Smart Grid Blog

Freescale Semiconductor (News – Alert), a provider of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets and the Indesit Company, a manufacturer and distributor of major domestic appliances based in Europe have jointly announced that both the companies recently showcased at the Freescale Technology Forum held in Orlando, a Smart Washer that can regulate its own energy use based on cost and availability which will be helpful for the customers in creating their own smart products.

via Freescale & Indesit Introduce Wireless Smart Washer At Freescale’s Technology Forum.

Jim Rogers, Duke Energy’s CEO, wants his company to model its business after Amazon’s. Just like Amazon.com discounts e-books bought through the Kindle, Rogers too envisions using a smart-grid system to offer discounts on energy-efficient appliances to its customers.

via Duke Energy Wants To Follow Amazon’s Business Model – PSFK.

Jim Rogers foresees Duke Energy Corp. operating as “Amazon Duke.” It would use a smart-grid system to offer customers discounts for energy-efficient appliances the way Amazon.com sells books at reduced prices through its Kindle.

Toward that end, the most important short-term goal for Duke is to promote customers’ conversion to electric vehicles from gasoline-fueled cars, the Duke chief executive told an international forum this week. That would make the vehicle an extension of the utility business, Rogers said.

via Rogers’ vision: Make Duke Energy the Amazon.com of utilities – Charlotte Business Journal.

On the hottest summer afternoons, some appliances start behaving a little differently around Texas.

At the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, the lobby lights get dimmer. In Austin, as many as 80,000 home air-conditioners begin cycling on and off at the local utility’s behest, as do 32,000 in San Antonio. SeaWorld in San Antonio reduces the amount of electricity powering water-filtration systems for its animal exhibits.

via Ka-ching! Texas ‘demand response’ program sounds mighty good | kens5.com | San Antonio News, Weather, Sports, Traffic, Entertainment, Video and Photos.

Government contractor Science Applications International Corp. said Monday it received a contract valued at more than $13 million to manage a “smart grid” project for the city of Lakeland, Fla.

A smart grid can help communities orchestrate their energy use to lower costs, with meters telling appliances, for example, to run when overall demand for electricity is low.

via The Associated Press: SAIC gets $13M smart grid contract for Fla. city.

Met-Ed will use federal grants and other funds to install smart grid technology in York County.

Through a voluntary load control program, the utility will install equipment that will directly control the appliances and air conditioners of 23,000 of its York County customers during periods of high power demand.

via Met-Ed to roll out smart grid technology in York County – The York Daily Record.

White goods manufacturer Indesit Company, energy supplier Npower and RLtec, the smart grid technology company, are ready to begin in the UK the biggest European trial of smart fridges fitted with grid-balancing technology. “The trial will help us gain a better understanding of how dynamic demand can work to reduce our use of fossil fuels. If successful it could help pave the way for the uptake of this technology nation-wide, which could result in significant carbon savings of around 2 million tonnes CO2 a year or higher., says Lord Hunt, Minister of Energy Innovation, UK

via FRIDGES UNITE TO SAVE THE PLANET | Indoor Plant.

Imagine if your power company offered lower electricity rates at certain times of day, similar to what’s offered by most cell phone companies. Now, imagine having smart appliances and other devices in the home that can help you save money by automatically adjusting electricity consumption in response to pricing signals from the utility.

This scenario is quickly becoming a reality, as many utilities are actively piloting rate structures that more closely mirror their actual cost to produce power – with lower prices during periods of lower electricity demand and higher prices during peaks. These rates are then communicated to consumers in near real-time through “smart” electricity meters and in-home displays to help consumers make smarter energy choices and help utilities manage skyrocketing “peak” demand.

via Smart Appliances Help Consumers Get “Smart” about Energy Costs – Yahoo! Finance.

Your power meter will soon be able to talk to your phone, your car, your fridge, even your coffee pot — as long as they, like the meter, are ’smart.’

Southern California Edison is now quietly deploying just under a million high-tech smart meters across Orange County. They have a new look, and, the power giant hopes, could revolutionize the way customers use electricity.

When they finish installing the meters throughout their service area by the end of 2012, all 5 million Edison power meters will be smart. Edison plans to switch on the new, $1.6 billion system by the end of this year.

via Your new electric meter? Very ’smart’ – OC Science : The Orange County Register.

When the housing market picks up again, all signs point toward a home-buying public that will be more techno-savvy than ever before. Today’s technology solutions pervade every aspect of consumers’ lives—from the cars they drive and the phones they use, to the houses they want to come home to. The past has shown technology grows exponentially, rather than vertically, so what can residential builders do to meet the demands of buyers now and in the future?

By offering the latest in IP-connected technologies and wireless HANs (home area networks), builders have a leg to stand on when they promise customers long-term value. Utility meters, thermostats, appliances, and electric vehicles are just a few examples of up-and-coming smart devices that will require a HAN to connect to the smart grid. As the number of ways to connect a home grows, builders that can offer “future proofing” options to buyers worried about becoming obsolete will be better off.

via Constructech magazine | Get Smart About HANs.

