The economic advantages of deploying smart charging and microgrids in buildings

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 40% of global energy consumption can be linked directly to buildings. When managing this consumption, building owners face three ongoing challenges: maintaining high building occupant satisfaction levels while controlling energy costs, decarbonizing their building assets on an ongoing basis, and better managing building power capacity issues as the number of EVs connecting to buildings climbs over the next 10 years.

Fortunately, today’s technology enables building owners to achieve the long-term profitability and prosperity they desire, despite the challenges of energy and emissions. The question becomes, when should the building owner invest in these new energy technologies, and how will variables such as building type and geography affect the viability of the investment?

The Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), has recently completed a comprehensive report entitled Toward net zero buildings: The investment case for smart EV integration. This report provides a detailed review of how two key technologies – smart EV charging and microgrids (a combination of solar generation, battery energy storage, and software)- impact building owner economics, utility peak load management, and tenant satisfaction. This blog reviews the economic impact aspects of the study.

The EV study at a glance

The SRI study analyzed the impact of the EV trend in electrified building sites in 2025 (no more fossil boiler) and in 2035. Across 65 use cases, it considered variables such as EV penetration across 13 different geographies and five building types. The study derived EV penetration rates for non-residential buildings from public data. The building types analyzed included large offices, schools, hospitals, retail malls, and small hotels.

Building types influence EV penetration rates differently, and researchers projected the number of people arriving by car who use the building in either a long-term (for staff) or short-term (for visitors) capacity.  Variables such as climate and energy pricing policies served as key differentiating factors when analyzing the various geographical regions covered in the report study.

Access the report: Toward net zero buildings: The investment case for smart EV integration

Report findings unveil economic and efficiency benefits

Researchers compiled the study’s results, which are presented in a series of charts and graphs. Key findings include:

• Modernization of technologies optimizes energy costs – Traditional EV charging systems operate without specific energy flow controls. A user plugs their car into the charger, which then instantly begins to charge the car’s EV battery. Smart charging is different. Engineers design the chargers to optimize the energy cost of the building owner. In a smart charging scenario, the driver physically plugs in his EV, but a software program controls when the actual charging occurs. In countries like France, where electricity prices fluctuate throughout the day and night, the charging system operates primarily when prices are optimally low, thereby reducing the building owner’s overall cost.
• Microgrid investments remain profitable over the long term – Adding a microgrid—rooftop solar combined with a stationary battery and control software—builds building resilience and future-proofs returns. Benefits include significant energy bill reductions from self-consumption and revenue generation from exporting excess stored energy to the grid. With the exception of only one use case, researchers observed attractive internal rates of return (IRR) across the building types and geographies studied. As EV adoption grows, in more than 90% of cases, microgrid investments made today remain profitable through to 2035.

Failing to invest now will entail longer-term cost exposures

In the near future, those building owners who choose not to invest in smart charging at this time will likely face issues with grid connection. As the number of EVs continues to increase, traditional (direct) charging system consumption will exceed building power capacity, and the building owner will require investment in costly new transformers to address the issue. In addition, if owners invest in microgrids today, their investment will remain profitable, even as the EV penetration rate continues to climb over the next 10 years.

Investments in smart charging and microgrids do not deteriorate the satisfaction levels of building occupants who also happen to be EV drivers. Study findings indicate that EV user satisfaction rates remain high across most building types. Regarding microgrids, satisfaction levels are also high, with nearly all vehicles leaving at their building workplaces with a 90%+ charge. Even under high EV penetration conditions (in 2035), most sectors maintain exceptionally good satisfaction rates, proving that these solutions can scale with demand.

Access the Smart EV Integration Report

The findings from the Sustainability Research Institute make a clear business case for acting now. Smart EV charging and microgrids aren’t just sustainability tools—they’re financial assets that future-proof buildings against rising energy costs and capacity constraints. Early adopters will benefit from stronger tenant and EV user satisfaction, grid stability, and long-term ROI, while those who delay may face escalating costs to retrofit or expand infrastructure later. As EV adoption accelerates, these integrated energy solutions will define the next era of high-performance, low-carbon buildings.

To learn more or to view specific study data, download the SRI research paper “Toward net zero buildings: The investment case for smart EV integration.”