2025.07.09 |
In 2019, Peyvand Melati founded QEA Tech (QEA). As a serial entrepreneur of climate focused companies, QEA, Melati’s third-energy focused software venture, focuses on improving existing buildings which are responsible for 40% of global energy consumption. His goal was to transform building envelope efficiency through cutting edge technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and thermography.
The building envelope – the physical separator between the conditioned internal environment and the external environment – was generally viewed as immutable without considerable investment and reconstruction. Prior to QEA, the standard inspection method involved walkthroughs with handheld thermal cameras, which provided limited visibility and effectiveness in diagnosing building envelope issues. However, with drone and AI technology, Melati believed that these non-invasive technologies could capture precise and actionable data on the building envelope, opening the door to targeted building envelope retrofits which improve building efficiency and contribute toward sustainability goals without necessitating major reconstruction.
The Early Days of Auditing: Shutting Down Streets and Police Detail
As the pioneer of drone and AI-based envelope auditing, QEA initially faced skepticism within the industry. Stakeholders questioned both the practicality and safety of drone inspections, viewing them as risky, unproven, and disruptive to public spaces.
Early Days Operation (2019) Present Day Operations (2025)
Melati recalled one of the earliest and most public demonstrations of QEA’s innovation involved shutting down one of the busiest streets in Toronto, complete with police detail and complex coordination with local authorities. The drone, which was 4 ft by 4 ft, caught the attention of passerby and sparked both curiosity and concern. Although the operation garnered much attention, it proved the utility and potential of drone technology to be an effective approach to building envelope auditing.
QEA now uses much smaller drones, projects require less logistical coordination, and flights rarely attract the attention of people in the area. Drone technology has become the industry standard for comprehensive, scalable building envelope assessments.
Detecting the Undetectable: Proving Value and Market Acceptance
A key early moment that validated QEA’s innovative approach to major real estate owners and the industry at large involved the discovery of hazardous ice accumulation hidden in the façade of a large commercial building. Unlike previous inspection methods, QEA’s drone-based inspection captured thousands of thermal and visual images, and its patented software provided a granular level of detail in the analysis of the captured images. The façade issue would have been undetected by previous inspection methods, proving the quality and value of QEA’s precise methodology.
Similarly, for another building, a QEA audit identified an abnormal heat spot on the roof. The audit sparked an investigation into the heat source, which found a disconnected duct that was previously unknown to the building management and explained the building’s excessive energy bills due to the stress on the heating and cooling system. QEA’s audit identified a fix to this issue that was straightforward, inexpensive, and led to substantial long-term energy savings.
Better Drones and Better Analytics: Six Years and 700 Buildings Later
In its early history, QEA committed substantial resources to developing sophisticated, quantified analytical capabilities. Infrared imagery AI analysis requires an expansive dataset to develop the unparalleled level of precise detail that QEA provides today. It took nearly two years of intensive dataset development and approximately 150 buildings by 2022 to generate QEA’s highly accurate analysis capabilities. QEA’s extensive and proprietary dataset collected from hundreds of buildings leads the industry in offering unmatched and reliable insights into thermal abnormalities and building envelope performance.
Further, QEA’s drones today are smaller, more agile, and equipped with advanced sensory arrays which enhance their stability, reduce risk, and improve the quality of data captured during inspection. Coupled with proprietary IoT sensors, QEA scans identify a wide array of envelope issues at sub-inch levels.
As QEA tops its 700th project, QEA’s AI-powered analytics are backed by its leading dataset on the building envelope and continually improve the unrivaled precision of quantified diagnostics at the industry’s leading level of accuracy. Further, QEA has patented its energy quantification methodologies and specialized AI models for detecting envelope anomalies, reinforcing the company’s leadership and technical expertise.
Topping 1000 Buildings: From Diagnostics to Targeted Action Plans
QEA’s industry expertise and precision data led to the second phase of its product: comprehensive retrofit recommendations. QEA audits now include detailed diagnostic assessments, actionable and specific retrofit recommendations, and projected energy savings reports, making the technology not only valuable for understanding the building envelope at a highly detailed level, but crucial for informed decision-making and strategic action in building management.
Reflecting on QEA’s evolution, Melati highlights that while diagnostic excellence remains essential, the ultimate objective is to drive tangible results in the built environment—measurable energy conservation and decarbonization. QEA’s emphasis on actionable insights reflects its broader commitment to global sustainability objectives and environmental protection.
Today, QEA has established itself as the global leader in data-driven building envelope assessments. Having completed projects for more than 60 clients in North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia, QEA will soon surpass a landmark 1000 buildings audited. Since 2019, many drone-based inspection services for various use-cases have emerged. However, QEA maintains the first-mover advantage. The company is distinguished by its speed, non-invasiveness, and comprehensive accuracy, delivering precise, quantified insights that directly support targeted energy efficiency improvements. With the largest thermal dataset on building envelopes in the world and a first-of-a-kind experience alongside proprietary industry knowledge, QEA ensures its edge over other building envelope solution providers.
Interested in receiving detailed and actionable insights to improve building envelope performance? Contact QEA Tech for a free quote.
