Powering the Future: Unlocking the Potential of Grid-Integrated Buildings

​Canada needs to electrify to decarbonize. While Ontario claims to have a clean grid due to the large nuclear power contribution, nuclear power provides only a flat supply of electricity and does not deal well with power peaks. If the already extended existing power supply’s peaks further increase due to electrification of heating and EVs, then we going to need gas-powered “peaker” plants to meet the demand. This will significantly increase GHG emissions. We therefore need to address the peak reduction and flattening of the peak curve. 

​For this, there is an increasing need for buildings with interactive features, to dynamically respond to changing boundary conditions (either external, such as climate and grid prices, or internal, such as the occupants’ requirements). The buildings are expected to be “grid-responsive“, able to adapt their usage to time-of-use electricity pricing and the users’ usage profiles.