The objective of this challenge is to reduce peak power demand (load) in U.S. buildings (residential, commercial, new, or existing) by focusing on their thermal loads and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Innovative solutions should lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions while being accessible to low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.

Background

Source: GettyImages

We have a big challenge of decarbonizing the U.S economy by 2050,1 but to achieve that goal it is important to understand the source of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases (GHG) in general. In the United States, including indirect emissions from electricity end use, 31% of GHG emissions come from residential and commercial buildings, 30% from industry, 29% from transportation, and 10% from agriculture (Figure 1).2 In buildings, 44% of emissions come from burning fossil fuels on-site, mainly for heating processes. The remaining 56% of emissions come from burning fossil fuels to generate the electricity we use to power lighting, appliances, plug loads, and equipment for ventilation and air conditioning. Because buildings account for about 75% of the electricity produced in the United States,3 improving our buildings and how buildings interact with the electric grid will have a big impact on our decarbonization goals.

 

Figure 1. Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector including electricity end-use indirect emissions and breakout of buildings emissions.

 

Electric heat pumps have emerged as the best option to decarbonize heating processes in buildings (both for space heating and water heating).4 However, a question that arises naturally is, “If we are replacing natural gas furnaces and boilers with electric heat pumps, aren’t we just moving the emission problem from the building sector to the electric power sector?” The quick answer is yes, but the electric power sector is undergoing a significant transformation to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and increase the production of clean energy. Currently, natural gas provides 42% of U.S. power generation compared to 19% nuclear, 16% coal, 11% wind, 6% hydropower, and 5% solar, with solar having the highest growth and coal the largest decline (Figure 2).5


Figure 2. U.S. electric power and energy generation by source [5].

 

A primary challenge in this transformation is reducing peak power demand. Electrical grids always need to maintain a balance between demand and supply. This means that all the electricity that is consumed (demand) needs to be generated instantaneously or come from energy storage (supply). In 2022, grid-level energy storage accounted for less than 3% of installed generation.6 Power demand varies constantly throughout the day and year. To meet these variations, the power sector relies on baseload generation plants, intermediate plants, and peaking power plants that can ramp up capacity very quickly.7,8 Baseload plants run near full capacity with minimum interruption throughout the year and are usually cleaner and less expensive to run. Intermediate plants adjust their output to meet common fluctuations in demand. Peaking power plants or “peaker plants” are only brought online to meet peak power demand when baseload or intermediate units cannot meet unanticipated surges (Figure 3).


Figure 3. Schematic of power plants used to meet demand. Adapted from [9].

 

Unlike baseload power plants, which are slow to ramp up, peaker plants can come online within minutes and stay online for short periods of time—typically four hours or less.8 While in operation, peaker plants cost more to run, have lower efficiencies, and produce higher emissions than baseload and intermediate power plants. Because the electric grid needs to be sized to meet the expected highest load of the year, these peaker plants sit idle for most of the time. In fact, most peaker plants are in operation 10% or less of the year. Managing peaks on the demand side would help lower our dependance on these highly polluting power plants and help transition into clean energy sources.

Peak demand in buildings is mainly driven by HVAC systems. To illustrate this, Figure 4 shows the electricity consumption for the residential building stock in Florida for two contrasting days: the lowest electricity peak of the year (Figure 4a) and the maximum electricity peak of the year (Figure 4b). Note how the surge in HVAC demand drives up total consumption in Figure 4b. Figure 4 was created using data from NREL’s ResStock™,10 a load profile library using a combination of building models and metered data. This building load profile shows the highest peaks in the summer (summer peaking), when the cooling thermal load is the highest and air-conditioning systems are running at maximum capacity. Summer peaking is typical of most regions in the United States today.


Figure 4. Electricity load profile for the residential building stock in Florida for a) min peak day and b) max peak day. Adapted from [11].

