Consumer Outreach
Web Browsing to Help Energy Use
When members of Wake Electric Cooperative surf the World Wide Web, they can save energy, too.
About 100 members of the Wake Forest, N.C.-based co-op are participating in a pilot program to test smart grid technology through a home energy management system that they can access through the Internet.
“This project will provide customers with improved energy use information and automation,” said Jim Mangum, CEO of Wake Electric. “Our customers will be able to use new technology to have choice and control over how they use energy.”
Wake Electric is teaming with Consert Inc. of Raleigh, N.C., which designs and implements intelligent energy networks.
As part of the program, a small device will be attached to home electric meters. The device relies on a network of hardware and software that uses wireless two-way communications.
That way, it communicates with appliances that use energy, such as thermostats and hot water heaters, enabling participants to use the Internet or their smart phones to manage energy use.
Mangum says the goal is to eliminate wasted consumption, which occurs, for example, when air conditioning cools an empty house.
Instead, the technology lets a member remotely turn up the thermostat when no one is at home, or set it to start cooling just before returning after work or school.
Turning off or readjusting these appliances for even brief periods of time can noticeably affect daily energy use, Mangum said.
Officials also hope the system eventually can help reduce peak demand and facilitate the connection of renewables and plug-in electric vehicles to the electricity grid.
The first phase of the project will last six to eight months and could be the building block for expansion into other parts of Wake’s service territory, which includes 33,500 members in seven counties.
“Smart grid is the way of the future, and fits into Wake Electric’s long history of helping its customers manage energy use and become more energy efficient,” Mangum said.
Tags: Consumer Outreach, Consumer-Members, Efficiency and Conservation, Smart Grid, Social Media