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Water Is EnergyNational Thermal Utility Impact Map

Click any state. Follow the bills. Find the utility impact.

Every State’s Thermal Utility Opportunity

A national screening tool for geothermal, hydronics, ground-source heat pumps, thermal energy networks, data-center heat reuse, and utility-scale policy momentum. Every state is clickable; high-scoring states have stronger laws, pilots, financing pathways, data-center pressure, or utility transition potential.

Search state, bill, source, topic, or signal

Focus area

Opportunity

50-state periodic mapColor = utility-impact readiness

Prime 90+ Strong 80–89 Emerging 68–79 Watchlist

Select a state

Click any state on the map or search by state, bill, act, source, or topic.

Utility impact score--

Policy--

Utility--

Data centers--

Projects--

The score is explained below and built from policy, utility, data-center, and project signals.

How the Utility Impact Score Works

100-point directional score: Policy signal, up to 30 points, measures laws, bills, pilots, study commissions, and financing authority. Utility impact, up to 25 points, measures whether utilities, municipal utilities, gas transition planning, cost recovery, or public-improvement financing can scale the idea. Data-center pressure, up to 25 points, measures whether new electric load, heat rejection, water use, and grid constraints create an argument for thermal reuse. Project proof, up to 20 points, measures DOE pilots, utility pilots, campus systems, municipal projects, or known TENs systems. Scores are advocacy-screening estimates and should be refined as sources update.

Selected State Details

Why it matters

Suggested action

Static + Live Source Framework

Source bucket	Status	Primary source	How the tool should use it	Link

Selected State Related Data

Category	Selected-state data	Why it matters	Sources

View All States: Bills, Acts, Resolutions, Pilots + Why They Matter

State	Region	Intensity	Status	Bills / Acts / Pilots	Why it matters	Sources

Data Center + Thermal Utility Overlay

Why this matters: data centers are usually treated as electric loads, but liquid cooling and closed-loop hydronics can turn them into thermal anchors. Communities can ask for heat-reuse feasibility, closed-loop water plans, nearby public-building thermal screening, and grid-benefit reporting before approving major new load.

State/Market	Signal	Thermal opportunity	Source

Model Policy Language Checklist

Use this as the national template: define TENs as shared piping/heat-exchange infrastructure; authorize utility, municipal, campus, nonprofit, co-op, developer, and public-private ownership; allow cost recovery or grant/loan programs; require pilot reporting; protect low- and middle-income customers; include labor/apprenticeship standards; allow alternatives to gas obligation-to-serve; require data-center heat-reuse feasibility; make thermal loops eligible for public-improvement financing; and let local governments use schools, campuses, wastewater, and public buildings as anchor loads.

Independent advocacy and screening tool. Static rows are seeded from public sources and organized for future live-source updates through a Google Sheet, JSON file, or backend update job that periodically checks DOE, NCSL, BDC, Energy.gov, state legislatures, and data-center trackers.

Throw a Wrench in Your Plans Atlas

U.S. IAPMO Code Adoption Map

A clickable, proof-linked look at where IAPMO products show traction across plumbing, mechanical, water demand, pool/spa, solar, hydronics, and geothermal code adoption.

Click a state or hotspot to see adoption notes and proof links. Heat = verified traction density

Throw a Wrench in Your Plans

Smooth Estimator

A plumbing estimating workflow that turns takeoff, labor units, fixture counts, markups, and past project performance into a clean bid number and a proposal you can actually send.

Project information

Proposal #

Date

Prepared By

Client / GC

Contact Email

Phone

Project Name

Trade

Project Address

Bid Type

Reference Drawings / Specs / Addenda

Scope Summary

Estimating workflow

Organize

Capture the job data: drawings, fixture counts, pipe quantities, exclusions, alternates, and proposal number.

Optimize

Apply company labor units, material multipliers, production factors, and markups before the number becomes a promise.

Scale

Compare estimated hours to actual hours, save the lesson, and feed the next bid before the same mistake shows up with a new project name.

Proposal-ready

Turn the estimate into a clean scope, total price, alternates, exclusions, terms, and acceptance block.

Pipe material + labor takeoff

Built with a legacy unit-price structure: system, size, material cost, PHCC labor, adjusted labor. Update multipliers and rates to match today’s shop book.

System	Size	Description	Qty	Unit	Mat $/Unit	Labor Hrs/Unit	Factor	Material	Hours

Plumbing fixture counter

Fixture labor is split into phases so a water closet is not treated like one magic line item. Rough, test, set, final, punch — the field has to visit more than once.

Fixture / Assembly	Qty	Rough Hrs	Test/Insp.	Set/Trim Hrs	Final/Punch	Mat Allow.	Material	Hours

Labor, material, overhead + profit

Base Labor Rate ($/hr)

Labor Burden %

Production Factor

Material Multiplier

Sales Tax %

Small Tools / Consumables %

Equipment / Rental Allowance

Subcontractor Allowance

Sub/Equip Markup %

Overhead %

Profit %

Contingency %

Bond / Insurance %

Rounding

Quote Validity Days

Add alternates + owner options

Pick a professional alternate from the dropdown, click Add Alternate, then edit the labor, material, sub/other, or lump-sum amount to fit the actual job. Water Management Plan and Water Demand / Right-Sizing Review are built in as one-click options.

Quick alternate menu

Choose the option you want to carry separately instead of hiding it inside the base bid.

Tip: quick alternates help separate owner-value items from the base bid: Water Management Plans, right-sizing reviews, BIM coordination, surveys, phasing, closeout support, and other scope that should not get buried.

Type	Category	Description	Labor Hrs	Material	Sub/Other	Lump Sum	Price

Past project feedback loop

Save actual results here after the job. This is where Smooth Estimator starts getting smarter — estimated hours versus actual hours, bid dollars versus real cost, and notes for the next similar project.

Actual Labor Hours

Actual Material Cost

Final Contract / Revenue

Actual Sub/Equipment Cost

Project Type

Outcome

Lessons Learned

Saved job history

Date	Project	Est. Hrs	Actual Hrs	Variance	Margin	Lesson