 

With the growing adoption of heat pumps, some regions of the United States will become winter peaking. To visualize this, the residential building stock in Massachusetts was modeled under two different assumptions: a) buildings as they exist today with predominantly gas heating systems (baseline) and b) every building installing a high-efficiency heat pump with electric backup heater. Figure 5 shows the day of the year with the maximum electricity consumption for both cases (Figure 5a baseline and Figure 5b high-efficiency heat pump). Note that for the peak day (coldest day of the year), the heat pump relies on its electric backup heater to meet the thermal load of the building. This creates a peak in electricity consumption that is more than 300% higher than the peak in the baseline scenario (gas heating systems).


Figure 5. Electricity load profile for peak day for the residential buildings stock in Massachusetts using a) gas heating (baseline) and b) high-efficiency heat pumps. Adapted from [12].

 

There are primarily four ways to reduce peak loads in HVAC systems:

  • Increase system efficiency. This approach will reduce the load at all times that the system is running. For specific regions with high humidity loads, a system that provides separate sensible and latent cooling can significantly increase efficiency.13-15
  • Improve the building envelope, thereby reducing the heat gains and losses as well as reducing the infiltration of outside air. This reduces the overall thermal load the HVAC system needs to condition, thereby reducing its power consumption.16,17
  • Add energy storage systems. This approach will store energy during “off-peak” periods and release it during “peak” periods, with the potential to significantly reduce power demand when it matters the most. Energy storage in buildings can be electrical or thermal, with thermal energy storage (TES) promising a more cost-effective solution over traditional electric batteries.18 Traditionally, TES systems have been used only for cooling or heating, but more recently systems that can use TES with a heat pump both for cooling and heating peaks are being developed.19
  • Developing advanced controls. This approach can be used with existing systems, to precool or preheat the building to prevent spikes in demand during peak times,20 or in combination with new solutions to maximize their performance and capabilities.

These four approaches can be combined to achieve even better results.

Video Introduction

The Challenge

This challenge asks student teams to develop an innovative solution that will significantly reduce peak power demand in buildings. Students can focus on reducing thermal loads and improving HVAC systems for LMI communities. Teams should first develop a focused problem statement for a specific building type and location (weather region and power generation sources) and then develop a technical solution or process.

Suggestions for student teams include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Develop new cost-effective, high-efficiency systems that can replace or complement HVAC systems.
  • Develop technologies or processes that cost-effectively add energy storage to buildings.
  • Improve heat pumps to maintain high efficiency during extreme cold days and reduce reliance on backup electric heaters.
  • Develop a cost-effective combination of envelope improvements, heat pump efficiency, energy storage, and advanced controls to minimize power consumption during peak periods.

Of special interest are packaged solutions that combine hardware with advanced controls, while passive envelope solutions alone (weatherization) are discouraged.

Student submissions should:

  • Describe the scope and context of the chosen problem.
  • Identify affected stakeholders, making sure to research stakeholder backgrounds and understand the stakeholders’ needs, especially regarding the problem.
  • Develop a technical solution to the chosen problem for the targeted stakeholder group. The solution may also include policy solutions, economic solutions, or other aspects critical to identified stakeholder barriers, but a technical solution must be proposed.
  • Discuss appropriate and expected impacts and benefits of the proposed solution. This should include expected peak demand reduction, a cost-benefit analysis, and a market adoption analysis.
  • Develop a plan that describes how the team envisions bringing its idea to scale in the market, including sales or distribution channels, outreach mechanisms, stakeholder engagement, and other relevant details.

Downloadable Challenge Description

Additional Challenge Resources

Submission Template

Requirements

Competing in this challenge is open to student teams currently enrolled in U.S. universities and colleges. See the Terms and Conditions and Rules document for eligibility requirements and rules. Please note that you must begin your Building Technologies Internship Program (BTIP) application before or at the same time as you submit your idea in order to compete in the JUMP competition.

Please submit the following as a single-spaced PDF document that is a written narrative of the team’s proposed solution. PowerPoint decks or submissions in presentation format the submission paper requirement. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The quality of writing will be considered, so review by peers is strongly encouraged.

