With electricity demand projected to jump 25% by 2030, experts are arguing that the HVAC industry needs to get smart—fast. (ACHR News)
History lesson: Despite the panic over soaring demand, Mitsubishi’s regulatory director Dana Fischer reminds us that this growth rate is actually half of what the US handled between 1950 and 1970, noting the grid has actually been underutilized since 2000.
The fix: turn ACs into the backbone of VPPs, using smart controls to slightly modulate thousands of units during peaks rather than fire up dirty, expensive peakers.
The assignment: Experts say HVAC needs to 1) show up at state PUC meetings to ensure utilities understand the latest tech in equipment like heat pumps and 2) stop using outdated info to make demand forecasts.