Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs) Tri-Region Status Report

The energy industry in the United States is rapidly evolving – the installation of smaller generation plants is becoming a trend, renewable energy generation is expanding, coal-generated electric plants are being retired, and modern interconnected and energy-efficient technologies are being developed. To keep pace with these changes, utilities are capitalizing on both the opportunities and challenges they present, and are putting plans in place to modernize the grid.

 

As the grid transforms, buildings are in a unique position to assist in the actualization of grid modernization goals. In recognition of this the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) introduced the concept of Grid Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs) – a concept that envisions a future in which buildings operate dynamically with the grid to make electricity more affordable and integrate distributed energy resources while meeting the needs of building occupants.