IEA EBC Annex 67 Energy Flexible Buildings

Abstract

The

Assessing the time-sensitive impacts of energy efficiency and flexibility in the US building sector

“…These reductions and shifts may be achievable while providing comparable levels of core building services such as comfort to occupants, though service level impacts are highly dependent on building envelope and other factors such as occupant and operator preferences [12]. In this paper, we refer to these smart, connected responses as the energy flexibility of a building, which the International Energy Agency defines as 'the ability to manage its demand and generation according to local climate conditions, user needs and energy network requirements' [13]. New forms of energy efficiency and flexibility technologies that provide grid services through load shedding and shifting may be an effective option to avoid electric system costs, such as capital costs for new power generation, operation and maintenance costs for existing generation, and capital costs for transmission and distribution upgrades [14][15][16].…”

“…Moreover, the absence of a consistent framework for assessing the impacts of both energy efficiency and flexibility measures on baseline building electric loads makes it challenging to develop effective strategies for deploying these measures in tandem. Joint assessments of efficiency and flexibility measures are largely absent from the literature on national and regional energy demand, despite the need to understand potential trade-offs and synergies between the two approaches [13]. Recent work places a strong focus on quantifying the flexible potential of buildings at an aggregate level without directly addressing the role of efficiency within the proposed methodologies [20][21][22].…”

“…Joint assessments of efficiency and flexibility measures are largely absent from the literature on national and regional energy demand, despite the need to understand potential trade-offs and synergies between the two approaches [13]. Recent work places a strong focus on quantifying the flexible potential of buildings at an aggregate level without directly addressing the role of efficiency within the proposed methodologies [20][21][22]. Studies that do examine both energy efficiency and flexibility either rely on outdated baseline datasets and proprietary forecasts, place a limited focus on peak demand impacts [23], or otherwise afford only qualitative descriptions of the relative impacts of efficiency and flexibility on electricity demand, their possible interactions, and related integration opportunities [24][25][26].…”

Assessing the Demand Side Management Potential and the Energy Flexibility of Heat Pumps in Buildings

“…It is evident that different energy flexibility indicators have been proposed and a unique definition does not exist [6]. The most used variables to characterize the flexibility are the amount of power change, duration of the change, rate of change, response time, shifted load and maximal hours of load shifted, and recovery time (which represents when the system is ready to be used again) [56].…”

“…The latter technologies, especially, contain various forms of storage, which can be used to alter the electric load without affecting the quality of the energy service [5]. The energy flexibility provided by buildings is paramount to mitigate the upcoming challenges of future power systems, and its exact definition and quantification has a central role, as stated by the working group of Annex 67 about energy flexible buildings [6]. Furthermore, the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive [7] pushes towards new and more performing buildings-nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB)-where energy efficiency and energy flexibility are essential to achieve the required performance targets.…”