Smart Electricity Meters and a Smart Grid - Houston, Texas
Everyone loves taking advantage of the electricity that powers our homes and businesses. Unfortunately, you have to pay for that power at some point. The power company must use meters to figure out how much energy you have used so they can bill you accordingly. In the past, meter readers had to go from home to home getting manual readings, actually writing down the numbers on the meter so they could be input a second time into the company's database. This procedure is somewhat inefficient, and doesn't provide the consumer with a great deal of information, even if the usage is clearly marked on the electricity bill.
In our increasingly digital world, computers give us more options. Power companies have upgraded meters by equipping them with tiny computers. These smart meters are also networked, to the power company, thereby eliminating the costs required for manual meter reading. According to Smartmeters.com, 6 percent of American households are currently equipped with the devices. This translates to 8 million smart meters. A study from Parks Associates estimates that number will shoot up to 33 million within two years.
Even though these features are useful, smart meters are programmed to do so much more, including conserve energy. Most smart meters are able to inform the utility of an unexpected outage, decreasing the typical response and service restoration times. Instead of providing the customer with a difficult-to-read display with tiny numbers, smart meters can have larger, more descriptive displays and can easily feed information to a utility's web site. This provides the possibility that consumers could log on to a personalized site that informs the customer about their level of usage and their current charges.
Even better, with smart meters in place, smart power grids are possible. One of the big challenges of power delivery is trying to match supply to demand. If utility companies don't meet the mark closely enough, consumers are not happy. With the increased feedback provided by smart meters, the installation of an automated system will allow producers to get closer to this goal. Another advantage should this system be put in place, is increased reliability. Demand fluctuates wildly depending on the time of day. After all, your air conditioner doesn't run as much at night. You're not opening your refrigerator much, either, so the compressor doesn't need to start up. Electricity can also cost different amounts at different times of the day. With smart meters and a smart grid, a customer can decide which appliances will run when rates are lowest. For example, you may as well run your ice maker in the evening, when you're asleep.
A smart grid also prepares the American power infrastructure for the future. As additional sources of alternative energy are developed (adding to solar and wind), a smart grid will be able to accommodate neighborhood and household-scaled power generators, relieving the kind of stresses that have caused regional power interruptions in the past. This also creates the possibility that relatively remote areas would be able to provide a significant proportion of their own energy. In fact, General Electric has proposed just such a project on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Smartmeters.com reports that, when the smart grid is implemented, between 15 and 30 percent of the island's electricity will be provided by wind turbines that will be installed.
Unfortunately, there are always drawbacks to go with the advantages. Smart meters, understandably, cost more than the traditional models. This cost can range from 250 to 500 dollars. The Texas electricity market is deregulated, meaning that smaller companies are often more flexible with respect to the installation of new equipment. Other utilities located in places where the energy market is less flexible may not be able to justify the up-front cost to the consumer. As with any upgrade, the long-term benefits are the most important thing.
Time and technology will always march on. Though the goal to implement a smart grid controlled by smart meters is not easy to reach, progress will eventually come as Americans learn the benefits and confront our energy needs in the future.