation: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stacks-joules-features-ready-to-resolve-tickets-267909653987