Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings: the key to our renewable future - Flow Power

Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Making cost and real time carbon savings for Australia’s commercial buildings

Effectively decarbonising the built environment requires actively engaged buildings

Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings are designed to use electricity in a smart, efficient way, by shifting energy usage to periods of cheaper, greener energy.

These responsive assets make efficient use of Australia’s abundant renewable energy resources and help stabilise our shared electricity grid – and GEBs offer more perks than just sustainability. 

There’s potential for significant cost and carbon savings, simply by creating buildings that respond in real-time to demand on the grid.  

Put simply: changing how and when you use energy can save money.

This is called ‘load shifting’.

“By incorporating grid-interactive strategies into building design, operation, and management, we can create a sustainable and resilient future for the built environment, ensuring a smooth transition to zero-carbon buildings.”

Davina Rooney – CEO, Green Building Council of Australia

What is load shifting?

Load shifting is the practice of adjusting the timing of energy consumption from one period to another – typically from a period of high demand to low demand.

This is done to lower energy prices, reduce real time emission intensity of energy demand and improve grid stability.

Low price periods generally coincide with periods of high renewable generation; the electricity generated is cheap and abundant, especially during the summer months as rooftop solar floods the grid with energy. 

High price periods often occur when there is less renewable energy in the grid, meaning energy used during these periods is more likely to be generated by carbon-intensive fossil fuels.  

For these reasons, load shifting is the key to improving cost and carbon efficiency – and it’s as simple as adjusting how and when you use energy. 

How does load shaping work?

Load shaping in commercial buildings typically involves flexing the timing of HVAC loads, to align with low or negative prices in the wholesale electricity market.

It can also involve using batteries and charging electric vehicles to soak up low cost renewable energy when available. This energy can be reserved for use during peak periods, when wholesale prices typically spike due to the grid being under demand strain.

To support active energy management in buildings, Flow Power works with sustainability managers, building engineers and procurement managers to align company goals, using data with software and hardware integrations to support holistic energy management solutions. 

Why is load shifting important for commercial buildings?

Energy efficient building
In an energy efficient building, the demand curve is reduced and flattened, helping reduce energy consumption and demand charges.

Energy efficient building + solar PV
Adding solar to an energy efficient building offsets significant loads and generation often coincides with utility peak loads. This can help reduce energy consumption and demand charges but can cause steep ramping of loads and utility issues.

Grid-interactive building with energy efficiency, solar PV + load flexibility
Shifting building loads to match renewable generation helps flatten the load. This optimises energy consumption and offers demand charge savings, while also supporting the stability of the grid. Demand response capability during grid peak scenarios can also provide additional revenue.

Reducing demand strain with load shifting

How buildings increase demand

Large commercial buildings often exert a significant strain on the grid – especially when heating or cooling is required during periods of high demand. Representing around 30% of electricity demand, commercial buildings have the single biggest influence on the energy market. 

Shifting use to reduce grid strain

By shifting when they operate electrical equipment or HVAC systems, commercial buildings can draw large amounts of power during low demand periods and pre-cool or heat before demand peaks, allowing them to effectively act as a battery-like storage system. 

Energy efficiency benefits

Load shifting helps balance the grid, reduce peak demand, lower operational costs and support the use of renewable energy resources. This provides cost and energy efficiency benefits for the buildings themselves and contributes to a more sustainable and resilient energy system.  

The future is grid-interactive: Flow Power’s collaboration with Buildings Alive

Buildings Alive believes the future is grid-interactive. Our collaboration aims to accelerate the renewable transition by delivering new research and smart energy solutions to the market 

Buildings Alive’s technology platform helps building owners and operators achieve efficiency and decarbonisation goals, by making real time carbon emissions visible, highlighting opportunities and helping them optimise control systems, reducing costs and real time emissions.

Together, we deliver the price incentives and control systems, to make true zero emission outcomes possible, in a customer-first transition of the energy market. 

Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings | Flow Power
Smart buildings for the renewable future

Commit to combatting climate change and help accelerate Australia’s renewable transition, by supporting the development of Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings.

It’s our collective responsibility to minimise our impact, as we build a more sustainable future. 

To learn more about Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings, or to see how this could work for your building, contact one of our energy specialists now.