Smart Grid Blog

One idea behind home energy conservation posits that the more data people have about their own energy use, the better equipped they are to make changes that conserve energy. That’s one of the ideas behind smart meters—if a smart meter tells you that a television left in standby mode consumes 10 percent of your daily electricity, you will probably do something to change that.

Microsoft has taken a new approach to data-driven energy savings with its Hohm platform, a web-based program (still in beta mode) that helps residents monitor their homes’ energy efficiency.

via Microsoft’s Hohm Platform Provides Comparative Energy Data for Your Home | HeatingOil.com.

Could Apple’s iPad tablet be disruptive to how people will one day manage energy consumption in their homes? Startups building businesses around enabling consumers to monitor and manage home energy consumption are certainly paying attention to it — this morning in Hannover, Germany, at the Hannover Messe 2010 conference, startup Visible Energy plans to show off an iPad application focused on home energy management (see screen shots below).

via More Energy Management Apps for the iPad.

Federal funding for the development of the smart grid and installation of smart meters in the United States are just two aspects of the widespread investment in smart energy infrastructure by the public sector.

Most U.S. cities have launched projects to conserve energy and many municipalities are developing their own renewable energy resources. The city of Annapolis, Md. is undertaking an even more ambitious program to create a Renewable Energy Park that will amount to a quadruple play for smart energy innovation. I spoke to Doug Smith, chief administrative officer for Annapolis, to find out more about how this project will benefit the city and serve as a model for future energy initiatives.

via Annapolis Is Planning a Smart Energy Quadruple Play.

There’s an interesting conundrum among owners of old houses—notably those Victorian homes that are preserved for history. These houses may never make the energy conservation cut. Do we have to choose?

Scientific American’s George Musser is chronicling his efforts to install solar panels. He also happens to own a Victorian-era home.

via Energy conservation vs. old homes: Is it zero sum? – SmartPlanet.

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP 28.71, -0.36, -1.24%) , a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the result of its strategic partnership with Google PowerMeter–the first Reference Implementation of the Google PowerMeter API for embedded developers. Designers now have a quick and easy way to enter the global energy-conservation market, by creating products for the measurement and monitoring of energy usage with Microchip's Google PowerMeter Reference Implementation and its broad portfolio of 16- and 32-bit PIC(R) microcontrollers, energy-measurement ICs, Ethernet controllers, and radios for ZigBee(R) and embedded Wi-Fi(R) wireless networking.

via Google and Microchip Partner to Enable Easy Development of Google PowerMeter Designs for Smart Energy Monitoring – MarketWatch.

Just ahead of a public hearing for state regulators to consider Dominion Virginia Power’s plan for electricity conservation, the company dropped the key component of that plan – the installation of “smart meters” across its system.

The public hearing began Tuesday morning.

via Dominion drops systemwide smart meters for conservation | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.

The United States has embarked on an ambitious project to design and implement a revolutionary power infrastructure architecture called the Smart Grid. The upgrade legacy power grid into smarter grid will help achieve energy conservation and energy independence. The smart grid roll-out is expected to aid the recovery of the US economy with its potential to create jobs.

via US Smart Grid Roll-Out: Forging Ahead.

Energy conservation seems to be a new obsession among today’s students — and with good reason. With more and more evidence supporting global warming, the need to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency is becoming an ever more important aspect of life, especially in a community as large and diverse as the University of Washington.

While we already see many initiatives on campus to make the community more sustainable and environmentally friendly — composting stations, for example — projects like WashPIRG’s recent light-bulb swap help the campus to become more energy efficient and reduce its carbon footprint.

via New smart-grid initiative puts UW on sustainability map – The Daily of the University of Washington.

Putting power back on the grid and giving cash back to businesses is what ClearChoice Energy is all about.

Based in Bethel Park, ClearChoice is a smart grid technology that invites companies to conserve energy during peak periods when energy is in high demand. For universities, school districts and certain businesses, who can afford to drop off the grid at times, such as in the summer months, reducing electricity consumption becomes a revenue generating activity.

ClearChoice customers who sign up to turn off the power when asked not only reap a reward but have the added satisfaction of engaging in a sustainable practice that helps the region to meet its energy needs through conservation says Caroline Pengidore, president and CEO.

“We’re the only local company acting as an independent curtailment service provider,” Pengidore explains. “Normally the owner of a building is buying the electricity. We do the reverse, buying the electricity back from them and selling it (wholesale) to the grid.”

Started in 2006, ClearChoice has skyrocketed from $60,000 in annual revenues to $1.3 million this year, a 220 percent increase. The company employs six and plans to hire across the board in the future, in business development and technology and administrative staff.

The programs help reduce the peak demand for power by 20 percent, or 188 gigawatts, which is the equivalent of the energy generated by 2000 power plants, Pengidore says.

via ClearChoice Energy smart grid approach is sustainable and cash back, hiring.