There has been a lot of hype lately in the media about the “smart grid” that we supposedly need (’”The modernization of the nation’s electricity grid system has to be an integral part of this,” said Mr. Chu [the Energy Secretary], after listing off some of the clean energy provisions of the stimulus.’).
Obama’s all about it. GE advertised their hype during the Super Bowl. The pending stimulus package may allocate $4.3 billion for smart grid projects. The DOE has a web page about it. But what the heck is it?
I’ve been asking myself that questing for a few months now without getting any satisfying answers. And I think I should know!
According to the following article, one of the main components of the smart grid is just smart appliances that can be controlled remotely so that they don’t use power during peak load (e.g. the middle of a summer day).
Powering Up Smart Grid Technology excerpt:
A great deal of electrical energy in the U.S. is lost due to to inefficient generation and grid management. So-called smart grids allow consumers and utility companies to more closely monitor power grid activity and appliance power usage. It can also allow users to set appliances to run at a time of day when the cost of electricity dips below a certain point.
IBM and a number of other information technology firms are working with utilities to bring digital communications and control technology to electricity systems in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. This infusion of technology will lower operating costs while helping utilities avoid huge capital outlays for new generation plants and expand their ability to use other sources of energy such as wind and solar power.
The first step in implementing a smart grid is building an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). A key component of AMI is the smart meter, which is a digital meter capable of processing and reporting usage data to providers and households via two-way communication between meters and utility offices. Smart meters with the proper user interfaces can provide information to consumers about their power consumption. Households can then make decisions based on real-time household power consumption data to conserve energy and reduce their electricity bills.
The benefits enabled by smart grid initiatives are realized only when household electronics and appliances are able to communicate and alter operations according to signals from the end user or utility management systems. Smart appliance/device features:
- automatic operation according to preset rate thresholds, i.e., off-peak or cheapest time-of-day
- remote user access to stop/start devices if schedules change
- per-device breakdown of energy consumption
That sounds great, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with modernizing the grid itself, just modernizing electrical appliances.
Actually, there is a lot more to it that you can read about here.
They offer the service for many routes between many major cities. The following screenshot shows its claim to fame, the price predictor:
