With record-setting heat roiling the U.S. this summer, air conditioners are working overtime to keep everyone cool. That spike in electricity demand can overwhelm “the grid”: the wires, transformers, meters, power plants and everything in between. But thanks to ongoing innovations in wireless communications and power systems structure, the grid is getting better at handling demand peaks that might otherwise bring blackouts and brownouts.
Here are five ways a smarter grid can help in a heat wave:
1. Better Small Wind and Solar Integration
Demand for solar energy has grown about 30 percent per year for the past 15 years, while hydrocarbon energy demand typically grows less than 2 percent a year. As more homeowners install small wind turbines and solar arrays, more “spare” power is generated, beyond what is needed onsite. A smart grid helps incorporate that spare power back into the system, partially displacing the need for conventionally generated power. Conveniently, with solar arrays, peak generation periods tend to coincide with high temperatures.
2. Increased Energy storage
Energy storage generally happens on a small scale. Instead of a giant flashlight battery perched on the hill above every town, like a water tower, the grid relies on a high volume of much smaller storage units. Right now, every individual household and all of our charging smartphones and other devices make up a significant part of the electricity storage picture. Enter electric vehicles. As large commercial and municipal fleets switch to electric, storage capacity could grow significantly. The hybrid systems team at GE Global Research has successfully demonstrated a dual battery system on a zero tailpipe emissions hybrid transit bus that will help usher in new fleets of large EV’s.
3. Demand Response
This is a fancy term for when the consumer decides to use less power when demand is high (and so are prices), and more power when the price is lower. On the supply side, utilities or municipalities set rates lower during periods of low demand – usually in the middle of the night – and higher during peak periods – usually in the morning and early evening. On the demand side, consumers make conscious decisions to postpone some activities, such as running the dishwasher or charging the electric vehicle, until the rates are lower.
4. Smart metering
When was the last time you saw a human meter reader? Smart meters now convey power usage data directly to the relevant utility, which allows them to employ demand response pricing. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is making the meter and utility communication two-way, for a smarter interactive grid, which helps consumers make the best usage decisions. Studies show that when combined with technologies such as smart appliances, smart thermostats and home energy displays, savings can jump to an average of 25 percent. A recent Texas study found 71 percent of participating households changed their energy consumption patterns as a result of what they learned from their smart meters.
5. Smart appliances
For homes with smart metering–by 2015 roughly half of US households will have them– smart appliances can help utilities shed load and consumers save money during peak demand times by helping the homeowner make wiser decisions on usage. For example, if your turn on the washer at six pm, the washer may display a message that reads, “Power rates are high, are you sure you want to wash this load right now?”
GE’s Nucleus is a wireless home energy monitor about the size of a phone charger that plugs into an ordinary home outlet. It communicates with a home’s smart meter and provides information on power usage that can be viewed on a computer or smart phone. Consumers can then track home usage patterns, monitor the amount of energy that individual appliances are consuming, and make informed choices about their usage – even from across the world.
