Yesterday was Earth Day. It got me thinking about all the benefits that we hope the smart grid can bring as far as helping reduce our negative impact on our planet.  I thought I would write a bit about the smart grid and the environment. Much of the smart grid initiative by the government focuses on reducing our carbon footprint. When it comes to the smart grid there are many ways it can help reduce our negative impact on the earth.

When we speak of the carbon footprint we think of coal burning, oil, emissions and smog. Much of the generation that produces the electricity we use during peak times comes from burning these types of fossil fuels. Remember, just because you do not see the emissions rising from your home AC during a hot afternoon doesn’t mean that the electricity it uses came without leaving any trace at all. Some generation is clean, hydro, wind, solar, even nuclear in some ways have many benefits when it comes to eco friendliness. The problem is that it is difficult to incorporate some of the less consistent methods of generating electricity mentioned above. The smart grid will help to allow more additions of smaller alternative energy generators in greater numbers.

Another benefit of the smart grid initiative is the idea of helping to eliminate the high demand peaks. These very high use times are short lived however they make up much of the costs and emissions associated with electricity generation. Smart meters will help people become aware of their use and enable the utilities to let consumers know when we are in a peak demand time. Using dynamic pricing models or price discounts and passing the costs or savings on to the consumer will allow us to cut back on the peak generation.

If the grid were just 5% more efficient, the energy savings would equate to permanently eliminating the fuel and greenhouse gas emissions from 53 million cars.
http://www.oe.energy.gov

Overall when the smart grid is rolled out in larger areas it will help reduce our impact on earth.

This news is a few months old, however I was still a bit surprised. In January Whirlpool anounced that that they plan to manufacture 1 million smart grid compatible appliances by end of 2010. This is pending that some of the necessary standards and consumer savings plans are ironed out. This is only the beginning, by the end of 2015 Whirlpool plans to make all the electronic appliances it produces throughout the world smart grid compatible!

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 19, 2010 — Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is presenting a smart
grid-compatible clothes dryer demonstration unit during the International Builders’
Show (IBS) in Las Vegas January 19-22, 2010. The Whirlpool smart dryer demonstration
illustrates how smart grid-compatible dryers will operate in consumers’ homes,
reacting intelligently to peak-demand signals from a smart electrical grid and
automatically modifying energy consumption. The smart dryer demonstration – shown by
Whirlpool Corporation product experts, and accompanied by an interactive smart
appliance simulation – offers a preview of the various smart grid-compatible
appliances Whirlpool Corporation has pledged to manufacture in the near future.
Whirlpool Corporation’s recent commitment to produce 1 million smart appliances by
the end of 2011 is a significant step toward the company’s larger commitment to make
all the electronic appliances it produces, throughout the world, smart
grid-compatible by the end of 2015. This timeline is dependent on the development by
the end of 2010 of an open, global standard and appropriate policies to reward
consumers, manufacturers and utilities. Helping to accelerate the work the company
is doing, Whirlpool Corporation was recently awarded a $19.33 million federal
matching grant by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Smart Grid Investment Grant
program.
From: Whirlpool PR

The company Grounded Power is working with utilities and consumers to help people realize where and when they use the most electricity. This realization of power use can help consumers prepare for the available savings coming with the smart grid initiative. There “Interactive Customer Engagement System” helps people become involved in actively saving on electricity use by helping to identify the appliances within a household that are using the most power.

One of the ideas behind the smart grid is to help people identify peak use times and cut back on power use to save money. However, on the other hand if a household’s power use does not cut back during these times they may be subject to much higher costs. The answer to these changes is education. Grounded Power’s products and services can help with this.

Here is a quick video from their website:

Many utilities will soon be installing smart meters on people’s homes. The vision is that someday in the future most residential homes will be equipped with a smart meter. This is part of the smart grid initiative.

Once these meters are in place a rate program will most likely come along. These rate programs are designed to help cut back on peak demands during the most heavy electrical use days of the year. Most of these heavy use days come in the summer due to air conditioning units, large residential and commercial appliances, pool pumps, etc…

In order to cut back residential use a rate hike in electrical prices will occur during peak use hours. Visit the smart grid glossary for an example of the electrical demand curve during a summer day.

The utility PG&E has launched a “SmartRate” program to allow people to receive a discount on their normal electrical rate and in return these customers participate in up to 15 “SmartDays” a year where the electrical rate becomes more expensive during peak times. People who actively cut back their electrical use during these “SmartDays” can save throughout the year.

What is the Summer Pricing Plan?
The SmartRate™ Summer Pricing Plan offers you a new way to save money on your summer electric bills while also benefiting the environment. For no more than 15 days—what we call SmartDays™, we’ll notify you to manage your energy use between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. By controlling your energy usage during high-demand periods on SmartDays, you’ll help prevent the need to purchase “dirty” power from inefficient power plants that can be damaging to the environment.
From: PG&E Smart Rate

Check out the PG&E website for more details, plan eligibility, rates, and more.