Basics of Electrification

Students leave able to describe how electrification works, identify which conditions determine whether a given project improves carbon, cost, or air quality, and ask the questions a proposal should answer.

• What Electrification means
• Benefits of Electrification
• How the Grid Makes and Uses Energy Now
• How Electrification Will Change the Grid
• How electricity is generated, transmitted, and distributed today,
  and how demand varies by hour and by season

Part 1. What Do We Mean by Electrification?
Electrification means moving end uses that burn fuel on site onto electricity: space heating, domestic hot water, cooking, process heat, and transportation. Students see the equipment involved, including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction ranges, and vehicle chargers, and learn the difference between electrifying a building, a fleet, and an economy. A short, plain explanation of heat pumps covers how they move heat, what coefficient of performance means, and why air-source units lose capacity as outdoor temperature drops. We also separate terms often used interchangeably (electrification, decarbonization, efficiency, and renewable energy) so each means one thing for the rest of the day.

Part 2. Why Do We Want to Electrify?
Owners, utilities, and governments give several reasons for electrifying: reducing carbon emissions, removing combustion from occupied buildings, consolidating to one energy source, and the efficiency of heat pumps, which move heat instead of producing it from fuel. This part examines each reason alongside its limits, including higher first cost, electrical service upgrades, reduced heat pump capacity in cold weather, and dependence on a single energy source during an outage. We also cover the policy drivers facility teams encounter, from building codes to incentive programs, and what each one requires of a building owner.

Part 3. How the Grid Makes and Uses Energy Now
We follow electricity from the power plant through transmission lines, substations, and distribution feeders to the meter. Students see how the generation mix varies by region and by hour, why demand peaks when it does, and how grid operators keep supply and demand matched minute by minute. We also place the fuel burned in a building into the larger energy picture, so on-site combustion and grid electricity can be compared on the same footing.
Part 4. How Electrification Will Change the Grid
The final part examines what changes through four lenses, with the evidence on each side.

• Carbon: moving a load to electricity reduces emissions where the supplying grid is low carbon, can leave them nearly unchanged or higher where it is not, and the answer can differ by hour and season. Worked examples compare a heat pump with fossil-fuel heating across different grids, climates, and equipment to show where the balance tips.
• Money: operating cost depends on electric and fuel prices, rate structure, and equipment performance, and can go up or down. This lens also covers how wholesale electricity prices are set, why they swing by hour and season, and how those swings reach retail rates.
• Pollution: combustion emissions leave the building and the neighborhood and move to wherever fuel-burning generation sits.
• Distribution: winter heating and vehicle charging add load to feeders, transformers, and building services sized for a different pattern, and the upgrade costs land on utilities, ratepayers, or owners.
  
  

Every topic is taught at the Foundations level with no math background assumed, and working questions are solved live on screen.

• Any customer wanting to learn more about energy electrification.
• People transitioning from an existing field and are considering a role in the energy marketplace.
• Professionals who do not possess prior experience or knowledge in the energy electrification and may be exploring a career pathway.
• Energy Professionals, Facility Managers, Building Owners, Operators, New Entrants to Energy field, Professionals seeking professional development, continuing education and those seeking workforce development knowledge on energy calculations to better understand results.

Andrew Vaillencourt is a second-generation energy professional who walked his first facility at the age of twelve. As part of numerous consulting firms, utilities, and ESCO’s, Andrew has provided valuable and actionable energy efficiency services for customers in virtually every type of industry. A frequent speaker at energy events and conferences, Andrew explores the often-predatory marketplace of energy conservation in his book, Silver Bullets: (And Other Energy Efficiency Myths and Magic.  (Available from all fine online booksellers). As president and principal ofSRG Energy Efficiency Services, Andrew continues to serve the energy efficiency marketplace as a trusted consultant, trainer, and building-science subject matter expert. His clients cover a wide swath of the energy and sustainability landscape, including technology start-ups, ESCOs, and sustainability-minded companies all over the world.  In addition, Andrew leads a team that can help commercial & institutional customers with all levels of ASHRAE energy audits, feasibility studies, operation cost assessments, energy modeling, scoping, pricing, and project management, as well as provide owner’s (end user) representation.