Taking steps to reduce our impact on the grid
As part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Connected Communities initiative, Slipstream and our partners are currently developing a pilot in Madison, Wisconsin to test whether a large municipality like Madison can deploy grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs). The project involves a GEB demonstration in multiple City of Madison buildings, followed by a GEB pilot led by Madison Gas & Electric (MGE). Our partners include the City of Madison, MGE, RMI, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and bluEvolution.
The ultimate goals are to:
- Reduce energy usage through load management
- Reduce energy costs for building owners and all utility customers
- Increase the resilience of buildings
- Create a model for GEB deployment that can be replicated in other cities
In the first stage of the project, the project team is implementing the following GEB strategies in seven City of Madison buildings:
| Load shaping | Electric vehicle (EV) managed charging |
|---|---|
| Smart inverter management | Battery deployment |
In the second stage, MGE will develop a pilot GEB program for its customers. The vision of the multi-stage project is to demonstrate the cost effectiveness and scalability of GEBs by showing that buildings using these technologies can provide multiple direct value streams to building owners and the utility. By decreasing the peak demand of a building and improving the efficiency of its operation, GEB measures can reduce energy demand charges and decrease energy costs, as well as defer investments in infrastructure upgrades for utilities.
What we’ve learned so far
In the first and second year of the Madison project, Slipstream and its project partners have undertaken the initial deployment of GEB technologies, design and development of energy management information system (EMIS) controls, and analysis of the building data.
In our role, we identified the selection of building sites, as well as the controls and integration process used as two key elements of project design that building owners, operators, and designers should focus on. Additionally, we highlighted specific challenges they’ll need to consider prior to the design of full-scale programs.
Key takeaways and challenges
The GEB technology procurement process and technology integration can be both time-consuming and complex. Developing the specifications for vendor proposals and bids can take months, and integrating necessary services and measures with the city’s existing infrastructure requires intricate planning and time. To help alleviate this time investment for other organizations, we are providing the following documents which would be used as templates for other GEB projects:
- Battery Request for Bid
- Energy Management System Request for Proposal
- Electric Vehicle Managed Charging Request for Bid
Our research showed it may be more economical for building owners to take an incremental approach to GEB development—such as first procuring an EMIS platform for enhanced control of existing systems. In this approach, a building owner would only incur operational expenses on HVAC controls in the first stage of GEB development, allowing them time to plan for longer-term investment in capital improvements, such as batteries.
Additionally, building site selection is a critical element of the process that requires understanding building capabilities, including whether a given building can accept a GEB system and what technologies would be required to equip it with GEB capabilities. For example, suitable buildings need a digital Building Automation System with associated controls to allow for load shift and shed. The size of a building is another consideration in facility selection, as smaller buildings may not have ample loads to shift, meaning a longer payback period for GEB measures.
The findings in this study will be used in the development of a utility pilot by MGE, with support from Slipstream, RMI, and ACEEE. The main goal is to validate the technical approach for controls and communications, with a focus on reducing the installed cost for enabling technologies instead of changes in utility rate design.
Learn more about this study
For more information about this study, including specifics on the technologies used and extended background on the development of this Connected Communities project, you can read the full Design and Analysis Case Study prepared by Slipstream.