42 U.S.C. § 17086 — Advanced integration of buildings onto the electric grid

(a) In general: The Secretary of Energy must set up a program of research, development, and demonstration projects. The goal is to let parts of commercial and residential buildings act as flexible energy users and energy resources for the electric grid. The program must focus on eight areas: building low-cost, low-power wireless sensors that monitor how much energy a building is using, forecast how much it will need, and let the building's energy use be controlled; developing data systems and shared communication rules so buildings and the grid can talk to each other; building smart, connected energy-management systems inside buildings that combine smart technology, controls, and data processing to save energy; optimizing how much energy a building uses so the grid stays stable and resilient; improving ways to visualize equipment "behind the meter" so people better understand a building's energy needs and forecasts; lowering the cost of key components so smart-building technology spreads faster; protecting building systems and equipment from cybersecurity threats and other vulnerabilities; and any other areas the Secretary thinks are appropriate. (b) Considerations: While running this program, the Secretary must work with utility companies, building owners, technology sellers, and building developers to test and confirm that these technologies work, and to encourage owners to actually use them. The Secretary must also think about the special challenges of connecting small and medium-sized buildings to the grid, and of connecting both residential and commercial buildings to the grid. (c) Buildings-to-grid integration report: Within one year of December 27, 2020, the Secretary had to send a report to three congressional committees — House Science, House Energy and Commerce, and Senate Energy and Natural Resources. The report had to study the opportunities, challenges, and standards needed to let buildings act as grid resources. The report had to include an assessment of the technologies needed, including how to add them to new buildings and retrofit them into older ones; guidelines for designing new buildings and components for grid interactivity and efficiency; an assessment of the barriers stopping building owners from adopting these technologies; and an assessment of whether the technologies could feasibly be used at the Department's own facilities. As part of the report, the Secretary had to write a ten-year roadmap to guide the research program. The Secretary must update this report every three years for as long as the program runs, and send each update to the same three committees. (d) Program implementation: The Secretary must carry out the recommendations from the report described in subsection (c), and must coordinate the work across every relevant office at the Department, including the Office of Electricity.