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Intelligent electricity

An intelligent electricity grid which will help you to cut consumption, pollute less and give you lower electricity bills: Science fiction or soon-to-be truth?

A smart grid is a collection of different solutions, but essentially it is a matter of transporting and using the electricity in a more intelligent way. An example of this is the automatic measurement and management of electricity consumption, so that the user receives a genuine oversight over the amount of electricity being used, when it is used and how much it costs. The idea is that you can adjust your electricity consumption by means of automatic functions ordered from the electricity supplier. These enable you to use the electricity when it is cheapest, choose electricity from renewable sources and generally make your consumption more efficient. 

Some pioneers are already on the way, such as in Boulder, Colorado. In May 2008 the city was launched as the US’s first “Smart-grid city” and a pilot study was initiated. 50 000 of the city’s inhabitants are now connected to a smart grid. Many have installed solar panels on their roofs, some drive electric cars – and some of them can control the lighting and heating in their houses via the internet. Everyone should be in a position to keep an eye on their own consumption, and in due course on their own carbon footprints, thanks to the smart grid. What we see in Colorado foreshadows how the US’s energy supply could be changed into an intelligent network. Eventually, the individual house owner can in fact become an electricity supplier, not just a consumer.