CEE's Efficient Technologies
Moving energy efficiency to market faster.
With the rapid development of clean energy solutions and energy efficient technologies, CEE needed a way to connect with contractors and end users to accelerate adoption of improved systems. To support a wide range of product-specific sites, we planned, designed and developed a flexible system for the Center for Energy and Environment’s (CEE’s) growing ecosystem of energy efficiency programs.
New Sites, Quickly
The world of energy efficiency moves fast. CEE needs to be nimble and cost effective—spinning up new product sites with very little overhead. To meet that need, we crafted a system that can generate a new custom product site within hours that still allows them the flexibility to customize branding and design to suit each initiative.
Low Overhead
For ease of maintenance, all of the Drupal-based sites share a single codebase. That means, when security updates are required, a single update covers all of the sites. If a new feature or component is added, it is available across all sites.
Maintaining Unique Brands
Though code and layout tools are shared, each site retains it’s own individuality. Design elements like color and icons can be quickly customized to reflect each sub-brand’s personality. So far, the sub-brands include:
- MN Air Source Heat Pump Collaborative
- BuildUp MN
- Wise Window Hub
- Next Gen Rooftop Units
- Luminaire-level Lighting Controls (LLLC)
All of these brands share a common brand architecture with CEE’s overarching product program—Efficient Technology Accelerator (ETA) and the main CEE site—both of which we designed and built.
Time to Focus on Content
With the technical and brand infrastructure taken care of, we are able to focus on each product’s content needs. Instead of wireframing the content and layout for each new site, we prototype it in the site itself. With the layout tools already in place, planning and designing each site is a snap.
Best of Both Worlds
If any of the product sites outgrow the shared ecosystem, they can be easily removed to live on their own, with an independent set of features.
