Distributed Solar and Building Energy Systems(3 credit hours)
Course Description
In this 3 hour course, the advantages of combining distributed solar energy with building energy-systems are discussed. Broadly speaking, distributed solar refers to energy produced by solar panels installed on building rooftops in a (possibly large) geographic area, in contrast to concentrated solar, which refers to energy produced by utility-scale solar power plants. "Building energy-systems" refers to any strategy or physical device that is responsible for energy consumption in buildings. Building energy-systems enable the deployment of distributed solar photovoltaics (DPV), and the combination of the two can provide "demand-side" services to the electric grid by, for example, shifting peak demand to times with lower demand and storing DPV output for use outside of the diurnal solar cycle. Together, DPV and building energy-systems could help grids achieve deep decarbonization more quickly and cost-effectively.
Author
Mark Rossow
Learning Objectives
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
Persons completing this course will learn about the trends in DPV and building energy systems growth.
Persons completing this course will know the effect of regulatory reforms on demand-side services.
Persons completing this course will understand demand response as an incentive for consumers to reduce their demand for electricity during peak periods of demand.
Persons completing this course will recognize the role of demand-side resources.
