Australia’s method for calculating carbon emissions from energy use is antiquated, and this is having a significant impact on the ability of organisations with large commercial real estate footprints to drive down their carbon footprint. This is especially important considering around 90% of a building’s operational carbon footprint is attributable to the electricity consumed.
The Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water releases an annual “National Greenhouse Gas Accounting Factors” which documents the carbon intensity of the electricity we all use. Building owners use these carbon emissions factors to calculate the carbon footprint of their buildings, converting their annual electricity use into an annual carbon footprint.
This approach is inaccurate because the carbon intensity of the electricity grid isn’t constant. It changes every five minutes, as different forms of electricity – both renewable and non-renewable – enter and exit the grid. The Government emissions factors assume every kWh of energy consumed has the same carbon intensity, but this just isn’t the case.
This approach means that the focus in Australia is on reducing the total energy used, rather than considering when and what energy is being used. Thus, energy efficiency measures such as NABERS (in commercial real estate) and NatHERS (in residential real estate) remain king.
California’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has recently moved beyond measuring energy efficiency, adopting “total system benefit” (TSB) as its key metric. The TSB combines and optimises energy and peak demand savings goals with the greenhouse gas benefits of energy efficiency. It also encourages high value load reduction and longer-duration energy savings.
So, how would such a scheme look in Australia? Outside of the regulatory hurdles to development and adoption, Australia’s commercial real estate sector will need to look to new technology solutions to manage property portfolios to a TSB goal, as opposed to crude efficiency metrics.
As a market-leading integrated system provider, Avani has developed a unique demand response solution to address this important issue. Our platform can be deployed in greenfield and brownfield sites to link energy users to energy market demand predictions. It then automates building and asset responses to the type and cost of energy coming onto site.
The ability to ‘pre-condition’ equipment during low and green periods of demand and minimise energy during peak periods – when carbon intensity and prices are highest – will be key to delivering true carbon reduction. It will also arm customers with the information required to negotiate better energy tariff rates due to their limited demand for energy during peak load periods. Contact Avani today to discuss how demand response can help you reduce your carbon emissions and energy costs