Electric future
US electricity consumption is on course to rise by 40
per cent in the next 20 years, according to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
This will cost the US taxpayer $900bn just to pay
for the generation and transmission infrastructure.
The total cost will be closer to $3 trillion as the
country tries to manage the carbon emissions issues
associated with such a massive increase in energy
production.
Many delegates at the ASHRAE meeting said we
would be living in an “all-electric” economy by the
middle of this century and, during a technical session
at the accompanying AHR Expo held at McCormick Cooling towers in Chicago. > Kent Peterson is optimistic that the scheme will
Place in Chicago, speakers called for an alternative ASHRAE is developing a take off at state level. He pointed out that California
approach, using “smart’”grids that would make method for rating buildings’ is already implementing measures, including
power generation more efficient and dramatically energy performance a requirement from 2010 for landlords to provide
reduce infrastructure costs. energy performance data when renting out their
buildings.
“We want the technical guidance to have a head
start over the legislation that we know will come in
the next 18 months,” he told the Journal. “It will start at
state level, with New York and California, in particular,
driving change through their own measures including
carbon cap and trade initiatives.”
His comments came on the day the Obama
administration launched a legal challenge to George
W Bush’s decision to forbid states from setting their
own, more stringent emissions targets.
“We have been tackling energy efficiency in buildings
since the energy crisis of the 1970s,” Peterson said.
“Since that time, all the focus has been on good design,
and the amount of energy used per square foot has
been going down ever since, but the overall level has
The Gridwise initiative was born in the aftermath of not changed. This suggests that it is how buildings are
the devastating power blackouts that plunged large operated that is the key.”
swathes of the US East Coast into darkness in August He used the example of a microwave oven using
2003. Engineers realised then that power crises would
We have been
five watts of electricity just by being plugged in –
become more common and an alternative approach
tackling energy
amounting to wastage of 45kW/hr over a year or 30
was needed.
efficiency in
hours of cooking power – to illustrate the importance
Building a “smart” grid could save the US taxpayer of making energy consumption “transparent to the
$108bn and improve reliability, according to former
buildings since
public so that building occupants have a clear idea of
US vice president Al Gore, who coined the term
the energy crisis
how their building is doing”.
“electronet” to describe this initiative.
of the 1970s
“If we know how much energy is being consumed,
NIST is developing the technical standards that we don’t even need to get into whether the building is
will allow buildings to integrate with this distributed
– Kent Peterson
green or not,” he said.
power-generation system and “keep the lights on”.
(below)
Energy-labelling committee chairman Ron Jarnagin
The key element will be the consumer “portal” that said the ambition was to have 10 buildings labelled
turns conventional power supply strategies on their in time for ASHRAE’s annual meeting in June this
heads. It reverses the current approach by allowing year. He said they were working closely with the US
energy to flow both into the building and out to the Department of Energy’s ‘Energy Star’ scheme, which
grid, as well as creating a method for money to go was developed for a wide range of energy consuming
to and come back from energy suppliers. appliances.
This model for grid interoperability will create a “We will be able to use the existing infrastructure
whole new business model and make it easier to sell of Energy Star to move faster,” Jarnagin said. “We will
green building projects, according to the speakers develop asset and operational ratings in line with the
at the session that was hosted by the Gridwise European model – ideally there will be consistency
Architecture Council (www.gridwiseac.org). so that anyone in the world can recognise and use
these tools.”
40 CIBSE Journal March 2009 www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEmar09 pp38-41 ashrae.indd 40 4/3/09 14:41:10
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