Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs)

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is engaged in a project to understand the opportunities and barriers to developing programs that support grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs). We provide utilities and program administrators with research on best practices for program development, design, and implementation; direct no-cost technical assistance to improve their existing offerings; and a peer-to-peer working group to learn from one another’s experiences.

Energy savings to the consumer and grid benefits to the utility

Grid-interactive efficient buildings reduce energy and carbon waste, while offering flexible building loads to the grid. Customers, utilities, and system operators all can reap significant benefits from buildings optimized for energy efficiency and grid integration. With rapid growth of renewable and distributed energy resources, the value of buildings as flexible, responsive assets grows. This opportunity creates an imperative to deliver integrated solutions that deliver value to building operators in bill savings, comfort, and productivity in order to encourage adoption of practices and technologies that can deliver grid services. Utilities and program administrators developing these programs focus on breaking down the traditional silos of energy efficiency and demand response, combining them to better value the many benefits of grid-interactive efficient buildings.

ACEEE Reports

• State of the Market: Grid-Interactive Efficient Building Utility Programs
• Integrated Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs
• Smart Buildings: Using Smart Technology to Save Energy in Existing Buildings
• Smart Buildings: A Deeper Dive into Market Segments
• Intelligent Efficiency Technology and Market Assessment
• Emerging Opportunities: Achieving Deeper Energy Savings through Integrated Building Systems
• Emerging Opportunities: Energy Storage

Other Resources

• Determining Utility System Value of Demand Flexibility from Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (SEE Action)
• Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings: State Briefing Paper (NASEO)
• Roadmapping: A Tool for States to Advance Load Flexibility and Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (NASEO)
• Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (DOE)
• Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings: Factsheet (DOE)
• Grid-Integrated Buildings: A Profitable Linchpin to Decarbonization (RMI)
• The GridOptimal Buildings Initiative: How Buildings Can Support Grid Operations and Decarbonization (NBI & USGBC)
• Coordinating Distributed Energy Resources for Grid Services: A Case Study of Pacific Gas and Electric (NREL)

The success of the project depends on breaking down silos and encouraging partnerships across utility organizations, including:

• Utility program staff who work on energy efficiency and demand response offerings
• Utility planning and operational staff
• Third-party program administrators
• Grid planners and operators