Tanya Barham, CEO of Community Energy Labs (CEL), is on a mission to revolutionize how buildings manage energy. With decades of experience in the utility sector and renewable energy advocacy, Tanya recognized a glaring gap in energy management solutions for mid-sized commercial buildings, particularly in the public sector. Through her leadership, CEL is bridging this gap with a groundbreaking, cost-effective platform that addresses the challenges of energy automation while keeping comfort and efficiency at the forefront.
Tanya’s journey into clean energy began with a career in utilities, where she managed programs aimed at helping customers save energy and money. Customers, especially those in schools and other public sector buildings, often faced a stark choice: adopt expensive, complicated energy automation systems or continue managing energy manually with spreadsheets and outdated thermostats. For most, the latter was the only viable option.
Tanya identified a crucial barrier: existing building automation systems were designed for the top 10% of the market, leaving the remaining 90% underserved. These systems were costly, complex, and often required significant capital investment, making them inaccessible to schools, small businesses, and public institutions. CEL’s innovative IoT and software-as-a-service (SaaS) control platform is changing that.
“When you think about what most energy controls do, it’s sort of like ‘The Sweater Speech’ by Jimmy Carter,” Tanya explains. “Most of these controls just say, ‘Oh, you want to save energy? Okay, well, it’s going to be 50 degrees in this room,’ and I realized that we needed a better way to manage that. So that’s why we’re trying to make Model Predictive Control more affordable, accessible and autonomous.”
CEL’s solution dynamically adjusts building systems to optimize energy use while maintaining occupant comfort. Unlike traditional MPC systems, which are prohibitively expensive, CEL’s technology makes these advanced features affordable and easy to implement. The system is designed to be installed in less than a day, requires minimal maintenance, and can adapt to real-time energy price signals, helping building operators navigate increasingly complex energy markets.
As Tanya explains, “So much of what drives cost and grid peak has to do with something that someone needs to be safe and comfortable. And so I realized we would never really be able to solve this problem for the utility unless we had a technology that could address comfort.”
CEL’s impact is already being felt. In California, where Tanya has partnered with major utilities like Southern California Edison and PG&E, CEL’s platform is helping schools and other non-residential customers align energy usage with periods of low-cost, renewable energy production. This not only reduces costs but also contributes to decarbonization efforts.
Tanya’s motivation stems from the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to address energy inequities. With buildings accounting for 40% of global carbon emissions, and 70% of that tied to energy use, improving building efficiency is a critical step toward a sustainable future. “Most commercial building owners don’t have the resources to overhaul their systems,” Tanya notes. “We’re providing a way for them to make meaningful progress now while planning for deeper decarbonization in the future.”
Under Tanya’s leadership, CEL has secured $3 million in R&D funding from the Department of Energy, NSF, and USDA. This funding supports CEL’s mission to make energy automation accessible, affordable, and effective for underserved markets. Tanya’s work is a testament to how innovation, when paired with a deep understanding of customer needs, can drive lasting change.
