June 3 -- Request for Information (RFI): Research and Development Opportunities in Energy Management Control Systems (DE-FOA-0002723)
Buildings are responsible for approximately three-quarters of all electricity use and typically more of peak power demand in the United States (U.S.) and offer a unique opportunity for costeffective energy management as the nation’s primary electricity users. Their energy demand results from a variety of electrical loads operated to serve occupants' needs. Many of these loads are flexible to some degree, and intelligent communications and controls can manage their use to enable energy and cost savings, thus making essential contributions to the decarbonization and economic growth of the U.S. built environment and energy economy (including through beneficial electrification) – while still meeting occupant productivity and comfort requirements.
Integrating state-of-the-art sensors and controls throughout the commercial building stock can lead to savings of as much as 29% of site energy consumption through a high-performance sequence of operations, optimized settings based on occupancy patterns, and correcting inadequate equipment operation or installation. It can also enable 10%–20% of commercial building peak load reduction.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) invests in the research and development (R&D), validation, integration, and deployment of the next generation of affordable, high-performance, cost-effective tools and technologies that will result in significant energy savings for and decarbonization of the national building stock – both commercial and residential. A core technical area necessary for achieving this goal is the integration of sensing, computing, communication, and actuation for improved monitoring and control of the built environment. As such, BTO maintains an active portfolio in energy management control systems (EMCS). In tandem with building energy modeling, EMCS covers the energy management of cyber-physical infrastructure.
This RFI is comprised of the draft “Research and Development Opportunities in Energy Management Control Systems” (“EMCS RDO” or “RDO”), followed by specific questions about the issue and the draft RDO. BTO is interested in receiving input on both the specific questions and any elements of the draft RDO.
The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to building energy management systems (hardware, software, cybersecurity, and interoperability). This information will be used by BTO to update its R&D strategy and support energy savings, emissions reduction, and cost reduction goals, and inform future strategic planning and adjustments to its R&D portfolio. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). BTO is not accepting applications.
DRAFT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES DOCUMENT -- Contents:
Chapter 1: Hardware
Chapter 2: Software [Near-term research area: Develop the practical capabilities of an automated and cost-effective market-based coordination package for grid services. Transactive energy is a promising, market-based coordination approach to managing building-to-grid services. Advances are required in automated price-capacity curve estimation and open-source software development compatible with existing demand response programs and dynamic pricing structures.]
Chapter 3: Cybersecurity
Chapter 4: Interoperability
Each chapter has two sections -- Technical and Adoption Barriers; Research Areas---Near-term research areas, Long-term research areas
RFI notice:
https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId07881aab-068c-4a22-9a7d-0622fcf701ac
RFI document (23 pages):
https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FileContent.aspx?FileID=83911cba-55d5-4cf3-9077-80515fa53f47