Resources

As one of the nation’s largest initiatives of its kind, ComEd Customer Innovation offers an ideal testing ground in a service area comprised of four seasons and a diverse urban and rural population. Review our focus areas, scoring criteria and submission guidelines to see how to develop your idea or pre-proposal.

Focus Areas

Priority for proposal selection and funding will be given to the following areas, with solutions aimed at serving income eligible customers prioritized across all areas.1 Please check back as these can change as the Customer Innovation team identifies new areas of focus.

Customer Innovation welcomes all Residential Energy Efficiency proposals that meet the following high-level objectives:

  • Explore and validate “next generation” energy efficiency technologies and program designs.
  • Identify key factors impacting the cost-effectiveness of serving customers and determine cost-effective energy efficiency measures and program designs, especially for income eligible customers and buildings.
  • Understand and create strategies and guidance for contractors and implementers that are actionable, forward looking, and help spur adoption and overcome common barriers.


In upcoming years, Customer Innovation intends to fund projects related to the following topic areas:

Project topic areasResearch description and goalsYear funding is planned to start
Cost-Effectiveness of Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP)
  • Market characterization study to understand mechanisms for GSHP installation cost reduction and the viability of each
  • Field demonstration of GSHPs to verify costs for market rate and income eligible customers
2025
Cost-Effectiveness of Energy Efficient Electrification
  • Identify and test strategies to avoid and/or reduce the cost of electrical service upgrades
  • Identify and test strategies to increase positive bill impacts for income-eligible customers
2025
Energy Efficiency Opportunities
  • Identify and test market-ready energy efficiency measures for kit and direct install programs (e.g., near-term energy efficiency opportunities)
  • Identify innovative measures or strategies that may have more nascent market adoption (e.g., longer-term energy efficiency opportunities)
  • Identify and test cost-effective weatherization strategies for market rate customers
2025
Solutions for Multifamily Buildings
  • Explore strategies for engaging buildings with various ownership models (co-ops, property management, HOA) to realize program participation
  • Test scaled electrification measures and weatherization strategies in multifamily buildings
2025
Other Relevant Ideas
  • In addition, Customer Innovation always welcomes other innovative Residential Energy Efficiency ideas!
Ongoing

Customer Innovation welcomes all C&I Energy Efficiency proposals that meet the following high-level objectives:

  • Identify viable commercial and industrial (C&I) energy efficiency technologies to generate energy savings, particularly those that can be easily scaled and are applicable to a variety of C&I customer and building types
  • Advance electrification across end uses for both commercial and industrial customers, especially cold climate solutions that will work well in ComEd’s service territory


In upcoming years, Customer Innovation intends to fund projects related to the following topic areas:

Project topic areasResearch description and goalsYear funding is planned to start
Water Side and Air Side Economizers
  • Explore opportunities to increase C&I customer uptake of ComEd’s water-side and air-side economizer offerings, as well as their market potential within ComEd’s service territory.
2026
Hybrid/Partial Electrification
  • Identify and test innovative solutions that electrify >50% of a building’s heating load while still utilizing some existing fossil fuel-based heating to improve overall cost effectiveness
2026
Normalized Meter Energy Consumption (NMEC) for C&I Customers
  • Utilize NMEC to identify and target C&I customers for specific EE measures
  • Develop innovative NMEC approaches to achieve increased energy efficiency savings for C&I customers
2026
Data Centers
  • Identify and test impactful energy efficiency measures for new construction and retrofit applications in data centers
  • Explore innovative energy efficiency solutions to address the challenges created by increased load from data centers in ComEd’s service territory
2026
Commercial Weatherization Program – Envelope Improvements
  • Identify and test impactful envelope technologies to drive energy efficiency savings for C&I customers
  • Explore innovative program delivery models and solutions to utilize envelope improvements to improve cost effectiveness of electrification measures for C&I customers
2026
Other Relevant Ideas
  • In addition, Customer Innovation always welcomes other innovative C&I Energy Efficiency ideas!
Ongoing

Customer Innovation welcomes all Market Transformation (MT) proposals that identify viable MT opportunities in ComEd territory, including novel ways ComEd can stimulate widespread energy savings. Examples of MT programs ComEd is actively running include the ENERGY STAR® Retail Product Platform and the Stretch Code and Building Standards Pilot Program.

