Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Chair(s): Elyse Malherek (Big Ladder), Ben Simon (Willdan)
The ever-changing Energy and Building Design industries introduce complex challenges to reduce emissions while maintaining a reliable grid. We are told that AI will provide us with all the answers, but its development simultaneously makes these complex challenges even more difficult to solve. Building Designers empowered with practical, yet innovative solutions are needed to influence decisions, when they’re being made, that hopefully last for decades into an unpredictable future. Come hear from cross-industry leaders about how to bridge the gap between policy and planning, the building design community, and the energy sector to achieve common goals.
Session Presentations
Design Optimization for Building and Grid Interactions
Ben Simon Willdan
Energy analytics during the building design process is essential to optimize building interactions with the grid. However, it can be time-consuming, expensive, and confusing. These barriers can be overcome with collaboration between utility companies and the building design community by integrating energy analysis software tools. Learn about how feedback loops between the evolving grid and built environment enable various simulated scenarios evaluating things like future and extreme weather, fuel switching, energy storage, renewable energy, new technology adoption, and pricing. Providing project teams the information to influence building design decisions with creative and innovative solutions, while meeting budgets and operational requirements.
Demand Response in Grid Operation, Capacity Markets, and Energy Markets
David Browning MISO
The transformation of the electricity sector — driven by a shifting resource mix, more frequent extreme weather events, and increased electrification — creates new demands and challenges in ensuring adequate resources during high-risk periods. Demand Response resources available to grid operators play a critical role in ensuring they can effectively manage the grid during those high-risk periods. Utilities and third party aggregators register these Demand Resources in MISOs Capacity and Energy markets and understand the role Demand Response plays in grid operations, but it is also important that the underlying assets being registered as Demand Response also know their role.
Agile Cooling: Connecting Grid Interactive Buildings with Changing Cooling Demands
Russell Goldfarbmuren Rebound Technologies
In the world of cooling and refrigeration, customers are expecting more from their equipment than ever before, meanwhile grids across the globe are buckling under the weight of cooling-driven peak demand. This moment represents an opportunity for agile systems, equipment that can decouple energy and power from time, using thermal storage, to simultaneously deliver on customers' growing expectations while addressing grid instability and peak demand. Specifically, this talk will cover an introduction to agile systems, how those systems can offer both low first cost to customers and economic demand response assets to building owners and the electric grid.
Large Scale Decarbonization in the Built Environment
Samira Mohazabieh Stantec
Stantec’s integrative Climate Solutions are reimagining what is possible in both horizontal and vertical infrastructure. With a focus on decarbonization and energy transition, their approach includes cutting-edge research and implementation of innovative designs to tackle the challenges of a rapidly changing energy landscape. Samira, will present how Stantec is bridging the gap between the design community, the electric grid, and policy/planning. Ensuring new and existing buildings alike are part of the solution, while driving efforts to reduce emissions and supporting grid reliability. This presentation will highlight Stantec's research and practical solutions aimed at aligning these sectors for a decarbonized future.
