ASHRAE Journal - June 2021 - 8

INDUSTRY NEWS
Industry Trend
What You Need to Know
About Smart Grids
There is a lot to know about smart
grids, and the technology is rapidly
changing. To help people better
understand smart grids, Steven
Bushby, Fellow ASHRAE, discusses
what engineers need to know about
this industry trend. Bushby is
leader of the Mechanical Systems
and Controls Group of the Building
Energy and Environment Division
of the Engineering Laboratory at the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
Why is it important to talk about
smart grids now?
Building owners make investments
that are intended to serve the
occupants for time scales of decades.
Even though the transformation
to a smart grid is still in progress
and will take additional time to be
completed, building owners can
do many things now to begin to
reap the benefits and prepare for
additional benefits in the future. It
is prudent to consider smart grid
Industry Roundup
Phasedown of HFCs Moves Forward
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In early May, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency proposed a phasedown of the
production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), which are commonly used in refrigerators, air
conditioners and other applications. This phasedown
could decrease the production and import of HFCs in
the U.S. by 85% over the next 15 years. This is the first
proposed rule under the American Innovation and
Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020. For more information,
see Page 26.Source: EPA
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ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
J U N E 2021
implications in design and upgrade
decisions that are being made now
because the building owner will live
with the consequences of those decisions
for many years.
What do ASHRAE members need
to know about smart grids?
* The United States established a
policy to develop and deploy a smart
electric grid with the 2007 passage
of the Energy Independence and
Security Act, which became effective
in December 2010. Substantial investments
in transforming the grid
have already been made, and they
will be continuing for many years.
* One of the drivers for a smart
grid is to be able to greatly increase
the percentage of electricity generated
from renewable energy, much
of which is intermittent in nature
(wind and photovoltaics). Achieving
high levels of intermittent renewable
generation requires coordination
and collaboration with the
loads in buildings. Energy storage
can help, but
today it is not
Steven Bushby, Fellow ASHRAE
economically feasible to have storage
on a large enough scale to solve
the problems without additional
assistance.
* With the trend toward low-energy
and net zero energy buildings,
the buildings become generators
of electricity as well as consumers.
Low-energy and net zero energy
homes and buildings still need
the grid. The historic grid was not
designed to manage two-way flow
or the changes in load patterns that
result from these types of buildings.
Collaboration between buildings
and the grid is needed to manage
these issues.
* Applying smart grid concepts to
building operation can be part of a
strategy to maintain resilience during
storms and other kinds of events
that impact reliability.
Read the full Q&A: https://tinyurl.
com/22wafba8
DOE Issues Preliminary Determination
For Standard 90.1-2019
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Department of Energy announced
in late April its preliminary determination
of energy savings for Standard 90.1-2019. The DOE
estimates national savings in commercial buildings of
about 4.3% in source energy savings; 4.7% in site energy
savings; 4.3% in energy cost savings and 4.2% in carbon
emissions. The DOE conducted a technical analysis that
assesses Standard 90.1-2019 compared to the previous
edition and estimates the anticipated energy consumption
of buildings required to meet the updated standard.
Source: U.S. DOE
https://tinyurl.com/22wafba8 https://tinyurl.com/22wafba8 https://www.ashrae.org/
ASHRAE Journal - June 2021

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