Courtesy of GE
At a time when our nation’s carbon footprint is of highest concern, discussions have been raised about a system that will reduce our carbon emissions and create better energy management over time. The solution: smart grid. Think of the smart grid as an update to our current electrical grids, the network that delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers.
Today, much of the energy on electrical grids comes from generating plants that obtain power from traditional resources such as coal, nuclear and hydroelectric dams. The problem is that this system is responsible for over 40% of America’s carbon footprint. To aid in the reduction of these carbon emissions today, we’ve begun to switch over to renewable energy sources such as sun, wind and geothermal power. However, these sources are not available at all times, cannot be stored and are then often wasted.
The smart grid is the forward thinking upgrade to the current grid system. Using digital technology, the smart grid tracks power usage with smart meters and adjusts energy prices depending on the availability of sources. How do they do this? These smart meters send information on power use and frequency load changes to electricity suppliers via wireless networks. Meters will then adjust prices based on the availability of energy sources, so in times when renewable energy sources are limited, prices will go up.
In theory, the smart grid will have a direct impact on people’s usage habits. For example, smart grid technologies have capabilities of alerting consumers during peak times of energy consumption from their smart meters. By reducing energy consumption at this those times, consumers will them save money on their electric bills. As more and more consumers conserve, the pressure to produce energy during peak times (the most expensive and polluting) goes down.
One blogger explains the benefits of the smart grid in terms that any consumer could understand:
“The goal of a smart grid is to collect and provide the optimal amount of information necessary for customers, distributors and generators to change their behavior in a way that reduces system demands and costs, increases energy efficiency, optimally allocates and matches demand and resources to meet that demand, and increases the reliability of the grid. The social benefits of a smart grid are reduced emissions, lower costs, increased reliability, greater security and flexibility to accommodate new energy technologies, including renewable, intermittent and distributed sources.”
