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The construction industry is under immense pressure. Tighter timelines and rising expectations are forcing consulting-specifying engineers to work faster while delivering far more complex building systems.
Between 2020 and 2022, global construction productivity declined by 8% -- even as demand surged. Looking ahead, McKinsey projects a 70% increase in construction activity by 2050, highlighting both immense opportunity and significant challenge.
To better understand how the construction industry is evolving, Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine conducted the 2025 Critical Power & Electrical Systems study. Key findings included:
The study also uncovered that engineers are anticipating a greater investment in advanced system design tools and grid-interactive solutions. These trends are notable because electricity is becoming the foundation of modern building operations, and digitalization is opening new doors – not only for optimizing energy systems, but also for transforming how buildings are designed, constructed and operated. At the same time, global megatrends such as electrification, increasingly extreme weather and rising energy costs are driving the demand for smarter, more resilient infrastructure.
The need for change is urgent. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average commercial building in America wastes 30% of its energy. This inefficiency represents both a challenge and an opportunity.
At Eaton, we’re helping customers seize this opportunity by adopting our “Everything as a Grid” approach to the energy transition that empowers buildings to become energy hubs that generate, store and optimize power. With this model, buildings can participate in energy markets, monetize excess capacity and reduce dependence on the grid – delivering stronger return on investment (ROI) and greater resilience. By embracing this strategy, consultants can guide clients in transforming facilities into intelligent energy assets that use onsite distributed energy resources (DERs) to:
Digital tools make this transformation possible. By integrating data-driven insights across the entire building lifecycle, consultants can help clients achieve greater functional use from energy systems. Making this happen hinges on the ability to leverage better-integrated digital tools and embrace future-ready approaches to electrical system design. These strategies are not only helping keep projects on track, but they also provide clients with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.
How digital tools are streamlining the design phase
Design is where the foundation for project success is laid. Eaton offers a suite of digital tools that streamline the design process, reduce manual work, and improve accuracy – whether you're working on a complex hospital system or a fast-paced commercial build.
Eaton worked with Autodesk to create a new plug-in for Autodesk Revit that allows consultants to configure electrical components and systems and dynamically generate detailed BIM models. This self-service functionality enables engineers to build electrical systems directly within the familiar Revit environment leveraging Eaton's automated drawings to accurately populate the associated specs and digital representations.
This is especially valuable for firms working under tight design cycles, as it empowers teams to move faster without relying on back-and-forth communications with manufacturers or manual inputting of equipment specifications. Instead, they can work within a plug-in environment that mirrors their familiar design workflow, delivering the right specs in the right place at the right time.
Digital energy twins enable facility teams to analyze and simulate performance under a range of conditions. When integrated with energy management software, these tools provide the ability to visualize energy flows, predict the impact of infrastructure upgrades, and optimize systems for resilience, cost and sustainability.
By incorporating integrated digital tools early in the design phase, a digital twin can be developed with minimal additional effort or expense. This foundation allows owners to improve operations and maintenance throughout the facility’s entire lifecycle. Rather than implementing the digital twin all at once, teams can take an incremental approach that targets high-priority systems identified during design. This strategy helps maximize value while providing a flexible, scalable path to long-term performance optimization.
Centralized collaboration platforms like Eaton’s Project Center provide a shared digital workspace that allows consultants, electrical contractors, distributors, Eaton teams and more to view project data, monitor order progress, access shared files and generate reports in one shared space.
Features include:
The result is fewer emails, less manual data collection and consistent visibility across all stakeholders – significantly reducing the risk of change orders and delays.
The build phase is where design becomes reality – and where miscommunication, delays and errors can be most costly. Modern digital tools help consultants maintain visibility, ensure device readiness and support commissioning with greater confidence.
The digital platforms that support the design phase do more than improve early-stage planning. They also establish a strong foundation for smoother, faster and more accurate execution during construction.
By enabling accurate and validated specifications, these tools reduce the risk of rework or field modifications. They also provide a seamless handoff of BIM models, CAD files and bills of materials (BOMs) directly to construction teams. Plus, they are enabling equipment to arrive at jobsites pre-configured, programmed and tested to significantly reduce installation complexity. Further, shared platforms like Project Center improve coordination across teams, while early validation of system compatibility leads to fewer change orders.
One example of how digital tools enhance commissioning and lifecycle management is Eaton’s Device Configuration Management System (DCMS). This platform supports the full lifecycle of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), including factory configuration and validation, on-site or remote commissioning, and ongoing updates and firmware management. DCMS works in both online and offline environments, allowing consultants to review and adjust device settings, track configuration history and confirm device readiness before equipment ever reaches the job site. It also supports revision control and standardization across projects, helping maintain consistency and reduce project risk.
As energy infrastructure becomes increasingly connected, cybersecurity and lifecycle management are also essential considerations. Digital tools help simplify these requirements through features such as automated role-based access control, encrypted communications, secure firmware updates and industrial-grade firewalls.
Consultants stand to gain significant value by leveraging the capabilities of digital tools during building construction. They provide visibility into device readiness and configuration, support for remote commissioning or late-stage design changes, and the ability to avoid delays caused by misconfigured or incompatible equipment. In an environment where labor shortages and supply chain disruptions are common, these features provide a critical edge for keeping projects on time and on budget.
Once a building becomes operational, the focus shifts to optimizing performance, ensuring reliability and improving efficiency. Modern digital tools give facility managers and consultants the ability to monitor, optimize and maintain electrical systems with greater precision and foresight.
