ASHRAE and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have jointly developed common parameters for the exchange of information along the smart grid. The proposed ASHRAE/NEMA standard 201P, Facility Smart Grid Information Model (FSGIM), standardizes data format and content to enable connections among control systems, end-use devices and electrical service providers.

For the standard’s purposes, the term “facility” broadly encompasses residential, multi-residential, industrial, commercial and institutional buildings, focusing on the common characteristics of energy loads interacting with the smart grid. This would create an open communication highway for sending and receiving messages about electricity consumption and curtailment.

“In a smart grid world, facilities become full partners in supporting and managing the electric grid,” the foreword to the FSGIM standard states. “If the smart grid is to become a reality, there must be smart facilities of all types that interact with it.”

The proposed standard, which is open for public review until October 6, 2015, aligns with Green Button and ASHRAE‘s participation in the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, a public-private partnership initiated by of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“The effort to substantially modernize and transform electric grids around the world is an enormous undertaking,” observes Steve Busby, chair of the ASHRAE/NEMA standard 201P committee. “Viewed in its entirety, it is an international effort involving hundreds of organizations and companies and will impact billions of people. The standards infrastructure that will be needed to support this transformation may include over 100 standards by the time it is fully in place. This standard is one part of that infrastructure.”