The Future is Watching: Designing for Grid-Flexible, High-Performance Buildings
Friday, October 23, 2026 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM · 1 hr. (US/Eastern)
Technology
Information
As the building sector accelerates toward decarbonization, “high performance” must evolve beyond energy efficiency alone. The buildings of the future will not simply use less energy—they will use energy differently. This session examines how thoughtful investments in design strategies, technical expertise, and operational planning can position projects to deliver long-term performance, flexible resilience, and measurable climate benefits.
Using new construction and retrofit project examples, we will explore how proven passive strategies—climate-responsive envelopes, daylighting, thermal optimization, and other foundational efficiency measures—remain essential to reducing loads and improving occupant comfort. When paired with high-efficiency active systems such as heat pumps and microgrids, these approaches enable buildings to achieve both low annual energy use and reduced peak demand. This dual focus is critical as electric grids transition toward renewable generation and increasingly rely on buildings to provide load flexibility and resilience.
The session will also highlight the growing role of the elusive advanced control systems and importance of the interoperable, open-source platforms in enabling dynamic building operations, drawing lessons from the PAE Living Building. Emerging tools allow operators to strategically manage loads, and optimize performance in real time—transforming buildings from static energy users into active participants in a decarbonized energy system.
Drawing from initiatives such as the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Future Ready Buildings framework and the Coalition for Smart Buildings’ work on open-source controls, this presentation will translate theory into actionable strategies. Attendees will gain practical guidance on integrating passive design, peak-reducing systems, and smart controls into cohesive project delivery. The session will also address how to communicate the long-term value of these investments to clients and owners—aligning financial decision-making with operational resilience, occupant well-being, and climate impact. Participants will leave with a roadmap for designing buildings prepared not just for today’s realities, but tomorrow’s challenges.
Using new construction and retrofit project examples, we will explore how proven passive strategies—climate-responsive envelopes, daylighting, thermal optimization, and other foundational efficiency measures—remain essential to reducing loads and improving occupant comfort. When paired with high-efficiency active systems such as heat pumps and microgrids, these approaches enable buildings to achieve both low annual energy use and reduced peak demand. This dual focus is critical as electric grids transition toward renewable generation and increasingly rely on buildings to provide load flexibility and resilience.
The session will also highlight the growing role of the elusive advanced control systems and importance of the interoperable, open-source platforms in enabling dynamic building operations, drawing lessons from the PAE Living Building. Emerging tools allow operators to strategically manage loads, and optimize performance in real time—transforming buildings from static energy users into active participants in a decarbonized energy system.
Drawing from initiatives such as the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Future Ready Buildings framework and the Coalition for Smart Buildings’ work on open-source controls, this presentation will translate theory into actionable strategies. Attendees will gain practical guidance on integrating passive design, peak-reducing systems, and smart controls into cohesive project delivery. The session will also address how to communicate the long-term value of these investments to clients and owners—aligning financial decision-making with operational resilience, occupant well-being, and climate impact. Participants will leave with a roadmap for designing buildings prepared not just for today’s realities, but tomorrow’s challenges.
Learning Level
Advanced
Program
Track Session
Track
Technology
Learning Objective #1
Differentiate Future Ready Buildings from traditional energy efficiency, including how future-ready buildings integrate energy efficiency, peak demand reduction, and grid responsiveness to support decarbonization goals.
Learning Objective #2
Examples of how incentive programs such as the Energy Trust of Oregon’s, and industry coalitions like C4SB are supporting adoption of advanced building strategies in both new and existing buildings.
Learning Objective #3
How the new era of building control solutions will change the design process, particularly relating to articulating project requirements and onboarding key contributors that influence building systems controls and interactivity.
Learning Objective #4
The evolving landscape of open-source protocols and standards that are emerging to streamline interactivity amongst building systems, especially relating to responding to utility signals and dynamically optimizing their operations.
