The Consortium for Power Efficiency
A national Consortium of government, utility, and industry partners focused on advancing power efficient design in buildings across Canada.
What is Power Efficient Design?
Power efficient design (PED) refers to strategies that optimize buildings’ instantaneous electricity use to stay within the capacity limits of buildings’ electrical services and feeders. This approach helps avoid costly electrical upgrades while enabling widespread electrification, including the adoption of electric space and water heating, cooking and vehicle charging.
Unlike energy efficiency, which focuses on reducing overall electricity consumption over time, power efficiency lowers peak power demands at any given moment. PED strategies include:
Optimizing Load Calculations
Using accurate historical data and/or load calculation methodologies to better estimate electrical capacity requirements in electrical codes, thereby avoiding oversized electrical systems.
Building Efficiency and Right-Sizing Loads
Designing buildings with efficient heating, cooling, lighting, and appliances to minimize peak power use.
Energy Management Systems
Smart monitoring and control of electrical loads to avoid exceeding capacity limits.
Energy Storage
Using batteries or thermal storage to supplement peak power needs and avoid service upgrades.
By applying these strategies, homebuilders can design buildings with smaller electrical services from the outset—helping to lower construction costs and avoid project delays—while homeowners and building owners can reduce or avoid the need for costly service upgrades as they electrify. For utilities, PED helps reduce system strain and defer infrastructure investments. For governments, PED offers a practical, affordable pathway to advance electrification and densification.
Resources
Analysis
Report
Overview of Power Efficient Design
This report describes a wide range of different Power Efficient Design (PED) strategies and how they can contribute to avoiding electrical service upsizing.
Briefing
Avoiding Electrical Upgrades with Power Efficient Design
This briefing outlines the importance of Power Efficient Design (PED) to avoid unnecessary electrical upsizing in Canada’s buildings, supporting electrification, density and affordability.
Tools
The Power Efficient Electrification Calculator (PEEC)
This excel-based tool helps contractors and households plan proactively for how to avoid service upgrades as households electrify.
Design Guide
Power Efficient Design in Home Electrification
A guide for contractors and households to apply PED strategies in home electrification retrofits and avoid service upgrades.
Guide
Multiplex Electrical Process
A guide to understand using power efficient design to optimize electrical service capacity
Our Partners
Members of the Consortium provide funding, expertise and other support to advance its mission of enabling affordable building electrification across Canada.
About the Consortium
The Consortium for Power Efficiency is a partnership of utilities, governments, and non-profits working together to advance power efficient design (PED) as a means to better enable building electrification and dense infill development. Convened by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, the Consortium collaborates to inform policies, codes, standards and educational resources that support PED use in buildings, and can thereby reduce costs for Canadian households, businesses and utilities.
The Consortium is a growing national initiative, bringing together partners committed to enabling practical PED solutions as part of a decarbonized and affordable energy system. If you represent a utility, government, or organization interested in shaping and applying PED strategies, we welcome the opportunity to connect and expand the Consortium’s reach and impact.
Contact Us
Want to learn more about the Consortium?
Get in touch today!
If you have questions about Power Efficient Design, our initiatives, or how you can get involved, contact us.