Vehicle-to-building demonstrates savings in Boulder
US EV solution provider Fermata Energy’s vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology has lowered energy costs in a Boulder, Colorado demonstration.
The initiative by Fermata Energy in partnership with the City of Boulder, which was launched in December 2020, delivered average savings of $270 per month over 11 months – or about half the monthly payment for many popular electric vehicles (EVs), such as the Nissan LEAF that featured in the demonstration.
The demonstration took place at Boulder’s North Boulder Recreation Center with the City connecting its all-electric 2020 Nissan LEAF fleet vehicle to Fermata Energy’s V2X system, including its FE-15 bidirectional EV charger and proprietary energy management software platform.
With the FE-15 connected to the recreation centre’s electrical system, Fermata Energy’s software monitors the electrical load, looking for opportunities to reduce peak loads using energy from the EV battery as opposed to having it be supplied entirely by the grid.
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Boulder’s EV is then recharged automatically after the peak event has passed.
In eleven months of usage, Boulder’s savings amounted to $2,963.44.
“The results we achieved in Boulder offer compelling evidence of how a municipality can leverage an electric vehicle asset for both mobility and facility management,” said Fermata Energy founder and CEO David Slutzky.
“Through Fermata Energy’s cloud-based V2X software and metering technology, we were able to continuously monitor the building’s energy usage and during peak energy events, optimise the discharge of the EV’s battery to support the building’s electrical loads and to reduce peak demand charges.”
As an outcome of the demonstration, Boulder was awarded the IDC Government Insights Fourth Annual Smart Cities North America Award, Smart Buildings division as exemplifying “a forward-thinking municipality that is effectively leveraging technology to offer new services and economic opportunities”.
Matt Lehrman, the City of Boulder’s Policy Advisor, Energy Utilities, says the City is working to promote EV adoption.
“This project not only tested the ability of one EV to reduce the energy costs for the North Boulder Recreation Center, it helps us better understand how this technology could be used at other city facilities and potentially one day in community members’ homes.”
