Green and Sustainable Infrastructure

The Case for Electric Cars and Semi‐Autonomous (Sustainable) Buildings

How Sustainable Development and Planning Can Reduce Energy Costs

Electric vehicles linked with residential towers can provide benefits through “peak load leveling.” The electric car battery can be charged at night, when electric system demand is low and base-load generating facilities have available capacity. Then, these batteries can transfer power back to the grid when electric system demand is high enough to otherwise require peak generating facilities. The net effect of this peak load leveling can be to reduce the number of natural gas, coal or oil-fired power plants needed to supply demand.

At the local level, by integrating electric cars into building design, the energy requirements of an apartment block can also be leveled. Large apartment complexes, such as mid- to high-rises with 100 or more units, provide a scale of automobile use that make it possible to manage V2B electric cars in a manner similar to large agency fleets.

This strategy has economic benefits through the savings available from peak load pricing and reduced pollution.

Unlike gasoline-powered vehicles that pollute the air and water wherever they go, electric vehicles shift pollution away from urban populations. This approach works because the total amount of pollution produced at power plants to charge electric cars is less than what would have been produced by gasoline-powered cars and the petrochemical industry it supports.

Electric Cars Powering Sustainable Buildings Diagram”

Residents of V2B apartment buildings also receive the added benefits of an extremely convenient flex-car system. Lower demand for parking becomes a significant construction cost savings and optimizes the use of valuable urban lands.