The gradual move away from large power plants and transition to many more, smaller power sources such as wind and solar will require buildings to use operating systems as a computer would, speakers at the Net Zero Cities Symposium in Colorado said.
New technologies will transform the U.S. power grid into a series of distributed power sources, forcing cities to retool their infrastructures to meet the growing needs of a clean-energy future.
As buildings become more efficient and begin to use distributed electricity generation, they will need to become “smarter.”
For example, real-time electricity monitoring will allow residents to change their heating and cooling settings from remote locations. Smart windows will have flexibility based on outside thermal and glare conditions, and might eventually become energy generators themselves.
These changes are already happening and will influence customers now and in the future.
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