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New Standard Helps Buildings Support The Smart Grid


By Rick Laezman | Jul 15, 2016
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Standards for new technology are necessary to encourage growth and innovation by ensuring interoperability and compatibility of new devices.


Recognizing this need, stakeholders in building energy management recently announced a standard that will allow buildings to be an active participant in the smart grid. In May, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) approved a way to model a building’s energy systems as a combination of abstract components.


Standard 201P, Facility Smart Grid Information Model (FSGIM), provides modeling of loads, generators, meters and energy managers. It can be applied to a variety of functions, including on-site generation management, demand response, electrical storage management, forward power usage estimation 
and others.


The standard applies to a range of buildings, including single-family homes, commercial or institutional buildings, manufacturing or industrial buildings and multiple building environments, such as college campuses.


According to ASHRAE, facilities need to be involved as more than just utility customers to fully achieve the potential benefits of the smart grid. The organization adds that there are numerous well-established protocols used within facilities. In the future, these protocols are more likely to expand than they are to be replaced. FSGIM will ease the integration of these protocols with the smart grid.


According to Steve Bushby, chair of the Standard 201P Committee, the smart grid is about much more than utilities and smart meters.


“In a smart-grid world, facilities of all kinds will become partners in managing the electricity grid,” he said. “[The] SGIM provides a common path forward for residential, commercial and industrial control technologies to implement the features needed to participate in the smart grid.”


On a more practical level, it is about keeping up with the rapid pace of technology.


“The technologies that are enabling high-performance buildings are evolving at a fever pitch,” said Robert Hick, vice president of engineering for Leviton Manufacturing and co-vice chair of the Standard 201P Committee. “The need for a common model for communication of energy data is essential.”


About The Author

LAEZMAN is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer who has been covering renewable power for more than 10 years. He may be reached at [email protected]

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