Residential Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) tie together homes and sometimes electric vehicles, to shed load and provide power when needed during times of high electric demand.
They have big potential to deliver a smarter, more resilient grid. But most residential VPP models are now built around single-family homes, and with homeowners being able to modify their houses, something not applicable to single apartments or condos.
For a 70+ unit multi-family building, in a demonstration PACE AI just delivered an estimated 80 kW of load shed, during the local afternoon electric peak demand period (3 pm-6 pm). And with no changes in resident comfort, “painless VPP”! We estimate that as much as 100-120 kW of total sheddable load could be enrolled under the local utility’s Demand Response program, for dollar revenues to building owners and residents as well.