What's the Buzz on Smart Grids? CASE STUDY T he existing electricity infrastructure in the United States is outdated and inefficient, Energy companies provide power to consumers, but the grid provides no information about how the consumers are using that energy, making it difficult to develop more efficient approaches to distribution. Also, the current clectric- ity grid offers few ways to handle power provided by alternative energy sources, which are critical compo nents of most efforts to go "green." Enter the smart grid A smart grid delivers clectricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy reduce costs, and increase reliability and trans parency. The smart grid enables information to flow back and forth between electric power providers and individual households to allow both consumers and energy companies to make more intelligent decisions regarding energy consumption and production. Information from smart grids would show utilities when to raise prices when demand is high and lower them when demand lessens, Smart grids would also help consumers program high-use electrical appliances like heating and air condition- ing systems to reduce consumption during times of peak usage. If implemented nationwide, proponents believe, smart grids would lead to a 5 to 15 percent decrease in energy consumption Electricity grids are sized to meet the maximum clectricity need, so a drop in peak demand would enable utilities to operate with fewer expensive power plants, thereby lowering costs and pollution Another advantage of smart grids is their ability to detect sources of power outages more quickly and precisely at the individual household level. With such precise information, utilities will be able to respond to service problems more rapidly and efficiently Managing the information flowing in these smart grids requires technology: networks and switches for power management; sensor and monitoring devices to track energy usage and distribution trends systems to provide energy suppliers and consumers with usage data; communications systems to relay data along the entire energy supply system; and systems linked to programmable appliances to run If consumers had in-home displays showing how much energy they are consuming at any moment and the price of that energy, they are more likely to curb their consumption to cut costs. Home thermostats and appliances could adjust on their own automatically, depending on the cost of power, and even obtain that power from nontraditional sources, such as a neighbor's rooftop solar panel Instead of power flowing from a small number of power plants, the smart grid will make it possible to have a distributed energy system. Electricity will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, and they will use power from local and faraway sources. Besides increasing energy efficiency, converting to smart grids along with other related energy initiatives could create up to 370,000 jobs. That's why pioneering smart grid projects such as SmartGridCity in Boulder, Colorado, are attracting attention. SmartGridCity represents a collaboration by Xcel Energy Inc. and residents of Boulder to test the viability of smart grids on a smaller scale. Participants can check their power consumption levels and costs online, and will soon be able to program home appliances over the web. Customers access this information and set goals and guidelines for their home's energy usage through a Web portal. They also have the option of allowing Xoel to remotely adjust their thermostats during periods of high demand SmartGridCity is also attempting to turn homes into 'miniature power plants using solar powered battery packs that 'TiVo clectricity," or stash it away to use at a later time. This serves as backup power for homes using the packs, but Xcel can also tap into that power during times of peak energy consumption to lessen the overall energy load. Xoel will be able to remotely adjust thermostats and water heaters and will have much better information about the power consumption of their consumers. Bud Peterson, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his wife Val have worked with Xcel to turn their home into the prototype residence for the SmartGridCity project. Their house was supplied with a six-kilowatt photovoltaic system on two roofs, four thermostats controlled via the Web, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Ford What's the Buzz on Smart Grids? CASE STUDY T he existing electricity infrastructure in the United States is outdated and inefficient, Energy companies provide power to consumers, but the grid provides no information about how the consumers are using that energy, making it difficult to develop more efficient approaches to distribution. Also, the current clectric- ity grid offers few ways to handle power provided by alternative energy sources, which are critical compo nents of most efforts to go "green." Enter the smart grid A smart grid delivers clectricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy reduce costs, and increase reliability and trans parency. The smart grid enables information to flow back and forth between electric power providers and individual households to allow both consumers and energy companies to make more intelligent decisions regarding energy consumption and production. Information from smart grids would show utilities when to raise prices when demand is high and lower them when demand lessens, Smart grids would also help consumers program high-use electrical appliances like heating and air condition- ing systems to reduce consumption during times of peak usage. If implemented nationwide, proponents believe, smart grids would lead to a 5 to 15 percent decrease in energy consumption Electricity grids are sized to meet the maximum clectricity need, so a drop in peak demand would enable utilities to operate with fewer expensive power plants, thereby lowering costs and pollution Another advantage of smart grids is their ability to detect sources of power outages more quickly and precisely at the individual household level. With such precise information, utilities will be able to respond to service problems more rapidly and efficiently Managing the information flowing in these smart grids requires technology: networks and switches for power management; sensor and monitoring devices to track energy usage and distribution trends systems to provide energy suppliers and consumers with usage data; communications systems to relay data along the entire energy supply system; and systems linked to programmable appliances to run If consumers had in-home displays showing how much energy they are consuming at any moment and the price of that energy, they are more likely to curb their consumption to cut costs. Home thermostats and appliances could adjust on their own automatically, depending on the cost of power, and even obtain that power from nontraditional sources, such as a neighbor's rooftop solar panel Instead of power flowing from a small number of power plants, the smart grid will make it possible to have a distributed energy system. Electricity will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, and they will use power from local and faraway sources. Besides increasing energy efficiency, converting to smart grids along with other related energy initiatives could create up to 370,000 jobs. That's why pioneering smart grid projects such as SmartGridCity in Boulder, Colorado, are attracting attention. SmartGridCity represents a collaboration by Xcel Energy Inc. and residents of Boulder to test the viability of smart grids on a smaller scale. Participants can check their power consumption levels and costs online, and will soon be able to program home appliances over the web. Customers access this information and set goals and guidelines for their home's energy usage through a Web portal. They also have the option of allowing Xoel to remotely adjust their thermostats during periods of high demand SmartGridCity is also attempting to turn homes into 'miniature power plants using solar powered battery packs that 'TiVo clectricity," or stash it away to use at a later time. This serves as backup power for homes using the packs, but Xcel can also tap into that power during times of peak energy consumption to lessen the overall energy load. Xoel will be able to remotely adjust thermostats and water heaters and will have much better information about the power consumption of their consumers. Bud Peterson, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his wife Val have worked with Xcel to turn their home into the prototype residence for the SmartGridCity project. Their house was supplied with a six-kilowatt photovoltaic system on two roofs, four thermostats controlled via the Web, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Ford