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smart meters

Charting Smartgrid's Macro Trends

October 6, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 336 views
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This is my final post from the now concluded Gridweek 2011.Anto Budiardjo, a TEC blogger, is the CEO of Clasma Events, which puts on the United States’ key trio of smartgrid events: Gridweek, Connectivity Week, Grid-Interop and next year, Gridweek Asia. Budiardjo has been in smartgrid since the dawn of the industry, moving into it... [read more]

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The Trouble With Air-Conditioners

September 28, 2011 by Scott Edward Anderson
with 707 views
3

Demand response is a topic that can easily bring a sleepy man to dreamland.So it was with some trepidation that I attended the New York Academy of Sciences' "Market Makers: Developing and Deploying Energy Efficiency Technology in NYC" event, part of Climate Week.I was glad I did. Perhaps it's his "down under" accent or comedian's... [read more]

Gridweek 2011: Should We Send Utility Customers To Smartgrid School?

September 21, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 269 views
1

This is the first of three posts I am finishing up from my trip to Gridweek last week. Gridweek is one of three smartgrid conferences put together by Clasma, whose own Anto Budiardjo is a TEC blogger. As you will hear more about in my upcoming posts, the mettle of the smartgrid community is being tested by the expiration of the stimulus act; by setbacks in the utility rollout process and –to a surprising degree- by customer rejection. Many utilities’ customers don’t like the idea of having a utility know so much about their power usage, and thus be able to make inferences about their lifestyle. Consumers also irrationally fear radio waves’ harm to health, and then change generally. Even the change of one electric meter for another. [read more]

My Master Metered Condo and Its Energy Priorities

August 31, 2011 by A Siegel
with 292 views
0

This is a guest post by J. Siegel.The over 40-year-old condo building my husband and I bought into has lots of plusses ….A spacious and sunny apartment  (perfect for an indoor herb garden)A  short walk to a Metro station and a walk to a range of shopping (from great bagels to a grocery store, to 100s of stores)An outdoor... [read more]

The Real Concern about Smart Meters

August 18, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 1,090 views
3

Smart meters can be positively transformative for consumers to control their use of electricity.  But there are concerns about them that are threatening to slow down deployments in some areas. That has ramifications to Smart Grid plans everywhere. The three categories of concerns about smart meters are:    meter... [read more]

Guarding the Grid

August 17, 2011 by Silvio Marcacci
with 234 views
0

In 2003, an overheated power line near Cleveland, Ohio sagged into a tree and shorted out. It started a cascade of power line failures across the Midwest, Northeast and parts of Canada, and causing the worst blackout in U.S. history. Since then, utilities and grid operators have used new technology and procedures to prevent another major blackout – but can they compete with an aging grid and estimated $1 trillion in required new investment? [read more]

Utilities Must Improve Their Messages to Communicate the Benefits of Smart Meters

June 28, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 386 views
2

Utilities have a real challenge in succinctly communicating the benefits of smart meters.  Some benefits are not easily distilled into sound-bites.  However, utilities must improve their outreach to consumers to ensure that consumers understand the role of smart meters in helping them save money; helping utilities keep... [read more]

Electricity Consumers: You're Fired!

March 11, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 823 views
2

It is time that we recognize the retail electricity consumer for the public menace that he is. The retail electricity consumer is incorrigible. In dealing with demand side management of consumer electricity purchases, we need less Ivan Pavlov and more Donald Trump. It's time to fire the consumer. [read more]

Smart Energy Investment and the Smart Grid

January 23, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 1,523 views
1
By Невідомий (Інтернет) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons

Next Tuesday in his State of the Union address, President Obama will call for increased government investment in infrastructure, education and research. But before the U.S. Treasury starts writing checks, there is much to be learned from the experience of the last two years. Federal dollars for energy infrastructure really are limited and must be spent wisely and strategically. Federal investment in energy infrastructure must be driven by rational, cost-effective and attainable goals, not by sound bites and special interests. Smart Grid investments are a case in point. [read more]

Tech tools for cutting home energy costs

October 11, 2010 by Joseph Romm
with 562 views
0

Anne Rashford, director of temporary exhibits at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, is seen inside the SmartHome exhibit where a monitor displays the energy and water usage of the home (in an AP photo). More gadgets and gizmos are entering the market that let consumers track their power use. You know the drill. Turn off lights... [read more]

Smart meters are here…. Get over it

October 8, 2010 by Tyler Hamilton
with 598 views
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My Clean Break column, which now appears Friday in the Toronto Star, questions whether we have the capacity as a society to invest in long-term infrastructure transitions that don’t bear fruit right away. The knee-jerk reaction by some in Ontario (and other jurisdictions) to smart meters and time-of-using pricing is unfortunate... [read more]

Smart meters need smart consumers - Education as well as technology is key to realizing benefits

September 30, 2010 by Joseph Romm
with 718 views
0

This cross-post is by CAP’s Richard W. Caperton. Twenty years from now your relationship with your electric utility likely will be fundamentally different from today. Currently you use electricity whenever you want, pay a flat rate for all of the energy you use, and the only real service you expect from your utility is to keep the... [read more]

Report: PG&E smart meters not to blame for high bills

September 2, 2010 by Todd Woody
with 820 views
0
PG&E Smart Meter

On Thursday in The New York Times, I write about an independent report that finds that PG&E’s smart meters are not responsible for higher utility bills incurred by some customers: After Pacific Gas & Electric, the giant California utility, began installing smart meters in the state’s Central Valley, the company was swamped with... [read more]

Siemens, Wasion Partner On Smart Grid Projects In China

May 18, 2010 by Michael Davidson
with 602 views
0

Siemens and Wasion have entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement to conduct research on feasibility of jointly striving smart grid pilot projects in China. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the companies will establish a joint strategic cooperation team to conduct such feasibility researches in the areas including... [read more]

Finland to Connect Smart Meters to Social Networks

May 3, 2010 by Taylen Peterson
with 384 views
0

Nordic, located in harsh-wintered Finland, is taking radical steps toward redefining its national electric grid. Already at the forefront of grid transformation (a law that requires all homes to have smart meters by 2013), Finland now wants to connect smart meters and homeowners to social networks, ushering in an unprecedented,... [read more]