ArticleEFX25: Big Energy, Bold Ideas & Boise Bound!
Efficiency Exchange 2025 (EFX25) was the largest conference to date with over 600 attendees from 200+ organizations across the Northwest and beyond! From California to Canada, Georgia to New Jersey, and everywhere in between, this year’s conference was truly energized.
April Rinne, change navigator and adventurer whose work and travels in more than 100 countries have given her a front-row seat to a world in flux, opened the conference. Her keynote on embracing a broader perspective of change with a flux mindset invited attendees to understand the paradox of growth as both awesome and hard. Her insights inspired attendees to build a relationship with change that is open to hope, curiosity and learning.
The second day panel keynote was moderated by Steve Wright, former Bonneville Power Administrator and former general manager of Chelan PUD.
Northwest utility leaders Kyle Roadman, General Manager Emerald People’s Utility District; Kim Rush, President NW Natural; and Maria Pope, CEO Portland General Electric led an outstanding discussion of the role that energy efficiency and demand response play in utilities’ pursuit of least cost resources. The panel dove deep into regional resource adequacy needs, interoperability of energy efficient technologies, and dual-fuel solutions that aid in a resilient grid.
Networking and community building were a highlight of this year’s conference, beginning on Monday with pre-conference energy efficiency tours and five courts filled with Pickleball players.
Monday energy efficiency tours included visiting the Splash Blocks Central ductless heat pump water plant serving 237 apartments. The central plant provides heat for water use plus heat to maintain temperature in continuously circulating distribution piping throughout the building. Recirculation is needed so that anyone in the building can get hot water at any time of the day or night. The project is a collaboration between, Ecotope, Energy Trust of Oregon, NEEA and Portland General Electric and will be demonstrating the ability of this system to load shift off of the peak utility demand periods using the thermal storage of the tanks to coast through periods of high-water demand on site.
Attendees at the Galleria Building Tour walked through the features of the high-performance energy efficiency upgrade which included a Very High Efficiency DOAS ventilation system. The building was designed to make use of natural ventilation for natural cooling and air quality when outdoor conditions permit. The building achieved the goals of Energy Trust of Oregon’s ambitious Path to Net Zero program reducing energy consumption by over 80%.
Throughout the conference attendees participated in interactive sessions introducing emerging technologies and workshopping program strategies. Popular sessions included Innovations in Hybrid Residential Heating on the latest in dual fuel technologies for home heating, Climbing the Energy Efficiency Mountain: Solution Brainstorming in Times of Change, and The Future of Lighting is Mesh detailing how luminaire level lighting controls can integrate with building systems for increased energy savings.
Additional conference highlights are just a click away on NEEA’s Flickr account.
Efficiency Exchange 2026 Heads to Boise!
Efficiency Exchange 2026 is scheduled for May 4–6 in Boise, Idaho! The call for session topics drops mid-September, so get ready to share the best practices and innovations shaping energy efficiency in the Northwest. To stay up to date with conference details, subscribe to the EFX newsletter.
