The Building Technologies Office (BTO), in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the Brattle Group, announced the publication of A National Roadmap for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (pdf), which charts a course to triple the energy efficiency and demand flexibility of U.S. buildings sector by 2030 from 2020 levels and capitalize on an estimated $100-200 billion-dollar market opportunity.

This national roadmap builds on research led by BTO through its Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Initiative that supports work in DOE’s offices of electricity, solar energy, and vehicle technologies and in partnership with DOE’s Weatherization Assistance and Federal Energy Management programs. The Initiative takes an integrated approach to changing the timing of loads and reducing overall load to support the flexibility needs of a carbon-free grid with high EV adoption.

A National Roadmap for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings defines technology attributes, integration considerations, and identifies barriers to achieving their potential. It then offers 14 recommendations for addressing the top barriers to GEB adoption and deployment, with “action steps” for all key industry stakeholders.

Some of the priority actions include:

• R&D to improve technology interoperability and integration, along with specific hardware improvements.
• Enhancing and communicating the value proposition of GEBs to consumers, utilities, aggregators, grid operators, and regulators.
• Developing tools that co-optimize energy, non-energy, and financial benefits, and training workers on these innovative technologies.
• Using federal, state, and local government actions to “lead by example” with government buildings, expanding funding and financing, setting codes and standards, and establishing targets.

For more information on the GEB Roadmap, join the GEB Roadmap Informational Webinar on May 27, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Hear from the authors of the report and remarks from BTO Director David Nemtzow.

To further explore each priority action area, BTO will also release a blog series authored by EERE Leadership, national laboratories, industry experts and more. Stay tuned as these upcoming blogs exemplify new and ongoing research and development activities and real-world demonstrations. The blogs topics will cover:

• A word from BTO leadership on the Roadmap and BTO’s activities to advance its vision
• Project Snapshot into Field Validation in Washington’s new Eco-District
• GEB considerations in building codes
• A look at California Energy Commission’s CalFlexHub
• Considerations for distributed energy resources (DERs) alternative rate structure

Learn more about grid-interactive efficient buildings and BTO’s work to advance them.