Smart Grid And The Future Of Energy Consumption

Posted: Feb 13, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Consumers usually do not realize that they are using so much energy until they receive their month's bill. Smart meters can do something to this problem by helping in efficient energy capacity distribution.

Money and time invested on developing alternative energy sources might just be useless unless the power distribution grid performs well in the efficient integration and translation of power. There might be major energy problems in the future as the electricity demand would be very high, unless an excellent management of smart grids will be implemented.

Fast forward in the future, and people would be riding on electric cars. There would be a large number of consumers who will be going home at the end of the day and recharge their vehicles. This could put strain on the system's load. Consumers will end up paying more as the demand is already very high.

Smart grid will be able to communicate with energy sources and its end users. This serves as an educational platform that could encourage consumers to choose and "shop wisely" in terms of energy consumption. This will create a very well-balanced energy supply and demand as the smart grid is able to choose between the most efficient sources of energy at any given time.

Smart grid is an initiative in the front and center as Obama's administration is allocating from the economic stimulus package some $4Billion. At face value, the smartest way to spend this smart grid budget is to have a "smart meter" installed in every household. Approximately, it will cost $100 or higher and would even cost more to run. However, consumers will be able to save a considerable amount with a meter that's a little more complex.

The smart meter is a great help in cutting down on reading costs as it is able to send information between the power company and the meter wirelessly. If needed, it can also inform the company if there is any problem which therefore allows remote monitoring of use. Ultimately, smart meters can communicate with the utilities and appliances that are within the property, which allows consumers to enlist in programs which use clean energy sources.

Ideally, appliances should be configured to operate during times when electricity demand is low. This largely affects the consumers' monthly bills as the price of electricity is usually high when the demand is also high. When it comes to electric cars, an approach called V2G (vehicle to grid) can be used, which allows a vehicle that's plugged in overnight to absorb excess electric supply and return if needed.

In the world, Italy is leading in smart metering and smart grid. It is estimated that about 30 million smart meters will be able to pay for themselves in 5 years as an impact of the savings each year. Smart meters and smart grids will be assets in the future as the demand for sustainable resource planning is rising.

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    Source:  http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/smart-grid-and-the-future-of-energy-consumption-1856312.html

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    sustainable resource planning

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    energy reduction

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