What Is the Smart Grid?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwRTpWZReJk

our current electric grid was conceived

more than 100 years ago when electricity

needs were simple power generation was

localized and built around communities

most homes had only small energy demands

such as a few light bulbs in a radio the

grid was designed for utilities to

deliver electricity to consumers homes

and then build them once a month

this limited one-way interaction makes

it difficult for the grid to respond to

the ever-changing and rising energy

demands of the 21st century the smart

grid introduces a two-way dialogue where

electricity and information can be

exchanged between the utility and its

customers it's a developing network of

communications controls computers

automation and new technologies and

tools working together to make the grid

more efficient more reliable more secure

and greener this smart grid enables

newer technologies to be integrated such

as wind and solar energy production and

plug-in electric vehicle charging with

our participation as informed consumers

this smart grid will replace the aging

infrastructure of today's grid and

utilities can better communicate with us

to help manage our electricity needs the

smart home communicates with the grid

and enables consumers to manage their

electricity usage by measuring a home's

electricity consumption more frequently

through a smart meter utilities can

provide their customer with much better

information to manage their electricity

bills

inside the smart home a home area

network

orhan connects smart appliances

thermostats and other electric devices

to an energy management system smart

appliances and devices will adjust their

run schedule to reduce electricity

demand on the grid at critical times and

lower consumers energy bills these smart

devices can be controlled and scheduled

over the web or even a TV renewable

resources such as wind and solar are a

sustainable and growing source for

electric power however renewable power

sources are variable by nature and add

complexity to normal grid operations the

smart grid provides the data and

automation needed

to enable solar panels and wind farms to

put energy onto the grid and optimize

its use to keep up with constantly

changing energy demands utilities must

turn power plants on and off depending

on the amount of power needed at certain

times of the day the cost to deliver

power depends on the time of day it is

used electricity is more costly to

deliver at peak times because additional

often less efficient power plants must

be run to meet the higher demand this

smart grid will enable utilities to

manage and moderate electricity usage

with the cooperation of their customers

especially during peak demand times as a

result utilities will be able to reduce

their operating costs by deferring

electricity usage away from peak hours

and having appliances and devices run at

other times electricity production is

more evenly distributed throughout the

day the power being used right now was

generated less than a second ago many

miles away at each instance the amount

of electricity generated must equal the

consumption across the entire grid Smart

Grid technologies provide detailed

information that enables grid operators

to see and manage electricity

consumption in real time this greater

insight and control reduces outages and

lowers the need for peak power in

control rooms across the grid engineers

will be able to more precisely and

predictably manage electricity

production reducing the need to fire up

costly secondary power plants the

distribution system routes power from

the utility to residential and

commercial customers through power lines

switches and transformers utilities

typically rely on complex power

distribution schemes and manual

switching to keep power flowing to their

customers any break in this system

caused by storms bad weather or sudden

changes in electricity demand can lead

to outages the smart grids distribution

intelligence counters these energy

fluctuations and outages by

automatically identifying problems in

rerouting and restoring power delivery

utilities can further use distribution

intelligence to predict in

electricity usage with the cooperation

of their customers leading to lower

production cost the charging of a

plug-in electric vehicle can be managed

over a home area network or Han the Han

can balance the demand for electricity

across the household and prioritize

between the electric vehicle and other

appliances to manage electricity usage

and reduce costs with Smart Grid

technologies and consumer participation

utilities can more easily handle the

increased demand for power to run the

electric vehicles and ensure charging

needs are met by adding more plug-in

electric vehicles to the grid we have

the potential to reduce fuel costs lower

our dependency on foreign oil and help

reduce greenhouse gas emissions

 

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