Power April 2022 Intl - 30

ELECTRIFICATION
The
company
acknowledged
how
electrification can empower consumers.
" Yes, we believe that as electrification
options continue to reach more consumers,
it will provide them with options
so they can make the energy decisions
that are right for them, " the group wrote.
" Energy storage systems, which use an
inverter and batteries, provide a viable
solution for scalable power storage that
integrates with any power source including
solar, wind, and the grid. There are
cost savings for consumers in the form
of lower energy bills and tax breaks.
Electrified systems are a great source of
3. The Bobcat T7X is an all-electric, zero-emission machine. It's a new take from Moog
Construction and Doosan Bobcat on the popular Bobcat loader, used for decades in construction
activities. Some machines even include Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. Courtesy:
Moog Construction
which might attract the next generation
of workers. "
Baldi added, " Electric machines with
built-in sensing and software also allow
operators more control, and vehicle
owners gain greater connectivity and
automation. With the right architecture
and supporting ecosystems, electric
machines bring productivity gains to the
construction industry that their hydraulic
and diesel counterparts can't match. "
Chris Roman, a certified energy manager
and director of business development
with California-based Conservant
Systems, said his company's technology
is " a parallel to electrification, " primarily by
making systems more efficient. Energy
analysts often point to energy efficiency
opportunities presented by electrification
in buildings, transportation, and manufacturing,
in energy and cost savings along
with emissions reductions.
Roman told POWER his company's
High Efficiency Dehumidification System,
or HEDS, " is a patent-protected,
proprietary energy recovery method
designed to save more than 40% of the
cooling and heating energy related to the
cooling, dehumidification, and reheat process,
while also eliminating the health,
wellness, product, and productivity loss
risks caused by poor relative humidity
control " in buildings. " Our technology is
definitely under energy efficiency [EE], "
he said. " If solar is on a roof and our gear
is [the] air handlers ... the air handlers essentially
have coils and they get hot or
cold. " Roman said Conservant's technology
" plays with those coils in a way that
it eliminates your heating needs. It eliminates
the boilers firing, which is decarbonization.
We decarbonize, and we save
energy and we save money. "
" Energy efficiency is a vital part of the
30
electrification strategy, it has given utilities
a head-start on the journey, " said Powell.
" EE and demand-side management
(DSM), and demand response (DR) programs
have blazed a path for these fresh
decarbonization pathways. EE, DSM, and
DR collectively have mitigated sources and
uses of energy for decades now. "
Said Tongue: " Energy efficiency can
play a helpful role in reducing the overall
demands on the grid. According to a recent
DOE [Department of Energy] study,
over the next two decades, national
adoption
of
grid-interactive
efficient
buildings could be worth $100 billion to
$200 billion in U.S. electric power system
cost savings. "
Grid Impacts
The challenge of electrification includes
its impact on the grid, which will vary
by region, time of day, and also the time
of year. Economic arguments continue;
many in the energy sector point to the
cost differences between heating with
natural gas, and heating with electricity.
EVs will increase the load on the
grid, which could hike electricity costs.
Utilities will need to adjust their resource
planning to incorporate the impacts of
electrification, something already occurring
with time-of-use rate adjustments.
Briggs & Stratton, known for its smallengine
mowers, generators, and other
tools, provided POWER with commentary
about grid impacts, writing, " As more
products and industries go electric, there
is some concern around the impact to an
aging grid. Electric companies across the
country are evaluating what is required to
modernize their grid infrastructures, connect
distributed energy sources, and put
software in place to improve diagnostics
and visibility to how the grid operates. "
www.powermag.com
power during an outage as well. "
" One of the key challenges for homeowners
is the upfront cost, " Tongue told
POWER. " Anyone that strolls down the
aisle of Home Depot sees that replacing
your gas furnace with a more efficient
heat pump costs significantly more. Driving
down that point-of-sale cost to enroll
those devices in flexible grid services
will be key to smoothing this transition. "
Powell talked about the energy decisions
faced by consumers: " The battle
between natural gas and electricity is
not a new one. For decades, utilities
have marketed the benefit of gas versus
electric for appliance or end-uses [furnaces,
water heater, cooking, and even
lighting]. In this electrification transition,
the battle between natural gas and electricity
does not continue.
" To my knowledge, there are no natural-gas-powered
'Teslas' in homes. Adding
a plug for an EV does not displace
natural gas end-uses. EVs are just another
end-use, just like washer/dryers, big
screen TVs, and LED bulbs, " Powell said.
" With that, I would expect little to no demand
destruction to occur in local natural
gas distribution, while demand destruction
would have an impact on customer
bills. If the next part of the economic
argument is that electrification would increase
the heating bill, that may not be
completely valid. "
Said Vernacchia: " Electrification has a
cascading impact on energy infrastructure.
And, it's about more than electrifying
the vehicle or charging or even
building systems. We see flexible load
management as essential to optimize
energy use at home and for the grid.
So, energy consumers can squeeze the
most out of renewables and storage,
keeping power flowing to essential loads
no matter what, and adjusting those
loads as needed. " ■
-Darrell Proctor is a senior associate
editor for POWER.
POWER | April 2022

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Power April 2022 Intl

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