 

In upcoming years, Customer Innovation intends to fund projects related to the following topic areas:

Project topic areasResearch description and goalsYear funding is planned to start
Luminaire Level Lighting Control (LLLC) MT Program Design
  • Develop market characterization and natural market baseline
  • Develop a MT program and Energy Saving Framework (ESF) based on guidance on the Illinois TRM Attachment C
2025
Data Center MT Potential Assessment
  • Explore viability and opportunities for a MT program to increase retrofitting of liquid cooling solutions in existing data centers
2026
Secondary Glazing Systems MT Potential Assessment
  • Assess MT program opportunities for secondary glazing systems in commercial buildings in the ComEd service territory
2026
Other Relevant Ideas

In addition, Customer Innovation always welcomes other innovative MT ideas! These may include:

  • Identify energy efficient technologies and practices that are suitable for MT interventions and programs
  • Investigate how ComEd can remove market barriers for these technologies and practices and accelerate market adoption
Ongoing

Please reference the Illinois Statewide Technical Reference Manual (TRM) for Energy Efficiency Attachment C: Framework for Counting Market Transformation Savings in Illinois for guidance.

Customer Innovation’s Strategic Programs & Pilots (SP&P) group aims to pilot and explore technologies and interventions that reduce demand during key times to benefit both ComEd and its customers. SP&P welcomes all proposals that meet the following high-level objectives:

  • Explore technologies and interventions that support peak load reduction and/or bill savings for all ComEd customers.
  • Pursue broader demand management and grid flexibility opportunities to support ComEd’s demand reduction goals in 2026 and future years.


For more information on these types of projects within ComEd’s Strategic Programs & Pilots (SP&P) group, please visit the SP&P page. You can also join our mailing list to receive updates by completing this form.

ComEd’s Beneficial Electrification Plan spurs adoption of transportation electrification technologies and delivery strategies to deliver benefits to the customers, to the grid, and to the environment. ComEd believes that in order to unlock the full potential of BE, the company must continue to learn, gather data, and pursue a variety of innovative electrification strategies.

 

For more information on BE R&D, including up-to-date information on when idea submissions are open and how to submit an idea, please visit the BE page. You can also join our mailing list to receive updates by completing this form.

1 The ComEd Energy Efficiency Program defines income eligible as customers with total household income at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI).

Scoring Criteria

High-level scoring criteria for all idea and pre-proposal submissions are provided below. Please align your submission with these guidelines to maximize its chance of being selected and funded. Note that if your idea or pre-proposal is selected to advance to the full proposal stage, we will provide the full proposal scoring rubric at that time.

Customer Value. Project provides at least one of the following values to customers:

  • Energy savings (kWh)
  • Bill savings ($)
  • Carbon reduction (MMTon)
  • Peak load reduction (MW & $/MW)
  • Home energy management
  • Qualitative customer benefits, such as health and safety

Program Value. Project provides at least one of the following values to ComEd:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Energy efficient electrification
  • Peak load reduction and non-wires alternatives
  • Increased adoption
  • Expanded and/or enhanced customer engagement
  • Long measure life
  • Cost-effective implementation

Portfolio Transferability. The technology or concept included in the project is likely to be well-suited for successful integration into the existing ComEd portfolio. This means the technology or concept included in the project exhibits real potential for energy savings and has enough technical and market maturity to be able to create adoption at scale in the near-to-mid-term.

Income Eligible and Disadvantaged Community (DAC) Benefits. While not a requirement, priority will be given to projects that provide value and benefits to these communities.

Quality of Idea/Pre-Proposal. A high-quality submission will clearly:

  • Define the project scope and expected outcomes, including how it will be researched, substantiated or achieved.
  • Explain how the subject technology or technology deployment tool/method are different from current technologies or technology deployment tools/methods, including why this project is different from any past and present research on the technology. The submission should provide energy, carbon or demand reduction estimates, with explanations or references for calculations and data.
  • Explain how the project will be executed, including identifying critical partners, and describing a clear path for completing the project and deliverables within the estimated budget and timeframe.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the market for the technology or technology deployment method the project will focus on, including barriers to adoption, relevant industry, size of industry in ComEd’s territory, etc. as well as feasible paths to engage the market.
  • As appropriate given the Project Type, establish a market and/or a direction for utilities to take to continue researching the technology or designing incentives for customer adoption.

Focus Area Alignment. While not a requirement, priority will be given to projects that align with the current set of focus areas (listed above).