The Plain Language Explanation of What a Smart Grid Is: Smart Grid Technology Articles: Eco20/20

The Plain Language Explanation of What a Smart Grid Is

Currently utility systems use one source to create and disburse energy for the growing needs of their customers. The cost of the energy depends on the cost of the resource that is used to create the power. Cost depends on what the resource is and where it is coming from.

The cost can be very high in dollars, but that is not the only price that must be paid for our energy sources. There are other, potentially more devastating costs involved especially for the environment.

The smart power grid takes advantage of not one, but several energy sources which are linked together for optimal efficiency. For instance, a wind, solar, and coal combination limits the amount of coal that is used, relying on it only as a last resort. The solar energy is generated during the day and the wind energy is generated at night - making the two a complimentary pairing.

A smart grid also reduces the amount of energy that is generated and then literally wasted. Currently electricity is pumped along the lines whether there is a demand for it or not. If it is needed, it is there. If it is not needed, it is still there. Smart grid technology only sends energy where there is need or demand for it. This technology allows for better usage of resources, both those that are renewable and those that are not. It also allows for more accurate billing of customers based on actual consumption rather than estimates. Customers would know the exact cost of the energy that is being used or wasted and be able to adjust use habits accordingly.

Sadly, not everyone is going to be willing to be on the smart grid system, more willing to blithely waste energy and worry about the costs at another time. The smart grid system is likely to be met with resistance, because the actual cost of installing and running it is not being voluntarily borne by any particular group. Municipalities and utilities both cite the huge expense of changing over to the smart grid system as a reason for not adopting the technology. They want to know who will fund the switchover.

Other countries are already switching or have switched to smart grid technologies and the United States will eventually figure out the details as well. There are several companies that are looking at reliable and cost effective ways to manage the smart grid that will benefit everyone, including the environment.