What's The Buzz On Smarts Grids?

What’s the Buzz on Smart Grids?

CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

1) How do smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure in the US?

Smart grids are different from the existing infrastructure in the United States because it is much capable to distribute electricity more efficiently and of allowing communications between the various systems of the grid, and they also provide the consumer the detail of there usage and guide them how to reduce there consumption because they exist on modern technology. but the other old existing infrastructure is based on old technology, they have there old distribution plan, line losses and not able to know the usage of every consumer and the peak hours of usage like the smart grids that's why the reason smart grids are better then old electricity infrastructure.

2) What management, organization, and technology issues should be

considered when developing a smart grid?

Management: Information feedback would allow consumers to see how much energy they are consuming at any moment and how much it’s costing them. That would allow them to make better decisions about using appliances like air conditioners and furnaces. They could potentially lower their energy bills. However, governments and energy companies need to help consumers overcome the intrusive feelings associated with the technology. Dashboard monitoring software must be easy for consumers to understand and use.

Organizations: There are many disincentives for energy companies associated with smart grids.

Operating budgets and profits would be severely impacted if consumers greatly reduced their energy consumption. Implementation costs would be extremely high, even with federal government assistance. Consumer backlash is already evident in the few experimental cases to date. Without properly structuring the implementation, that backlash could grow against the energy companies.

Technology: Networks and switches for power management, sensor and monitoring devices to track energy usage and distribution trends; systems to provide energy suppliers and consumers with usage data, communications systems to relay data along the entire energy supply system, and systems linked to programmable appliances to run them when energy is least costly, are all expensive and time-consuming to retrofit into all the homes across the nation. Basically, the entire energy infrastructure would require retrofitting

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