Management Team

Jim Kelsey, P.E., LEED AP – Founding Principal

Jim has been in the energy efficiency business since 1989. He founded kW Engineering in 1998 in order to do the work that he loves - exploring the technical side of energy efficiency to find innovative and reliable ways to save energy. Jim has a bachelor's degree in physics from Rice University and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison's Solar Energy Lab. He is a licensed mechanical engineer in California and Nevada, a LEED accredited professional , has conducted analyses for hundreds of projects, and taught extensively on HVAC and refrigeration. His work history includes field surveys of energy use, identification and evaluation of energy-saving projects, field measurement and verifications, and retro-commissioning of systems. He has extensive experience conducting computer simulations of commercial and industrial buildings using DOE-2 and other models. Jim is a past President of the San Francisco Bay Area Association of Energy Engineers, is a former recipient of AEE’s Energy Engineer of the year award, and has been on its board since 1999. He currently serves on ASHRAE’s Technical Committee 7.6 on Systems Energy Utilization (Existing Building Energy Performance), is active on the committee to update ASHRAE Standard 100 – Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings, and sits on the board of the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council.

Arik Cohen, P.E. – Principal

Arik Cohen is a Project Manager at kW Engineering with over ten years of energy engineering experience. Arik has provided support to a large variety of utility and state sponsored DSM programs as well as for several private clients. Over the past four years, he has been the lead engineer on energy audits and retro-commissioning projects. He was also the lead engineer in several projects for Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s Retro-commissioning and Demand Control Programs, and worked on a number of CEC funded research programs. Arik has over seven years of experience performing due-diligence reviews for PG&E and SCE’s Demand Side Management programs. He has experience investigating and documenting mechanical and electrical systems, recommending low-cost and investment grade energy savings measures, working with EMS systems, developing measurement and verification plans, and conducting energy saving calculations and cost analysis. Prior to working for kW Engineering, he worked as a Senior Consultant for Nexant (formally Schiller Associates), and Research Engineer at the Schatz Energy Research Center testing and designing fuel cell systems.

Devan Johnson, P.E. – Principal

Devan Johnson is a consulting engineer in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industry, currently specializing in solar energy and its integration with energy efficiency. Since entering the field in 1998 he has worked in the areas of measurement & verification, on-site audits, retro-commissioning, simulation modeling, and field data collection as well as energy software design and development. Devan has a bachelor's degree in environmental resources engineering from Humboldt State University with a focus on alternative energy. His project management experience includes design and implementation of tracking databases for utility energy efficiency programs, and management of technical support activities for utility incentive programs. He is a licensed mechanical engineer in California, has performed field verification of performance on hundreds of photovoltaic systems and taught extensively on the topic. Devan has also taught training workshops on integration of energy efficiency with solar, commercial building benchmarking, and small commercial refrigeration audits.

Peter Pollard, P.Eng. MBA – Principal

Peter Pollard is a professional mechanical engineer with over 23 years of industrial and commercial experience. He has developed and implemented improvements and expansions of equipment and buildings in a broad range of industries and facilities, completing millions of dollars worth of projects. Peter holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary as well as a Masters in Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto. His project and technical experience includes HVAC systems, industrial refrigeration, lighting, production machinery, industrial process equipment, electrical controls and drives, pollution control, industrial maintenance, and facilities construction. His extensive analytical skills encompass both technical and financial aspects of business projects. He is an effective, experienced communicator at all levels of organizations, from the shop floor to the executive boardroom. In the energy efficiency field, Peter’s work focuses on auditing and retro-commissioning, and emphasizes creative actionable data-driven solutions, innovative technologies, and savings persistence. Peter is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Bruce Chamberlain, C.E.M. – Project Manager

Bruce Chamberlain is a Project Manager at kW Engineering and is a Certified Energy Manager. Since entering the energy efficiency field in 1989, Bruce has gained experience in strategic planning, program design, technical analysis, project management, marketing, and team building from within a broad range of stakeholders including the consulting, municipal, utility, private construction, and non-profit sectors. His work includes the design and implementation of multiple utility and local government partnership energy efficiency programs. As part of the senior management team, he provides leadership in the growth of the company including staffing, program development, and marketing efforts.

Bruce Douglas, P.E. – Project Manager

Bruce Douglas is a project manager at kW Engineering and a former power plant engineer for PG&E. Bruce is a professional engineer with over 20 years of energy efficiency experience including on-site audits, simulation modeling and field data collection. His project management experience includes the design and operation of utility energy efficiency programs, including PG&E’s Standard Performance Contract programs. Other primary areas of expertise include estimation of energy usage and savings associated with high efficiency retrofits in the commercial and industrial sectors. Currently, Bruce manages kW’s support for customized incentive programs at PG&E.

Sean Harleman, P.E. – Project Manager

Sean Harleman is a project manager at kW Engineering and has worked in the energy efficiency industry since 1995. His experience includes design assistance, on-site audits, simulation modeling, field data collection, and measurement & verification. His project management experience includes the design, operation and evaluation of state-sponsored and utility energy efficiency programs. Other primary areas of expertise include estimation of energy usage and savings associated with high efficiency retrofits in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors. He has extensive experience working with the DOE-2 computer simulation model to estimate energy savings in commercial and industrial facilities. He is proficient with the eQUEST and EnergyPro front-end user interfaces. Sean currently manages kW’s support for customized incentive programs at SCE.

Antonio Huizar, P.E. – Project Manager

Antonio Huizar is a licensed professional engineer at kW Engineering. He has worked in the industry since 2002 and has experience in HVAC system design, controls programming, and energy efficiency. Antonio holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. He has worked in the areas of measurement & verification, on-site audits, field data collection, retro-commissioning, and simulation modeling. Antonio currently serves as a Project Manager providing design, operation and evaluation of the energy conservation and demand response incentive programs of Southern California Edison (SCE). He has also worked on projects with Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Gas Company, and San Diego Gas and Electric Company.

Helen Liu, P.E. – Project Manager

Helen Liu is a Project Manager at kW Engineering. Helen joined kW Engineering in March 2007 following her work as a researcher at Sun Power. She manages kW’s support of Southern California Edison’s California Solar Initiative (CSI) Program and has also worked with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to support their Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), CSI Program, and Non-Residential Retrofit Demand Response Program (NRR-DR). For Southern California Edison’s CSI Program, her work includes oversight of a team of technical reviewers, program management, and evaluation of completed reviews and deliverables. Ms. Liu has also worked on energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings such as lighting retrofits, insulation installations, and chiller upgrades.

Steve Rottmayer, P.E., LEED AP – Project Manager

Steve has been in the energy efficiency business since 1995 and started with kW Engineering in 2001. Steve has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison's Solar Energy Lab. He is a licensed mechanical engineer in California and a LEED accredited professional. Steve is a current board member of the San Francisco Bay Area Association of Energy Engineers, and is a former recipient of an ASHRAE Symposium Paper Award. His work history includes identification and evaluation of energy-saving projects, energy efficiency project review and field verifications, and commercial and industrial control system design.