CalFlexHub Research Highlights

In 2024, CalFlexHub remained focused on dynamic pricing and its capacity to drive the adoption of load flexible technologies, helping to manage electric loads across a wide array of building types. We’ve seen promising results in assessing seasonal electric load shape changes, bringing new insights into how responsive technologies can be optimized for California’s evolving energy needs. These achievements were made possible through the dedication and support of our partners, as well as through funding and guidance from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). CalFlexHub’s demonstration portfolio has grown to 21 projects at more than 100 sites. CalFlexHub provided strong technical leadership leading to the recently introduced OpenADR 3.0 standard, which is already being used for dynamic price communication by California utilities.

A key priority for CalFlexHub remains our commitment to equitable energy access, ensuring that the benefits of our technological advancements reach low-income and disadvantaged communities. More than half of the demonstration sites are located in disadvantaged and/or low-income communities. By engaging these communities in our research and field demonstrations, we aim to support an inclusive energy future that benefits all Californians.

Following the success of the 2024 CalFlexHub Symposium, we have continued to deepen our partnerships and create spaces for meaningful dialogue on transforming California’s energy landscape. Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to continue to carry through the field testing portfolio, adding multiple new projects and collaborations.

As always, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our community, partners, and stakeholders for their invaluable support. Together, we are driving forward a vision for a cleaner, more resilient, and more equitable energy system for California. We look forward to the opportunities that the new year will bring and to continuing our work alongside each of you.

Warm wishes for a happy and sustainable 2025!
– Mary Ann Piette, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy Technologies Area

CalFlexHub research was featured at the Fall Conference of The California Efficiency + Demand Management Council, an event that brings together industry leaders to address pressing issues in energy efficiency, demand management, and equity across California. Mary Ann Piette, Associate Lab Director of Energy Technologies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, presented CalFlexHub research during the session Collaboration Pathways: Effectively Integrating Energy Efficiency, Decarbonization, Load Flexibility, Affordability, and Equity. This session explored the critical role of demand-side management programs in driving an equitable, decarbonized future while addressing challenges to better align policy and industry efforts.

Joining Mary Ann on the panel were notable experts Ammi Amarnath of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Richard Hart of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and Spencer Lipp from the California Technical Forum (Cal TF), moderated by Olivia Patterson of Opinion Dynamics. The discussions offered actionable insights and collaborative pathways essential for accelerating California’s clean energy goals and advancing equitable energy access.

The Conference Highlights can be found here.

Berkeley Lab is demonstrating a model predictive control (MPC) strategy at Wang Hall on its Berkeley campus. Designed for large commercial building HVAC systems, the MPC integrates system modeling, forecasting, and optimization to enhance energy efficiency and grid responsiveness. This technology, which works with centralized cooling and heating plants, optimizes control of four variable-air-volume rooftop units and zone heating setpoints in response to dynamic grid signals.

Four different dynamic electricity price profiles, one for each season, were integrated into the MPC objective function to shift building demand while maintaining comfort, and a total of 30 days of field tests were conducted with the price profiles across four seasons. The results indicate a potential reduction in demand by 40% to 65% during the six hours of peak pricing each day, along with an estimated annual HVAC cost savings of 61% and energy savings of 45% compared to the baseline controller, under the tested dynamic price scenarios. Additionally, there were no negative impacts on thermal comfort of the occupants during the tests. Below are shown four plots of the building median energy consumption for each hour of the day during MPC and rule-based operation periods for each season.