If the utility companies were smart they would have been in the forefront of this effort, but years of being monopolies have sucked their brains out of their ears. So now we are going to have parasites festering all over the new grid. This can not be good. That is obviously not how this author sees it.

http://gigaom.com/cleantech/a-startup-emerges-to-help-time-shift-energy-use/

A startup emerges to help time shift energy use

By Ucilia Wang Jul. 5, 2012, 12:00am PT

Dialing down your home’s energy consumption during times of peak power grid use in exchange for compensation is an emerging service. Picture it’s a hot day and you agree not to jack up your air conditioner in exchange for a discount on your utility bill. Startups like new-comer Smart Grid Billing are developing applications to help manage this process, and later this month Smart Grid Billing plans to launch a field trial of its service at a golf course.

Founded in 2009, Smart Grid Billing is testing its combination of energy-monitoring wireless-connected plugs and software that collect and crunch energy consumption data. The service stores the data in a central server and can determine which appliance or equipment has the potential to reduce or cut its electricity use in real time.

This block of unused power can be sold to a local grid operator. Smart Grid Billing shares the revenue from that sale to its customers, and the plugs are programmed to restore the electricity flow back to the equipment at a later time.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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