ASHRAE guide outlines changing energy sector

by Samantha Ashenhurst | July 30, 2018 12:04 pm

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Are you prepared for distributed energy resources, energy storage, and smart grids? A new publication from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers[2] (ASHRAE) will help building professionals prepare for the challenges and opportunities of designing efficient and grid-responsive buildings within the changing energy sector. The resource, Building Our New Energy Future, was developed in collaboration with American Institute of Architects[3] (AIA), the National Institute of Building Sciences[4] (NIBS), and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory[5] (NREL).

“This primer was developed by a team of buildings experts across industries to provide a common language understanding of key topics that will affect our energy future,” said Sheila J. Hayter, P.E., ASHRAE president.

The publication explores topics such as distributed energy resources (DERs), electric vehicles and buildings, the Internet of Things (IoT), smart grids and buildings, the future of utilities, and high-performance building design. Additionally, Building Our New Energy Future offers strategies to communicate about prioritizing loads, storing versus using energy, and advances in renewable energy.

It also offers building professionals guidance on emerging business opportunities that are expected to arise in the drive toward a more sustainable built environment.

“It is vital that decision-makers understand how the nation’s electrical grid works when they are taking steps to reduce energy usage—whether it is at the building or community level—or they could unknowingly cause the reverse result,” said Henry L. Green, NIBS president. “Building Our New Energy Future clearly explains this complicated topic so people recognize the impacts their energy choices have on the power grid, occupant comfort level, and their bottom line.”

Other information in the publication includes:

• explanations of changes in grid infrastructure, utility business models, and building load management;
• practical advice for owners, designers, and construction professionals on smart-grid integration;
• guidance on how to control loads and manage them in a way that will impact the electrical system infrastructure’s performance;
• discussion of building automation and controls, and renewable generation and energy storage; and
• examples of renewable electricity generation of renewable energy sources with customer-sited energy storage, rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV), solar integration systems (SIS), and off-grid solar plus storage microgrid systems.

To download the publication, click here[6].

Source URL: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/ashrae-guide-outlines-changing-energy-sector/

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