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INSTRUCTOR: 
Vincent J. Cushing

Purpose and Background

Building design and operating engineers will learn the value of extending their thinking beyond the utility electric meter and electric bill for untapped economic and carbon reduction opportunities. In our world, building engineers understand that all kWh are not the same, that the fixed year-round electric energy prices adopted by most large commercial buildings mask enormous electric grid operating complexity and opportunity.

In our world, when a building uses energy is just as important as how much energy is used. This is especially important as cities and states adopt carbon emission reduction objectives and mandate the transition to renewable generation. The building industry needs to understand how buildings can best reduce emissions on the other side of the electric meter; and how buildings can adapt - and profit from - a more dynamic renewable generation mix on the other side of the meter.

Webinar participants will learn and quantify - by case study - how large commercial buildings are already tapping economic and carbon reduction opportunities on the grid side of the meter. And doing so as a byproduct of reducing their electric bills. The instructor will focus on what QCoefficient knows best - large commercial buildings in large grid-congested cities and the challenges and opportunities presented by New York City's Local Law 97 ("LL97") and New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act ("CLCPA"). LL97 mandates that NYC buildings reduce their carbon footprint. The CLCPA mandates a NY state transition to wind and distributed photovoltaics. The lessons learned extend to any large city in the U.S. and world-wide.

The case studies are based on actual large commercial buildings in which QCo's EMeister MPC has been successfully deployed. The case studies have been extended to anticipate LL97 and CLCPA challenges and opportunities pursuant to a grant provided by the Solar Energy Technology Office of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Webinar participants will not instantly become building/grid integration experts - or LL97/CLCPA experts - but they will learn enough to understand the opportunity and to continue their education. The instructor will provide directed reading and links to the best continuing sources for building/grid integration information.

Benefits and Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain how large commercial building operating flexibility contributes to electric grid economy, reliability and sustainability, aka "building/grid integration".
• Explain how building/grid integration informs HVAC design and investment decisions, improves cash flow, and mitigates HVAC obsolescence risk in a rapidly evolving electric system.
• Identify the value of extending thinking beyond the utility electric meter and electric bill for untapped economic and carbon reduction opportunities.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Who Should Attend?

Building design and operating engineers

Outline

1. Introduction to building/grid integration, by example.
1. Willis Tower (4 million sqft)
2. Sears World Headquarters (2.2 million sqft)
3. Morgan Stanley Headquarters (1.35 million sqft)
2. Building/grid integration: the science and multi-disciplinary RD&D.
3. Building/grid integration: many applications, especially in large, grid-congested cities.
4. Grid-scale carbon emission reduction.
5. What's missing? Public policy (like LL97) and inquiring engineering minds.

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs

This online course is worth .2 CEUs/2 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 365 days of the course purchase.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]