Towards urban decarbonization : integrating energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and emissions accounting in building decarbonization policy
Keywords: Engineering.

With global urbanization at an unprecedented pace the need for sustainable urbanism is more urgent than ever. As buildings emanate the majority of urban greenhouse gas emissions sustainable urbanism is inherently linked with building decarbonization. Building decarbonization efforts take many forms. While energy efficiency measures are the most well established, other methods such as building electrification and demand flexibility are also integral strategies. As the threat of climate change exacerbates it is critical that building decarbonization efforts are coordinated with and enhance one another. However, there are several barriers to holistic building decarbonization, such as the misconception that energy efficiency could hinder demand response and limited data on granular energy use and emissions. If not addressed, there will be missed opportunities for emissions reduction in addition to inaccurate emissions accounting. Therefore, this dissertation examines the relationship between energy efficiency and demand flexibility within the urban building stock, proposes methods to integrate demand flexibility into existing building decarbonization policies, and leverages granular hourly emissions data to achieve more accurate building-level emissions estimates. I first investigate the relationship between energy efficiency and demand flexibility and challenge the conventional assumption that energy efficient buildings are less receptive to demand response signals. Through an empirical analysis, this study did not observe a relationship between energy efficiency and demand response. If building managers, utilities, and policy makers were to reframe the relationship between energy efficiency and demand response to one that can coexist, stakeholders could design innovative approaches to capitalize on their combined benefit. Building on this foundation, I introduce a novel benchmarking model designed to evaluate both the energy efficiency and the demand flexibility attributes of a building. By integrating metrics for both energy efficiency and demand flexibility, the model offers a holistic assessment of buildings' abilities to minimize energy consumption and maximize grid responsiveness. The application of partitioning around medoids clustering allows the use of mixed-type data and provides valuable peer-group insights, enabling tailored and effective decarbonization policies for various groups of buildings. I next explore the challenges and opportunities of integrating demand flexibility into building decarbonization policy. Through conducting a policy gap analysis of New York City, this study identifies barriers that may inhibit the adoption of demand flexibility disclosure. This work underscores the importance of designing adaptable policy that can be amended for future energy needs and building-grid dynamics. Once the need for demand flexibility is well established, I move towards more precise emissions accounting through studying the implications of adopting a time-of-use standard for emissions accounting in building performance standards. Utilizing a proof-of-concept benchmarking platform and extrapolating the results to all New York City large office buildings, I find significant disparities between utilizing annual average emissions accounting and hourly emissions accounting. This finding underscores the need to design policies that encourage the use of time-granular data to make more accurate emissions assessments and better facilitate informed decision-making for building managers and policy makers alike. This thesis culminates with evaluating the potential impact of different Building Performance Standard scenarios on long-term emissions reductions. This analysis considers an emission-limit scenario and a demand flexibility target scenario. This work finds that Building Performance Standards if enforced and followed can achieve deep urban decarbonization. This study reinforces that energy efficiency and demand flexibility must be considered in the design of effective Building Performance Standards for decarbonization of urban buildings. Collectively, the research of this dissertation contributes to building decarbonization policy through integrating demand flexibility and hourly emissions coefficients in policy development. The research challenges assumptions and provides actionable insights for policy makers and building managers. As cities continue to evolve and grow, implementing effective strategies for decarbonization will become indispensable for achieving sustainable urbanism and mitigating climate change. Fostering collaboration between building managers, policymakers, and utilities cities can navigate the complex landscape of building decarbonization with greater efficacy and impact.