Reducing Your Energy Costs

If you followed the 2008 presidential race, you may have heard the term, "Smart Grid", and wondered, "What is that?" Both candidates expressed the need for a Smart Grid to guide America towards energy independence.

According to the Electric Power Research Institute (www.EPRI.com), a Smart Grid is a power system that can incorporate millions of sensors all connected through an advanced communication and data acquisition system. This system will provide real-time analysis by a distributed computing system that will enable predictive rather than reactive responses to blink-of-an-eye disruptions.

There are a couple of companies that I want to make note of. A company in Germantown, MD, Current Group (www.currentgroup.com), is very involved in the Smart Grid effort. They provide Smart Grid applications for the utility companies. Even Google has gotten into the act. They are currently prototyping a free service, Google Powermeter (www.google.com/powermeter), that will allow you to monitor your household energy consumption. Studies have shown that access to your energy information can save 5% to 15% on your monthly bill.

The HR1: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (http://thomas.loc.gov) that Congress passed in February provides $4.5 billion dollars for the modernization, security and reliability of the U.S. electricity infrastructure. The Act includes investments to put "Smart Meters" into 40 million U.S. homes. A smart meter is a device that will deliver the consumption data to the Google service.

Imagine, by monitoring energy use, you could see if your refrigerator, those incandesent light bulbs or your toaster is costing you money. You can figure out how much it costs to cook dinner, wash clothes or take a shower. This has the potential to be a great tool to teach people how to reduce their energy foot print.