Energy management and optimization software plays a key role in aligning building energy resources for maximum efficiency and resilience. These platforms offer real-time data collection and analysis, energy use forecasting, and autonomous control. With this level of insight, building management teams can monitor Scope 1 and 2 emissions, optimize solar generation and battery energy storage, and implement strategies such as peak shaving and tariff-based load shifting. These systems can also integrate weather forecasts and utility tariffs to anticipate energy needs and recommend optimal asset operation. The result is a more sustainable, cost-effective building with fewer energy spikes and penalties.
Monitoring tools for uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) and power distribution units (PDUs) offer 24/7 remote visibility into critical backup systems. These solutions use predictive analytics to identify potential failures in advance, support remote diagnostics and enable faster field service response. Monthly reports highlight emerging long-term risks, helping facilities maintain uptime and plan proactively. With LTE wireless connectivity, these monitoring systems are easy to deploy and operate securely without adding pressure to internal IT networks.
Continuous thermal monitoring (CTM) adds another layer of protection by using sensors to track the temperature of critical electrical connections in real time. Unlike traditional infrared thermography, CTM sensors do not require opening energized equipment, making them safer and more effective at detecting intermittent or evolving issues. This approach enhances both safety and accuracy, and it aligns with the 2023 and pending 2026 revisions of NFPA 70B that are poised to increase support for the use of permanently installed thermal sensors.
Environmental monitoring tools for low-voltage switchgear like Eaton’s GearGuard platform are another valuable digital solution. These systems continuously track conditions such as temperature, humidity, dew point, smoke and dust within electrical enclosures. By adjusting maintenance schedules based on real-time environmental data, operators can prevent condensation and corrosion, ensure audit-ready documentation, and maintain safe and reliable operation. Integrated dashboards and support for communication protocols like MODBUS TCP and BACnet IP help streamline data sharing across building systems and enhance safety, reliability and performance while supporting compliance.
Together, these digital tools form a powerful ecosystem that enables smarter, safer, and more sustainable building operations. By integrating them into everyday facility management, consultants and building owners can optimize performance, reduce operational risk and extend the life of critical infrastructure.
In today’s fast-paced construction environments, efficiency begins with early and proactive collaboration between project stakeholders and manufacturers. At Eaton, we’re investing heavily in dedicated resources to support consultants with our nationwide network of application engineers. Engaging this network from the start can help streamline the design process, reduce rework and keep projects on schedule.
Eaton application engineers bring deep technical insight and practical application knowledge to the table. Engaging them during the conceptual phase – when ideas are still rough sketches and/or your client’s scope is not fully clear – ensures better system compatibility, eliminates guesswork, and provides early layouts and budget estimates that can help guide design decisions in the right direction.
From there, collaborative development of submittals and bills of material avoids redundant reviews and miscommunications. At Eaton, we work side-by-side with consultants through live collaboration platforms to finalize submittals quickly. We also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) internally to boost productivity, using tools that analyze drawings and specifications, flag exceptions and automate configurations. Combined, these collaborative and digital design capabilities can help reduce project timelines by weeks or even months.
Beyond technical support, Eaton application engineers are trained to help consultants sequence projects more effectively. For example, if just a few switchboards are needed early to energize a site, Eaton application engineers can help identify those priorities and enable fast-track delivery. They also work with regional manufacturing facilities to secure priority production slots. In today’s climate of high demand and ongoing supply chain constraints, these strategic insights help keep construction projects moving forward.
In addition, Eaton application engineers can guide consultants in adopting the latest digital tools that simplify system design and specification while reducing duplication of effort. These tools and expert insights enable consultants to deliver projects more efficiently, reduce risk and add long-term value across the building lifecycle. Whether designing a hospital, data center or commercial campus, consultants backed by our tools, expertise and collaborative support can lead with confidence and innovation.
At Eaton, we’re proud to provide the people, tools and platforms needed to support consultants at every stage of the building lifecycle. From early design to long-term operations, digital solutions are transforming how projects get done.
Digital design and specification innovations are only as powerful as the people using them. That’s why Eaton invests in a wide variety of educational content including in-person and hands-on training at our global Eaton Experience Centers through our Eaton Experiential Learning (ExL) training programs.
Eaton ExL sessions, designed for every stage of an engineer’s career, offer hands-on education in system design, protection, power quality and more. Sessions are held at our U.S. manufacturing facilities, Experience Center and enterprise data center locations, giving engineers an opportunity to interact directly with the solutions they specify every day. These in-depth sessions also help provide a greater understanding of application approaches, available configurations and exposure to the latest technologies.
Additionally, Eaton offers a complete range of on-demand and remote eLearning educational solutions that enable electrical professionals to stay up to date on the latest industry best practices as their own schedule dictates – with many courses available for continuing education credits.
Further, our Eaton.com/Consultants portal provides power system designers with a comprehensive collection of design tools, educational resources, product information and other helpful documentation. Traditional catalogs offer part numbers and static data, but our design guides go a step further, helping consultants answer not just what to use, but why, when and how to use it.
For instance, our design guides can help you identify the correct product configuration for the job based on technical requirements such as cable entry, ratings, heat dissipation and applicable code requirements. From there, you can easily configure a product, generate CAD drawings, BIM models and a fully edited specification to help save time creating files and avoid writing specs from scratch. By embracing these tools, resources and collaborating early, consultants can deliver better outcomes across the entire building lifecycle.
Visit Eaton.com/Consultants to connect with your local Eaton Application Engineer and explore the tools that can help you simplify the buildings of tomorrow – today.
