CRE INNOVATIONS
By Mark Danzenbaker
PLUGGING INTO THE GRID
Converging business , environmental , and social goals are accelerating the clean energy transition , opening opportunities for grid-interactive buildings .
Energy grids are facing unprecedented disruption due to the transition to renewables , electrification trends , extreme weather , and the impacts of climate change . The infrastructure required to support mass electrification will require more demand for energy , which could compete with needs to decarbonize the current built environment as much as possible . The power curve has fundamentally changed , including the resulting impacts on both energy costs and reliability for businesses nationwide . Because experts estimate nearly 40 percent of today ’ s global carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings , they are the greatest , most cost-effective opportunities for reducing carbon footprints and ensuring a sustainable energy future .
While energy efficiency behind the meter isn ’ t a new concept for commercial real estate developers , owners , and operators , most efforts to go beyond that and enable buildings to play a more active role in grid stability have focused on the residential sector through smart thermostats and , in larger buildings , heavy controls systems and manual demand response . Utility programs targeting sectors are generally easier to develop and repeatable because energy needs , standards , and incentives are already outlined .
These approaches are not the case for smaller commercial buildings , which are historically underrepresented in energy programming because the needs of each building site and business type vary widely . A more customized approach is required to address those challenges , leaving millions of smaller commercial buildings largely overlooked and left with a one-way connection to the grid . According to the U . S . Energy Information Administration , of the over 5.9 million commercial buildings across the U . S ., 90 percent have a footprint under 50,000 square feet . That leaves 5.3 million potentially inefficient , small- to medium-sized commercial buildings —
Because experts estimate nearly 40 percent of today ’ s global carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings , they are the greatest , most cost-effective opportunities for reducing carbon footprints and ensuring a sustainable energy future . a major gap with incredible potential to strengthen the grid while also reducing energy costs for businesses . To close the gap , owners and operators must transform the way they operate these buildings by incorporating new technologies and partnering with their utilities to create a more dynamic relationship between energy producers and consumers .
Rising costs , energy mandates , electrification , and more prevalent power disruptions — as seen recently in California and Texas — are all trends putting energy transition at the forefront of business stakeholder priorities . Being proactive about an energy strategy isn ’ t just best practice , it ’ s becoming increasingly required for power reliability and business continuity . We are finally at the tipping point where business and grid priorities are beginning to converge . By transitioning operations to be more efficient and enabling grid-interactivity , commercial real estate professionals are benefiting both their bottom line and the grid at the same time .
THE FUTURE IS GRID INTERACTIVE The future of energy is one where buildings are optimized individually , networked together , and connected to the grid . This bidirectional communication enables the built environment and utilities to work together to balance supply and demand . Grid interactivity unlocks the potential of standalone buildings and turns them into efficient , flexible energy resources using smart technology .
Energy usage has traditionally been a linear purchase of power over the grid based on a building ’ s energy requirements . These requirements are influenced by the energy consuming assets within the building , complex maintenance systems , weather trends , and building occupancy . When smart controls , building
42 COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE FALL 2022