Kind: captions
Language: en
Our
TVs, computers, and cell phones get
smarter and faster every year. But
there's one technology we use every day
that's in serious need of an upgrade.
The electric power grid. A power grid is
a system that produces electricity and
moves it where it needs to be when it
needs to be there. The US power grid was
created in the 1890s and has since grown
into a nationwide network and with 5,000
power plants and 200,000 miles of power
lines, it's arguably the largest machine
on Earth.
Unfortunately, while many other
technologies have gotten smarter, the
grid has mostly just gotten bigger. Now,
it's overstretched and unprepared to
handle increases in electricity demand
as well as a wider variety of power
sources, which means that blackouts
could become a regular occurrence in our
future unless something is done to
upgrade the grid and fast. One problem
with the current grid is that there's no
automated system that reports back to
grid operators when problems occur. For
example, say a power line goes down in
your neighborhood. Today, a grid
operator wouldn't hear about it until
someone called to say their power went
out. Delays like this allow problems to
get out of control before operators can
do anything about them. A smart grid
would have sensors and controls at
critical points between power plants and
people's homes. That way, grid operators
would learn about problems immediately
and could make adjustments in specific
areas of the grid almost as quickly. But
making the grid smarter would do more
than prevent blackouts. It would also
make the grid more efficient.
Sometimes people use more electricity
than the power company expects. And
other times there's more electricity
produced from renewable energy sources
than we even need. Smart technologies
placed throughout the grid would give
grid operators and customers more
control over when and where electricity
is used, helping to balance energy
demand and making electricity cheaper.
For example, during times of high
demand, the grid might briefly turn down
the power of your air conditioner or tap
into the electricity stored in the
battery of your electric car. Or you
might set your dishwasher to wash dishes
by a certain time and allow the grid to
determine the most efficient and
cheapest time to run the machine. These
adjustments might not sound like much,
but if they took place simultaneously in
millions of homes across the country,
they could really add up and they would
be an important step towards a
sustainable energy future.