Electric Charging | Energy price volatility

How businesses can combat energy price rise and cut carbon emissions at the same time

Our Buildings as a Grid approach, which is based on sector coupling, helps businesses manage the impact of energy price rises. Discover how.

December, 2021

Volatile energy prices mean business leaders throughout Europe are searching for ways to shield their businesses from rising energy costs. Most are aware that the need for spending on decarbonisation will make a quick end to energy price volatility unlikely.

Recent and ongoing energy price spikes can be attributed to uneven ramping-up of demand as countries across Europe emerge from the COVID-19 crisis at varying pace, combined with gas shortages caused by, amongst other things, last year’s freezing Winter.

But even as these pressures recede, the switch from fossil fuels will cause fresh turbulence. New sources of power that include solar photovoltaics and wind turbines must be connected to the grid, forcing grid capacity upgrades which are time-consuming and expensive.

"Sector coupling links energy consuming sectors with energy producing sectors and it can help businesses combat energy price volatility. Our Buildings as a Grid approach to energy transition is based on sector coupling."

Delphine Clement, Commercial & Industrial Buildings Leader, Eaton

Our Buildings as a Grid approach, which is based on sector coupling, helps businesses manage the impact of energy price rises by uniting the power needs of buildings and electric vehicles with the cheapest energy available to the building, which is often the cleanest.

In its most basic form, the Buildings as a Grid approach involves takes off-peak energy from the grid and storing it for use when needed. This can be done quickly, without the need for the building owner to pay for an upgraded connection to the grid. But the benefits of our Buildings as a Grid approach go far beyond this.
Buildings as a Grid is truly strategic because it paves the way for energy transition, preparing the building to make the most of energy produced from sources such as on-site renewable generation, as well as bi-directional charging between buildings and electric vehicles.

Buildings as a Grid is focused on a future beyond fossil fuels and because the exact shape of that future is still unclear, it is highly flexible. It is not a single product, nor a single system, we call it ‘an approach’ because it will be different for every business that adopts it.
Immediately, and in the mid-to-long term, our Buildings as a Grid approach can help businesses take a flexible, scalable, strategic approach to energy price volatility to help them manage energy price rises.

Understand how to benefit from sector coupling

Owners and managers of buildings and vehicle fleets have much to contribute to sector coupling because by charging EV fleets with self-generated power they can help balance the grid. Read our whitepaper to find out more.

Download whitepaper

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy and helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges.

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How businesses can combat energy price rise and cut carbon emissions at the same time

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How businesses can combat energy price rise and cut carbon emissions at the same time

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