  • Project Team Background (up to 2 pages, single-spaced)
    • Project name, team name, and collegiate institution(s)
    • Team mission statement
    • A short biography for each team member. This should include information such as major, level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate), and other relevant background information such as experience with building science, future career goals, and formative experiences that shaped each individual’s contribution to the challenge.
    • Diversity statement (minimum 1 paragraph, 5‒7 sentences): One of JUMP into STEM’s key objectives is to encourage diversity of thought and background in students entering the building science industry. A diversity gap exists in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, meaning that certain groups are underrepresented or have been historically excluded from STEM fields. These groups include those based on race, ethnicity, and gender—and this gap needs to be addressed. Diversity of thought can be achieved through teams consisting of students from different majors and minors. If there are barriers that affect the racial, ethnic, or gender breakdown of your team, please elaborate. The diversity statement is your opportunity to describe your team’s diversity of background and thought both generally and as applicable to your chosen challenge.
  • Project Challenge Submission (up to 5 pages, single-spaced)
    • Select and address one of the three challenges published for the current competition.
    • Investigate the background of the challenge and consider related stakeholders. Stakeholders include those who are affected by the problem, part of the supply chain, or manufacturing the technology product(s), as well as those who may have decision-making power and are able to provide solutions (technical or nontechnical solutions, such as policies). For example, you could include stakeholders who have previously experienced environmental pollution or a high energy burden.
    • Write a 1- to 2-paragraph problem statement, focusing on a specific aspect of the problem and the stakeholder groups affected by or involved in the problem. The stakeholder groups can be from a specific location, socioeconomic status, age, or demographic (e.g., people living in subsidized housing).
    • Develop and describe a novel solution that addresses or solves the specific problem from your problem statement. The solution must be technical and also incorporate one or more of the following components as appropriate: economic impact, policy, commercialization, codes, standards, and other.
    • Address the requirements for your selected challenge as written in its description. Include graphs, figures, and photos. Discuss the feasibility of your solution and how it will affect your stakeholder
  • Technology to Market (included in the 5-page maximum limit)
    • For market characterization, the descriptions of the market throughout the technology-to-market plan and market adoption barrier analysis should establish the team’s overall understanding of the market.
    • Develop a technology-to-market plan. A technology-to-market plan describes how the team envisions bringing its idea from concept to installation on real buildings or integrated into the design of real buildings and includes a cost/benefit analysis.
      • The cost/benefit analysis does not need to be exhaustive and should include a comparison of the solution with current or existing technologies or practices. Benefits such as building energy reductions, improved occupant health or productivity, and lowered energy cost burden should be evaluated.
      • The plan should also discuss which key stakeholder(s) should be involved to commercialize the technology and then sell and install the technologies with your target market(s).
    • Perform a market adoption barrier The team should identify at least one key market adoption barrier for implementation and specifically address how the proposed solution will overcome that barrier. Barriers should align with key stakeholder(s) identified by the student team.
  • Include references. (References will not count toward the 5-page maximum.)
  • Appendix (optional, no page limit)
    • Teams may wish to add an appendix. This is optional and might not be reviewed by the judges.
    • The appendix has no page limit.

Evaluation Criteria

Solution (40%)

  • Solution: Please rate the solution and its ability to address the problem statement. The solution must be a technical solution. It should address the stakeholder needs. It may include one or more of the following components, as appropriate: economic, policy, commercialization, codes, standards, or other.
  • Feasibility: Please rate the solution’s overall feasibility. For example, solutions that are not technically possible or that lack a technical feasibility discussion will receive lower scores.
  • Novelty: Please rate the originality and creativity of the solution and how significant the contribution will be to the building industry.
  • Impact: Please rate the overall scalability of the team’s solution. For example, can the solution be extended to communities, similar stakeholder groups, or a nationwide solution?

Tech-to-Market (30%)

  • Market Characterization: Please rate the team’s description and understanding of the market.
  • Technology-to-Market Plan: Please rate the team’s proposed plan to bring the solution from a paper concept to installation or integration with real buildings or building designs, as well as the team’s cost/benefit analysis. The cost/benefit analysis may include benefits such as energy reductions, improvements to occupant health and productivity, and lowered energy cost burden.
  • Overcoming Adoption Barriers: Please rate the team’s identification of and plan for overcoming at least one key market adoption barrier for the proposed solution. This section includes how the solution will create value, both economic and other, to drive industry adoption.

