Smarter Electric Grid Could Save Power

Wired has a timely story about putting more of the automated and non-automated decisions behind the use of electrical power into and around households. From the summary: "If the electric grid stops being just a passive supplier of juice, consumers could make choices about how and when to consume power. Power providers and tech companies are working to redesign the grid so you can switch off your house when high demand strains the system, or program your house or appliances to make that move." A similar story is featured right now on PhysOrg, highlighting a particular pilot project involving "smart meters" in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Comments

Duh...

[mspohr]

This is a no-brainer. Here in Switzerland, our houses are wired with meters that can shed load (water heaters, clothes dryers, dishwashers) during peak times. It's been this way for many years... even before these new technologies were available.

I guess the US electric companies always found they could get reimbursed for expensive peak load plants so they had no incentive to apply intelligence to load management.

New for small customers, not large customers

[IvyKing]

The Milwaukee Road had a demand metering and limiting system installed on the eastern half of the Rocky Mountain electrified railroad in 1916 specifically to limit demand on the utility. OTOH, if they weren't Montana Power's largest customer, they were probably one their 2 or 3 largest customers.

The primary benefit from a smart grid isn't so much saving energy as limiting peak demand - but it would help in making best use of intermittent generation (e.g. renewables such as solar and wind).

Re:fine I'll say it

[WaltBusterkeys]

A few idled generators costs nothing in ROI. When something--like a generator--costs tens of millions to build, you measure the interest costs in thousands of dollars per day. The person writing interest checks to UBS or Citibank would very much beg to differ with your assertion that idle capital is free. The money it takes to build something like a generator isn't free. Even if the hydro generators cost nothing to maintain (doubtful), they're still expensive in interest costs if they sit idle.

Re:All of this is possible now

[statemachine]

Of course, CFL bulbs are not without a down-side, namely the mercury in side. Power companies are also stepping up to recycle those, but I bet most end up in the trash.

The mercury "downside" is usually overblown. When compared with the amount of mercury (or any other toxin) that would be released into the environment due to a standard incandescent's power requirements, the CFL actually comes out ahead. And for older folks, the mercury amount is magnitudes less than the amount in the old thermostats and thermometers. Did you call Hazmat when you broke a thermometer? I doubt it, even though we all knew about mercury poisoning.

Ask TreeHugger: Is Mercury from a Broken CFL Dangerous?
Urban Legends Reference Pages: CFL Mercury Light Bulbs
Why Use CFLs? Environment

Do handle light bulbs with care. However, clean-up procedures are fairly simple if one breaks. And bring old bulbs to a recycle center.

Also, don't forget to recycle all your appliances, electronics, and batteries. The chemicals and elements contained in those are just as hazardous to your health and to the environment, if not more so. The places that take these items also take the CFL bulbs.

Re:By that logic

[Tickety-boo]

Actually, the scalability is the problem right now. If you are a muni, then sure, you can get the meters and the corresponding backhaul for one city from one vendor. The scalability issue comes in when a bigger utility like SCE or PG&E need 1M-5M of these meters to create a homogenous environment. None of the vendors, even the big ones like Itron, can produce that many yet. So we wait while the vendors ramp up production. Meanwhile all of the mid-sized US utilities are starting their AMI projects, and Europe is ramping up with these things too straining the supply as well.

Population density also matters. Again, if you want a homogenous environment, and you cover a rural area, it is going to cost you.

If you are curious, here is a Google Map thingy someone developed to track all of the Smart Metering project going on out there.