View SBX 2024 Session Recordings on YouTube!

Smart Buildings Center

Energy Efficiency Innovation Center, Tool Library & Data Visualization

Smart Buildings Exchange 2025 & Beyond!

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Since 2020, the Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) has united industry leaders through a mix of virtual and in-person programming. Originally launched in 2018 as the Why Smart Buildings Executive Forum, SBX has continually evolved to meet the needs of the industry.

Now we’re taking the next step. This year marks the beginning of a new era—a year-round Smart Buildings Exchange experience with ongoing virtual live webinars recorded throughout the year and an in-person conference experience each fall in Seattle.

2025 will be a transition year as we reimagine the future of our virtual programming. In the meantime, our Smart Buildings Center (SBC) Technical Webinar Series will keep you engaged throughout the year. Register here: https://cvent.me/LEWGoD

We’re also thrilled to gather in person on November 5th for a half-day conference and happy hour in downtown Seattle—mark your calendar.

What’s new for SBX in 2025?

SBX Fall Conference
November 5, 2025 | 1:00 – 6:00 PM
Bell Harbor Conference Center, Downtown Seattle
Includes a networking happy hour to connect with industry peers.
More information and registration coming soon at www.sbxconference.org

SBC Technical Webinar Series
6 Virtual Webinars occurring throughout the year
Join live or watch the live recording
Stay engaged all year with expert-led discussions.
Register now at https://cvent.me/LEWGoD

Cost
To ensure a high-quality experience, this year will be the first time we are charging for attendance, but we are working hard to keep those costs low!

Get Involved with SBX 2025
Register now for our technical webinars: https://cvent.me/LEWGoD
Stay tuned for more info on our Fall Conference: www.sbxconference.org
Sponsorship Opportunities: please contact [email protected] for more information

SBX 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, we’ll expand further with a multi-day Smart Buildings Exchange conference in Seattle each November!

We’re excited to bring you even more opportunities to engage, learn, and connect. See you online and in Seattle this fall!

Building Electrification & Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Executive Forum Recordings

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Thanks to all who joined us for our recent two-part ‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Executive Forum on Building Electrification & Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings. The recordings for the sessions are now available on the SBC YouTube channel at the links below.

Part 1 of this series brings together expertise from the policy, regulatory, ratemaking, and utility industries to discuss their view on what must change from current practice to ignite a robust market for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs). Speakers include: John Gibson – Avista Corporation, Ryan Hledik – Brattle Group, and Sangeeta Ranade – AlphaStruxure.

Part 1 Recording

Part 2 of this series features a panel drawn from the communities of building owner/manager, developer, service provider and research institutions to discuss the market side of this equation. Speakers include: Brett Bridgeland – RMI, Salone Habibuddin – Urban Visions, Mary Ann Piette – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Hendrik Van Hemert – Edo.

Part 2 Recording

Don’t Miss ‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Executive Forum, Feb 17th & 24th

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Building Electrification & Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Thursday, February 17th & 24th
12:00 – 1:15 pm PT
Register Here!

Certainly, increasing building electrification (BE) is a critical step toward decarbonization of the built environment. The specific steps to achieve BE are somewhat less certain. Replacing carbon-emitting fossil fuel appliances with clean electric sources is the easy answer, but as usual there are lots of complexities in making this happen in both commercial and residential buildings – new and existing. During the Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) 2021 virtual conference, two technical sessions on grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) highlighted the potential values of deploying dynamic two-way communication capacity in buildings to both the electric utility system and building owners and managers. This two-way communication can automate load shifting, shedding, and modulating and improve a utility’s capacity, resiliency, and cost. Building on the SBX 2021 conversations, this two-part Executive Forum discussion will link the efforts around BE to successful widespread deployment of GEBs.

Part 1 of this series will bring together expertise from the policy, regulatory, ratemaking, and utility industries to discuss their view on what must change from current practice to ignite a robust market for GEBs. Like most SBC events, this Executive Forum will be structured as an extemporaneous discussion between panelists (with a twist – see note on format below). Sure to be a dynamic and engaging discussion, this panel will tackle issues such as:

  • Building electrification – the role that GEBs need to play to allow for optimizing utility capacity management/coincident peak management (the context being, can building electrification succeed without some form of GEBs)
  • Grid modernization – everyone agrees that it needs to happen and that it will be expensive. Do GEBs offer a least cost approach to modernization that will enhance reliability/resilience?
  • Are GEBs a complement to the Northwest’s emerging energy imbalance market – are the two compatible?
  • Why aren’t GEBs evaluated as a resource in the 8th Power Plan?
  • Are GEBs more realistic/helpful to the utility system in the residential or the C/I sector?
  • What scale is necessary for GEBs to be a real solution?
  • What rate reforms are needed to make GEBs work?
  • What policy/regulatory reforms are needed to make GEBs work?

Part 2 of this series will feature a panel drawn from the communities of building owner/manager, developer, service provider and research institutions to discuss the market side of this equation. Of course, there has to be a market-based value proposition for the BE-GEBs solution to decarbonization and this group will take that question head-on. Again, expect a dynamic conversation amongst the panel addressing core issues, such as:

  • Who is responsible for triggering market adoption – utility-customer-third party-government/regulator?
  • Will dynamic rate structures be sufficient to move the market or are some types of financial incentives also needed?
  • Are GEBs only realistic for new construction?
  • If the future of commercial buildings is variable occupancy does this help or hurt GEBs deployment?
  • How critical is the inevitability of EV charging to GEBs?

This FREE two-part virtual series is targeted to building owners/managers, developers, utilities, service providers as well as those with interest in or responsibilities for policy and regulatory changes related to decarbonization.

Ever been frustrated that your question didn’t get addressed by a panel because they ran out of time? Submit your questions ahead of time during registration and we will tailor the conversation to match your information needs!

Register Here!

 

 

‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Executive Forum

By

Building Electrification & Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Thursday, February 17th & 24th
12:00 – 1:15 pm PT
Register Here!

Certainly, increasing building electrification (BE) is a critical step toward decarbonization of the built environment. The specific steps to achieve BE are somewhat less certain. Replacing carbon-emitting fossil fuel appliances with clean electric sources is the easy answer, but as usual there are lots of complexities in making this happen in both commercial and residential buildings – new and existing. During the Smart Buildings Exchange (SBX) 2021 virtual conference, two technical sessions on grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) highlighted the potential values of deploying dynamic two-way communication capacity in buildings to both the electric utility system and building owners and managers. This two-way communication can automate load shifting, shedding, and modulating and improve a utility’s capacity, resiliency, and cost. Building on the SBX 2021 conversations, this two-part Executive Forum discussion will link the efforts around BE to successful widespread deployment of GEBs.

Part 1 of this series will bring together expertise from the policy, regulatory, ratemaking, and utility industries to discuss their view on what must change from current practice to ignite a robust market for GEBs. Like most SBC events, this Executive Forum will be structured as an extemporaneous discussion between panelists (with a twist – see note on format below). Sure to be a dynamic and engaging discussion, this panel will tackle issues such as:

  • Building electrification – the role that GEBs need to play to allow for optimizing utility capacity management/coincident peak management (the context being, can building electrification succeed without some form of GEBs)
  • Grid modernization – everyone agrees that it needs to happen and that it will be expensive. Do GEBs offer a least cost approach to modernization that will enhance reliability/resilience?
  • Are GEBs a complement to the Northwest’s emerging energy imbalance market – are the two compatible?
  • Why aren’t GEBs evaluated as a resource in the 8th Power Plan?
  • Are GEBs more realistic/helpful to the utility system in the residential or the C/I sector?
  • What scale is necessary for GEBs to be a real solution?
  • What rate reforms are needed to make GEBs work?
  • What policy/regulatory reforms are needed to make GEBs work?

Part 2 of this series will feature a panel drawn from the communities of building owner/manager, developer, service provider and research institutions to discuss the market side of this equation. Of course, there has to be a market-based value proposition for the BE-GEBs solution to decarbonization and this group will take that question head-on. Again, expect a dynamic conversation amongst the panel addressing core issues, such as:

  • Who is responsible for triggering market adoption – utility-customer-third party-government/regulator?
  • Will dynamic rate structures be sufficient to move the market or are some types of financial incentives also needed?
  • Are GEBs only realistic for new construction?
  • If the future of commercial buildings is variable occupancy does this help or hurt GEBs deployment?
  • How critical is the inevitability of EV charging to GEBs?

This FREE two-part virtual series is targeted to building owners/managers, developers, utilities, service providers as well as those with interest in or responsibilities for policy and regulatory changes related to decarbonization.

Ever been frustrated that your question didn’t get addressed by a panel because they ran out of time? Submit your questions ahead of time during registration and we will tailor the conversation to match your information needs!

Register Here!

 

 

‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Virtual Executive Forum Recap

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Thank you to all who joined us for our ‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Virtual Executive Forum: Navigating the New World, How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Strengthened the Case for Smart Buildings Practices and Technologies.

Cara Carmichael of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Art Smith of DB Engineering and Matt Golden of Recurve had an engaging conversation with Kerry Meade of the Smart Buildings Center as they explored the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial buildings.

Throughout the 60-minute session, panelists discussed how the pandemic has strengthened the case for smart buildings technologies and practices to help mitigate unforeseen crises, better manage building operations, and meet the needs of tenants, occupants and other stakeholders in the built environment.

Topics covered during the discussion included:

  • The dramatic behavioral changes during the pandemic for those working in clean energy/energy efficiency and the built environment
  • Thoughts and concerns about “going back to normal” as buildings reopen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
  • How smart technologies can help better manage crises in the built environment going forward
  • Ways in which buildings and building technologies can better support grid resiliency/reliability
  • How things we have experienced and learned during the pandemic will change our industry
  • Practical advice on things we can do now and lessons we should apply to our current activities to re-occupy buildings and maintain safer conditions going forward

If you missed the event or would like to listen to it again, the recording is now available on the SBC YouTube channel.

Thank you again to Cara, Art, and Matt for joining us for such an engaging discussion about the critical role of buildings and building technologies in driving society toward a new normal as we emerge from our homes and return to public life inside of buildings.

Join us TODAY for a virtual ‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Executive Forum!

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It’s not too late to register to join us for today’s ‘Why Smart Buildings?’ Virtual Executive Forum: Navigating the New World, How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Strengthened the Case for Smart Buildings Practices and Technologies. In this 60-minute webinar, we will hear from Cara Carmichael of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Art Smith of DB Engineering and Matt Golden of Recurve as they explore the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on commercial buildings.

Thursday, June 11th
12 – 1 pm PT
REGISTER NOW!

CONTACT US
[email protected]
206-538-0832

Contact Us

Smart Buildings Center
Pacific Tower
1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 110
Seattle, WA 98144

(206) 624-7570

[email protected]

Smart Buildings Center is a project collaboration with Building Potential