Inhabit becomes part of Populus, LLC

Big News!  As of Jan. 1, 2011, Inhabit has become part of Populus, LLC. Here is the press release announcing the merger:

Boulder, CO -- Populus, LLC, a Boulder-based residential energy efficiency firm announced Monday it has acquired Inhabit, a local efficiency consulting company with extensive experience in the existing home market.


As residential energy experts, Populus has worked with municipalities throughout the West to design and implement residential energy programs and codes for both existing homes and new construction.  “Populus’s decision to join forces with Inhabit increases our depth of experience in the existing homes market while cementing our position as the leading provider of residential energy consulting services in the Boulder area,” said Laura Hutchings, President of Populus.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

The acquisition continues a period of rapid growth for Populus.  In 2010, Populus expanded significantly, growing from a company of three to a company of thirteen, in only a few short months.  Populus gained recognition over the past year for its role in designing the City of Boulder’s SmartRegs Rental Ordinance prescriptive pathway, the nation’s first performance-based energy efficiency code for rental housing.  In addition, Populus was awarded a $3.5 million contract to serve as the central administrator for Boulder County’s federally-funded “EnergySmart” service, which seeks to transform the energy efficiency of Boulder County’s housing stock by reaching 10,000 homes in the next two and a half years.

Andy Mazal, the President and Owner of Inhabit, joins Populus as a partner and Existing Homes Director.  Mazal will take lead responsibility for overseeing Populus’s team of EnergySmart Energy Advisors while continuing Populus’s expansion into the high-performance new construction market. “Joining forces with Populus was the perfect opportunity to expand the service offerings that we can offer Inhabit’s clients. Populus has the infrastructure, personnel and expertise to be able to deliver more services to more clients than Inhabit could offer on its own,” said Mazal.

“Populus has undergone a lot of changes in the last year, but at our core we remain a team of highly qualified and committed individuals with a deep understanding of improving the energy performance of the built environment,” Hutchings said.  “Together, Populus and Inhabit will deliver on our promise of providing our customers the best residential energy efficiency consulting services available in the market today.  We believe this is an important event not just for our company but for the residential energy efficiency market in Boulder County.”