Exploring potential of energy flexibility in buildings for energy system services

Buildings have both high as well as flexible energy demands and play an important role in the energy internet solution. The buildings' energy flexibility (BEF) is a widely recognized concept; however, how to unlock its potential is a relatively new research topic. In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the latest research related to BEF. An introduction to BEF is provided, methods developed for identifying and characterizing BEF are presented, and several key influencing factors are identified. The overview also covers various aggregation methods to scale up BEF impacts and service-oriented solutions for enabling BEF applications in different energy sectors. This work lays the groundwork for designing and developing seamless integration strategies for BEF use in both present and future energy systems.