Imagine if your power company offered lower electricity rates at certain times of day, similar to what’s offered by most cell phone companies. Now, imagine having smart appliances and other devices in the home that can help you save money by automatically adjusting electricity consumption in response to pricing signals from the utility.

This scenario is quickly becoming a reality, as many utilities are actively piloting rate structures that more closely mirror their actual cost to produce power – with lower prices during periods of lower electricity demand and higher prices during peaks. These rates are then communicated to consumers in near real-time through “smart” electricity meters and in-home displays to help consumers make smarter energy choices and help utilities manage skyrocketing “peak” demand.

via Smart Appliances Help Consumers Get “Smart” about Energy Costs on Environmental Expert.

The green economy is rapidly taking shape here and throughout the country. Our electric infrastructure is badly in need of adaptable solutions to meet new demand.

Technologies like renewable wind power, electric cars, smart appliances and distributed generation and energy storage are fundamentally changing the power grid. Enter smart grid.

via Georgia must be ready for smart grid  | ajc.com.

Will future energy and health researchers get useful data from “smart meters”?

As utilities around the country install meters that can measure many more details of electricity consumption beyond the standard one — the number of kilowatt-hours used — engineers and business executives have been working toward standardized designs. The meters could, for example, become devices for relaying commands from utility company dispatchers to smart appliances, adjusting a thermostat or starting up a clothes dryer.

via Doctor, Bully, Futurist, Spy: The ‘Smart Meter’ – Green Blog – NYTimes.com.

GE Appliances & Lighting announced today that it is the world’s first appliance manufacturer to achieve ZigBee(R) Smart Energy certification for its “smart” or smart grid-enabled appliances. This industry first will enable GE’s smart grid-enabled appliances to communicate wirelessly with utility companies via smart meters to help consumers better manage their electricity usage and utilities better manage overall power consumption during peak usage times, thus helping reduce the need for more power generation and helping consumers save money in areas where utilities have implemented Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing.

… Certification testing of the GE technology was conducted by National Technical Systems (NTS), an independent organization authorized by the ZigBee Alliance.

via GE First to Use ZigBee(R) Protocols for Smart Appliances – MarketWatch.

Yitran’s Powerline Communication (PLC) IT700 technology is featured by the Chinese State Grid Corp. in their pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The pavilion shows Smart Homes and Smart Buildings as part of the smart grid vision and innovations that will be integrated into China’s future. Yitran’s PLC technology is featured in the smart sockets connected to intelligent home appliances for energy management purposes and in home displays that provide accurate real-time status, feedback and analysis of the energy usage profile in the home.

via Yitran’s Technology Featured Inside Smart Grid Technologies Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

A Toronto-based wireless communications company has partnered with a pair of Canadian broadcast outlets to introduce a new radio-activated system that would allow energy providers to operate appliances and other devices from afar at the most cost-efficient time.

The partnership between e-Radio, Inc, CBC Radio and Radio-Canada utilizes smart grid technology to allow users to set a device, such as a dishwasher or washing machine, for activation. The appliance would then remain in standby mode until a remote sensor is activated by FM radio signals at the proper time, thus reducing both the customer’s utility bill and harmful emissions.

via Remote-Activated Appliances Being Tested In Canada – Technology News – redOrbit.

Imagine loading your dishwasher after supper and walking away, allowing radio-activated technology and your energy provider to figure out when it would be cheapest to wash your dishes.

Sound like science fiction? Not in Canada, where the nation’s public broadcaster wants to ease pressure on the power grid by operating household appliances from afar.

The system would use FM radio frequencies to send signals to household appliances embedded with a ‘smart grid’ digital system.

via Canada broadcaster seeks to revolutionize energy consumption.

EnergyHub will give you all of that information and in real time. the system lets you track every appliance in your home, down to the last cell phone charger. The system also connects you to other people in your community, and creates a way for your utility to communicate with you directly.

Using the user friendly installation system, you can control appliances and devices – essentially anything in your home that consumes energy – from the touch screen dashboard.

via EnergyHub Review.

Cleveland Utilities is taking its first steps toward a smart-grid system for its Electric Division.

Utility board members last week voted to approve Elster Metering, a German firm with a manufacturing plant in Raleigh, N.C., to provide automated metering infrastructure.

So-called smart meters, when linked with controllable appliances and programmable thermostats, can limit energy waste and measure power usage for time-of-day pricing based on demand.

via Cleveland picks smart-grid meter.

The smart meters, developed by National Grid’s metering business OnStream, can communicate with similarly equipped ‘smart’ appliances to turn them on and off remotely using wireless Bluetooth technology. The smart meters could help consumers reduce energy bills by running home appliances, such as washing machines and tumble dryers, at times when energy is cheapest.

Our review of smart meters and energy monitors explains smart meter technology and recommends Best Buy energy monitors. You can also find out the most energy-efficient Best Buy appliances Which? has tested in our energy-saving appliances review.

via National Grid unveils ‘smartest’ smart meters yet – Which? News.