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Technology to help Americans reduce electricity use when the grid is stressed could help utilities save $120 billion on spending for new power plants and transmission lines, government officials and researchers said on Wednesday after a study in the Pacific Northwest. |
A year-long “smart grid” study showed consumers saved 10 percent on power bills and cut power use 15 percent during key peak hours, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced.
The small-scale GridWise Demonstration Project [.pdf] involved 112 homeowners on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Ron Ambrosio of IBM, which participated in the study, said nationwide use of the method could save $120 billion in power plants and transmission lines that won’t have to be built…
In five years, the type of smart system used in the GridWise study will be available in 10 to 15 percent of U.S. homes, Ambrosio predicted, and in 10 to 15 years in half the country.
Once the cost of installing such systems at homes dips to $200, it will become almost universal. Ambrosio estimated that the cost is now $500, and falling.
$200 for a 10% savings in electricity costs is something any consumer can understand. That allows for a pretty quick payback on the technology.
Lost cause, the people who listen to their iPod, watch the TV + surf the net are not exactly going to listen.
Plus the Teen shows display things like energy saving + the environment as a loser kid thing.
And the obvious anti-christian, electricity-centric bias of the editors is clear in their choice of an illustration. Should be an image (photo?) of yahweh leaning down from the clouds pointing out the savings – which should be turned over to the mother church as a tithe.
Bowling Green, OH started doing this back in the late 90′s on the outside AC heat exchangers. They have the ability when demand is high to turn off your compressor for 5 mins at a time. They do this in cycles to cut demand across all homes.
10% savings??! wtf thats like $3/mo and under $40 per year for me.
Im not gonna install some device just to save 40 bucks.
Suck it you enviromentalists
Government inspects your hard drive? no!
Monitors your travel? NO!
Listens to phone calls? NO!
Shuts off your heat when it feels like it? Yahoo!
If one read the pdf, the device(s) was installed on dryers and hot water heaters, both electric. I wouldn’t save next to nothing with anything with the device because I only run my dryer on the weekends and have gas water heater….
This is coming sooner than you think. Southern California Edison just announced enabling their electric meters with a wireless technology called ZigBee. Over the next four years, 5.3 million houses will have this capability, and there are several other utilities that are looking at doing this.
Of course, then it is up to the users to buy equipment to plug into this new network. But because many of the utilities are looking at using the same technology, the economies of scale should drive the costs down pretty low.
Want to save MORE then 10%…
Lower prices on Energy Efficient Products.
Like your Water heater, Stove, frig, and HOME HEATERS.
Replacing THESE, would cost you a small fortune. But would probably save about 25% on ALL the OLD ones used by the poor.