Article series
Operating Grid-interactive Buildings
Grid-Interactive Buildings – What are they?
A grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) continuously optimizes energy use by combining efficiency measures such as LED lighting, efficient heat pumps, and high-performance windows with smart technologies such as solar, battery storage, and integrated building controls. Rather than simply consuming energy from the grid based on the building’s baseline energy use and occupant demands, a GEB interacts with the grid to continuously manage its demand in response to key signals from the electric utility.
To save money, reduce strain on the grid or limit carbon emissions from electricity generation, a GEB might shed load (such as automatically dimming LED lights throughout the building) or shift its load from one time to another (such as drawing from on-site batteries rather than the grid) in a practice known as demand flexibility, or load flexibility.
Read the article series from IFMA's FMJ to learn more:
