Brock Glasgo
Carnegie Mellon University
Brock Glasgo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. His research with the Climate and Energy Decision Making Center is in developing methods and applications where device-level residential energy use data can be used to inform policy and investment decision-making. Prior to coming to CMU, he worked as a consultant applying data mining tools to develop energy management plans for industrial facilities under utility- and state-sponsored energy efficiency programs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton.
Recent research on direct current circuits and devices has largely concluded that these systems have the potential to generate modest energy and cost savings in residential and commercial buildings by centralizing and reducing the number of power converters serving building loads and implementing efficient DC-internal end uses [1–3]. Supported by these findings, researchers, manufacturers, and industry groups are now turning their attention to demonstration projects and the development of products and standards to capitalize on what is seen as a new market for energy-efficient devices and services [4–6]. But investment in DC technologies may be premature. Widespread adoption of DC microgrids will depend on a number of factors, only a fraction of which have been captured by the engineering and economic analyses conducted thus far.
A number of nontechnical barriers to increased use of DC have been identified in previous studies, but not analyzed in detail. Savage et al. [7] discussed a number of these barriers, including a lack of familiarity with DC power systems, electrical codes and standards not explicitly intended for direct current applications, incentives not designed for DC, and uncertain utility interaction with these systems. Others have identified additional issues such as small markets for DC devices and components [1], diversification of building electrical systems, and energy savings that diminish over time.
In this paper, we use expert elicitation to better understand these issues and establish research priorities to overcome them. Expert elicitation is a tool intended instances where analytical methods are unable to handle some factors relevant to the research questions at hand. This makes the method well-suited to analyzing the trajectories of developing technologies, where ongoing R&D efforts are critical to future deployment.
Experts in this study come from a variety of backgrounds. The majority come from research institutions such as universities, national labs, and industry research institutes. These participants are identified based on their recent publications related to DC in homes and commercial buildings. Industry experts come from companies that either currently manufacture DC components or have expressed interest in this new market. Finally, practitioners such as electricians, contractors, and project managers will provide their hands-on expertise. These individuals were identified based on their experience in the design, construction, and operation of a DC microgrid located in Pittsburgh, PA [4].
Results of this paper will provide a broad discussion of the many nontechnical aspects of a transition to DC circuits in buildings. Results will serve primarily to direct further research to issues identified as critical to a transition to DC in buildings. Stakeholders from industry may find results most immediately applicable, as the success and direction of their products and standards are likely influenced by several of the topics investigated. Researchers from academia and national labs will likely benefit from the insights of industry representatives. Many of the technical analyses conducted thus far were completed without the input of equipment manufacturers and industry groups which likely have knowledge of R&D directions and technical insights not previously available to outsiders.
• Sustainable energy systems , • Management and technology for sustainable and resilient energy, water, food, materials, , • Decision support methods and tools
