c300man

Investing in the Smart Grid

I agree with rrbatch. Smart Grid is mostly hype. Progressive electric companies have long had variable rates through a variety of programs that let people benefit from lower electric rates when they can (and want to) shift their power use. My daughter and son-in-law live in northern Wisconsin and use electric resistance heat at night (4 pm to 7 am) at very low rates. They use NG heat in the daytime. That is all good and there are many additional steps that can be done. It is more 'energy management in the home' than 'smart grid'.

One factor that is missing from the discussion is the cost and energy required to transmit electrical energy long distances. That is the reason generation facilities need to be located as close as practical to where the energy is used. Otherwise much energy is lost in the long-distance transmission. The idea of generating a lot of solar energy in the southwest or wind energy in the countries mid-section and sending that energy long distances is wasteful. The 'smart grid' doesn't address this fundamental aspect of electrical energy transmission. Of course research is underway (and long has been) to improve this transmission efficiency but nothing practical is available yet.

Power Plays on Energy Management

Simple on-off switches can be effective too. It shouldn't be expecting too much to ask employees to turn off their computer and the lights when they are not going to be used for a few hours or certainly for overnight. People can adjust blinds and turn down / up thermostats too.

New technology that takes over all these simple responsibilities is fine and needs to be developed but there is no mention of their cost and on-going maintenance / upgrading expenses. It is always prudent to question just how complicated you want to make a simple task and what are the true savings.