diff --git a/config/environment.default.js b/config/environment.default.js
index 2cfae424d7..cddd204eea 100644
--- a/config/environment.default.js
+++ b/config/environment.default.js
@@ -1,18 +1,19 @@
 module.exports = {
   // The REST API server settings.
   "rest": {
-    // NOTE: Space is capitalized because 'namespace' is a reserved string in TypeScript
-    "nameSpace": "/api",
-    "protocol": "http",
+    "ssl": false,
     "address": "localhost",
-    "port": 3000
+    "port": 3000,
+    // NOTE: Space is capitalized because 'namespace' is a reserved string in TypeScript
+    "nameSpace": "/api"
   },
   // Angular2 UI server settings.
   "ui": {
-    "nameSpace": "/",
-    "protocol": "http",
+    "ssl": false,
     "address": "localhost",
-    "port": 3000
+    "port": 3000,
+    // NOTE: Space is capitalized because 'namespace' is a reserved string in TypeScript
+    "nameSpace": "/"
   },
   "cache": {
     // how long should objects be cached for by default
diff --git a/src/client.ts b/src/client.ts
index 37281a6c72..5f77062660 100644
--- a/src/client.ts
+++ b/src/client.ts
@@ -10,8 +10,12 @@ import { bootloader } from '@angularclass/bootloader';
 
 import { load as loadWebFont } from 'webfontloader';
 
-// enable prod for faster renders
-// enableProdMode();
+import { EnvConfig } from './config';
+
+if (EnvConfig.production) {
+  // enable prod for faster renders
+  enableProdMode();
+}
 
 import { MainModule } from './platform/modules/browser.module';
 
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index e6ad63fb90..6610ad895c 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 import { OpaqueToken } from '@angular/core';
 
 interface ServerConfig {
-  "nameSpace": string;
-  "protocol": string;
+  "ssl": boolean;
   "address": string;
   "port": number;
+  "nameSpace": string;
   "baseUrl": string;
 }
 
@@ -32,27 +32,28 @@ let EnvConfigFile: string;
 
 let production: boolean = false;
 
+// check process.env.NODE_ENV to determine which environment config to use
+// process.env.NODE_ENV is defined by webpack, else assume development
 switch (process.env.NODE_ENV) {
   case 'prod':
   case 'production':
-    production = true;
+    // webpack.prod.config.ts defines process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production'
     EnvConfigFile = './environment.prod.js';
-    break;
-  case 'dev':
-  case 'development':
-    EnvConfigFile = './environment.dev.js';
+    production = true;
     break;
   case 'test':
+    // webpack.test.config.ts defines process.env.NODE_ENV = 'test'
     EnvConfigFile = './environment.test.js';
     break;
   default:
-    console.warn('Environment file not specified. Using default.');
+    // if not using webpack.prod.config.ts or webpack.test.config.ts, it must be development
+    EnvConfigFile = './environment.dev.js';
 }
 
 try {
   EnvConfig = configContext('./environment.default.js');
 } catch (e) {
-  throw new Error("Cannot find file ./environment.default.js");
+  throw new Error("Cannot find file environment.default.js");
 }
 
 // if EnvConfigFile set try to get configs
@@ -60,18 +61,18 @@ if (EnvConfigFile) {
   try {
     EnvConfig = <GlobalConfig>Object.assign(EnvConfig, configContext(EnvConfigFile));
   } catch (e) {
-    console.warn("Cannot find file " + EnvConfigFile);
+    console.warn("Cannot find file " + EnvConfigFile.substring(2, EnvConfigFile.length), "Using default environment.");
   }
 }
 
-// set base url if propery is object with protocol, address, and port. i.e. ServerConfig
+// set base url if property is object with ssl, address, and port. i.e. ServerConfig
 for (let key in EnvConfig) {
-  if (EnvConfig[key].protocol && EnvConfig[key].address && EnvConfig[key].port) {
-    EnvConfig[key].baseUrl = [EnvConfig[key].protocol, '://', EnvConfig[key].address, (EnvConfig[key].port !== 80) ? ':' + EnvConfig[key].port : ''].join('');
+  if (EnvConfig[key].ssl !== undefined && EnvConfig[key].address && EnvConfig[key].port) {
+    EnvConfig[key].baseUrl = [EnvConfig[key].ssl ? 'https://' : 'http://', EnvConfig[key].address, (EnvConfig[key].port !== 80) ? ':' + EnvConfig[key].port : ''].join('');
   }
 }
 
-// set config for running in production
+// set config for whether running in production
 EnvConfig.production = production;
 
 export { GLOBAL_CONFIG, GlobalConfig, EnvConfig }
diff --git a/src/server.aot.ts b/src/server.aot.ts
index ce450ec8e8..de41c8cae8 100644
--- a/src/server.aot.ts
+++ b/src/server.aot.ts
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ routes.forEach(route => {
   app.get(`/${route}/*`, ngApp);
 });
 
-app.get('*', function (req, res) {
+app.get('*', function(req, res) {
   res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
   var pojo = { status: 404, message: 'No Content' };
   var json = JSON.stringify(pojo, null, 2);
@@ -124,5 +124,5 @@ app.get('*', function (req, res) {
 
 // Server
 let server = app.listen(app.get('port'), app.get('address'), () => {
-  console.log(`Listening on: ${EnvConfig.ui.protocol}://${server.address().address}:${server.address().port}`);
+  console.log(`Listening on: ${EnvConfig.ui.ssl ? 'https://' : 'http://'}://${server.address().address}:${server.address().port}`);
 });
diff --git a/src/server.ts b/src/server.ts
index 6501cc390c..9423add7a2 100644
--- a/src/server.ts
+++ b/src/server.ts
@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@ import { routes } from './server.routes';
 
 import { EnvConfig } from './config';
 
-// enable prod for faster renders
-enableProdMode();
+if (EnvConfig.production) {
+  // enable prod for faster renders
+  enableProdMode();
+}
 
 const app = express();
 const ROOT = path.join(path.resolve(__dirname, '..'));
@@ -107,7 +109,7 @@ routes.forEach(route => {
   app.get(`/${route}/*`, ngApp);
 });
 
-app.get('*', function (req, res) {
+app.get('*', function(req, res) {
   res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
   var pojo = { status: 404, message: 'No Content' };
   var json = JSON.stringify(pojo, null, 2);
@@ -116,5 +118,5 @@ app.get('*', function (req, res) {
 
 // Server
 let server = app.listen(app.get('port'), app.get('address'), () => {
-  console.log(`Listening on: ${EnvConfig.ui.protocol}://${server.address().address}:${server.address().port}`);
+  console.log(`Listening on: ${EnvConfig.ui.ssl ? 'https://' : 'http://'}://${server.address().address}:${server.address().port}`);
 });
diff --git a/webpack.config.ts b/webpack.config.ts
index 065ac1cf6e..c51f1d2ce1 100644
--- a/webpack.config.ts
+++ b/webpack.config.ts
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ export var clientConfig = {
   }
 };
 
-
 // Server.
 export var serverPlugins = [
 
@@ -133,9 +132,6 @@ export default [
   webpackMerge(clone(commonConfig), serverConfig, { plugins: serverPlugins.concat(commonPlugins) })
 ];
 
-
-
-
 // Helpers
 export function includeClientPackages(packages, localModule?: string[]) {
   return function(context, request, cb) {