A PHASED CITY ENERGY PLATFORM FOR NETWORKED PRECINCT BUILDINGS IN THE CONTEXT OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SMART GRIDS

misbe2011 Tracking Number 152

This research investigates the context and advantages of energy sharing between networked precinct buildings in the context of pre-existing urban stock. The paper considers whether the sharing of patterns of use and knowledge of buildings’ spatial, architectural and energy-related components can act as a phased prequel to energy sharing and provide a ‘knowledge pool’ to facilitate changes to the technological mix in a building, as well as modes of usage. In the context of energy use and conservation it is well understood that resource sharing can be advantageous across multiple buildings, but less is known about the potential benefits of energy knowledge sharing across buildings. The sharing of energy data across buildings with different owners/operators but offers the advantages of balancing demand across facilities, right-sizing technology components, intelligent planning and future usage pooling – particularly for smart buildings with energy storage and generation capacity. With a focus on the Australian context, this research investigation examines how an initial energy information platform phase could benefit a range of building stakeholders and be lead to a subsequent energy sharing phase. The author argues that there is value in a city energy information platform as a prequel to smart grids and subsequently as a complement to smart grids.