Stephen Chapes has over a decade of experience working on a wide array of projects including educational, civic, and commercial facilities. He is a licensed electrical engineer experienced in designing power distribution, fire detection and alarm, data/telecom, security, lighting control and renewable energy systems.
Stephen’s passion is designing photovoltaic systems (PV), building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), battery energy storage systems (BESS) and microgrids systems and has presented on this topic at several national conferences. He has been involved in the design of over 100 MW of PV including the IDeAs Z Squared office, the first net zero energy commercial office building in the US, and dozens of other all electric projects targeting net zero energy and net zero carbon emissions. His PV system experience includes using flexible, thin film, bifacial, single and multi-crystalline panels; flat, tilted, ballasted and single axis tracking mounts; and façade, rooftop, ground mount and shade structure locations.
He has also designed over 15 MWh of state of the art microgrids and BESS projects ranging from small scale microgrids for individual classrooms for the Hawaii Department of Education through a 1 MW PV and 750kW/1.5MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for a medical facility. Depending on project requirements, Stephen has optimized systems to provide clean, standby power or reduce demand and energy charges. He has worked with dozens of cities and communities, businesses and institutions to help them to achieve their clean energy goals.
Stephen graduated with a Masters and Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University, and was trained in the structural, architectural, mechanical and construction disciplines in addition to electrical engineering. He understands the nuances of the coordination issues that arise when developing highly integrated building designs. This enhanced level of understanding is critical when designing sustainable buildings and working with an integrated design team. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional and has worked on numerous LEED Platinum and AIA COTE Top 10 projects.