Team Diversity and Understanding Stakeholders (20%)

  • Diversity Statement and Project Team Background: Please rate how well the team addresses the diversity gap in the building science industry in its diversity statement. This section includes how the team brings perspectives from a variety of backgrounds, including students from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This section also includes students from many different disciplines ensuring diversity of thought. See the diversity statement in the challenge requirements. This section also includes how well the team connects their mission statement and biographies to their problem statement.
  • Understanding Stakeholders: Please rate how well the team communicates their understanding of the stakeholder group or community and how they are affected by the problem. This rating also includes how well the team defined the problem that needs to be solved by considering the needs of the stakeholder group or community.

Submission (10%)

  • Submission Requirements: Please rate how well the student team followed all submission requirements. See the submission requirements at the bottom of each challenge description.

How to Create a Successful Submission

Student webinar will be provided.

Citations

  1. U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE). 2024. Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Building Sector. https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/decarbonizing-us-economy-2050
  2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 2024. Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions#electricity-end-use
  3. S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 2024. About the Building Technologies Office. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/about-building-technologies-office
  4. Pistochini, T., Dichter, M., Chakraborty, S., Dichter, N., and Aboud, A. 2022. Greenhouse gas emission forecasts for electrification of space heating in residential homes in the US. Energy Policy 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112813
  5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 2024. Short-Term Energy Outlook. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/pdf/steo_full.pdf
  6. Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2023. U.S. Energy Storage Factsheet. Pub. No. CSS15-17. https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/energy/us-grid-energy-storage-factsheet
  7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 2024. Electric Power Sector Basics. https://www.epa.gov/power-sector/electric-power-sector-basics
  8. McNamara, W. 2020. Issue Brief: Energy Storage to Replace Peaker Plants. Retrieved from Sandia National Laboratories: https://www.sandia.gov/app/uploads/sites/163/2022/04/Issue-Brief-2020-11-Peaker-Plants.pdf
  9. PJM Interconnection. How PJM Schedules Generation to Meet Demand. https://learn.pjm.com/three-priorities/keeping-the-lights-on/how-pjm-schedules-generation-to-meet-demand
  10. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2024. https://resstock.nrel.gov/
  11. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). ResStock National TMY3-Florida. https://resstock.nrel.gov/dataviewer/in-depth-load-chart/?datasetName=vizstock_resstock_tmy3_release_2022_1_by_state_view&locationId=FL
  12. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). ResStock National TMY3- Massachusetts. https://resstock.nrel.gov/dataviewer/in-depth-load-chart/?datasetName=vizstock_resstock_tmy3_release_2022_1_by_state_view&locationId=MA
  13. Blue Frontier. Official website of Blue Frontier. https://bluefrontierac.com/
  14. Mojave Energy Systems. Official website of Mojave Energy Systems. https://mojavehvac.com/
  15. Copeland. 2024. Air Management. https://www.copeland.com/en-ca/products/heating-and-air-conditioning/air-management
  16. Wijesuriya, S., Tabares-Velasco, C., and Bianchi, M.V.A. 2023. Building Envelope Thermal Activation to Reduce Summer Cooling Peak Demand: It Is All about Holistic Heat Transfer: Preprint. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/CP-5500-82638. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/82638.pdf.
  17. Harris, C. 2021. Opaque Envelopes: Pathway to Building Energy Efficiency and Demand Flexibility: Key to a Low-Carbon, Sustainable Future. NREL/TP-5500-80170. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/80170.pdf
  18. Odukomaiya, A., Woods, J., James, N., Kaur, S., Gluesenkamp, K.R., Kumar, N., Mumme, S., Jackson, R., and Prasher, R. 2021. Addressing energy storage needs at lower cost via on-site thermal energy storage in buildings. Energy and Environmental Science. 14 (10). https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D1EE01992A
  19. U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 2024. Multifunctional HVAC Platform with Modular Thermal Storage. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/multifunctional-hvac-platform-modular-thermal-storage
  20. Xiong, J. and Kim, J. 2024. End-Use Savings Shapes Measure Documentation: Thermostat Control for Load Shifting in Large Offices. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-5500-89341. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/89341.pdf