“Across the US, the electricity system is evolving, driven by the continued growth of variable renewable generation and distributed energy resources (DERs), including energy efficiency, demand response, onsite generation, energy storage, and electric vehicles. As the use of these technologies continues to expand, the management of electricity within facilities – and between facilities and the electric grid – continues to become more complex. To help address this complexity, the US Department of Energy has recently launched a new RD&D initiative focused on advancing Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (“GEBs”) that envisions a future in which buildings operate dynamically with the grid and integrate and continuously optimize distributed energy resources.” Evans adds, “As architects, we need to both educate ourselves about GEBs and contribute to the national conversation.” 

The proposed research project is designed to analyze current GEB-related RD&D activities and identify key GEB topics that will impact architectural practice, in particular in relation to the design of buildings. Much of the work of Center for Building Knowledge, under Evans’ leadership, has focused on providing educational resources and tools to the practice. This initiative will be no different in that Evans and his team will convene a focus group of architects and GEB experts to review and discuss these topics in terms of how they impact day-to-day practice.  The online tool kit that will be provided will be designed to help architects understand the practical, real-world implications of GEBs on their practices and identify pathways through which the architectural profession can effectively engage with GEB activities going forward. 

The Center for Building Knowledge has a 30-year history of RD&D projects focused on improving the performance of buildings, both in terms of sustainability/energy and, more recently, in terms of resilience and climate adaptation. The CBK has undertaken multiple projects for the US Department of Energy (the key driver of the Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings initiative) including research and development studies on building technologies and systems, as well as explorations of how to develop electricity microgrids at the community scale.

The NJIT Center for Building Knowledge requested that the AIA New Jersey Committee on the Environment collaborate on the application.  The research team was awarded a $15,000 2021 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant exploring “grid-interactive efficient buildings” which was the full amount requested.