New Homes with Load Shapes to Make an Electric Utility Drool: How to Integrate Multiple DSM Strategies to Achieve Long Term Energy Performance Goals

Bruce Ceniceros and Bruce Vincent, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Keywords

Abstract

The idea of “Zero Energy Homes” may be appealing to homebuyers, but electric utilities may be more interested in zero peak homes. This paper describes the process that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District is following to define the most desirable home performance characteristics for the utility, evaluate technology and design options to create a single-family home design that performs in this manner while delivering attributes desired by homeowners and builders, and develop an action plan to make such homes a reality in a next-generation residential new construction program. The process is driven by long-term performance goals for new homes rather than the usual incremental approach of assessing the impact of individual measures. The resulting home design will be a unique marriage of energy-efficient design features, roof-integrated photovoltaics with net metering, automated peak shifting strategies and built in demand response capabilities. This design is expected to deliver demand side benefits to homeowners, the utility and the environment that are much greater than possible from conventional utility new construction incentive programs that focus only on energy efficiency.