(Chiropractic marketing) Smart Green Grid Software Meets the Not-So-Smart Modern Electric Grid
No commentsBy gary Patterson
The green movement is creating new marketplace opportunities as a result of developing new green technology. One technology is smart grid software. Businesses, traditional and emerging, will soon be affected by how this technology will be deployed and adopted as they move into some version of peak load or variable pricing.
The modern electric grid is hardly modern; it has barely changed in seventy-five years. Most electric grid systems today consist of transmission and distribution networks that connect power plants to end users. These systems rely on centralized power generation and feature bottlenecks and choke points where damage to the infrastructure can disrupt service to thousands of customers if not more. Todays electric grids are poorly equipped to handle the demands of the post-modern economy, which due to the ever increasing use of digital devices requires higher load demands and uninterruptible power.
Part of the problem is information–information in current power systems flows only one way, from consumers to the power utilities. The utilities know what the power loads are and where they are, but they struggle to meet power spikes with marginal success. Consumers have no idea (besides learning about it on the nightly news report) what the load demands on the power grid are and thus are unable to make usage decisions based on that information.
The other part of the problem is logistical: Current power systems rely on centralized generating stations that send power over transmission networks to several distribution substations, which then send power over distribution networks to end users. To meet increased peak demand in local areas excess, generators must be kept on standby so they can be brought online as needed. Power, for the most part, cannot be routed from another area to help meet the demand. Since as much as 10% of total power capacity is needed as little as 1% of the time, this means that a large number of small local emergency generators are needed to meet rapidly changing demand (as larger generators take too long to startup).
Smart grid systems are an attempt to address the shortcomings of the current electric grid by changing the flow of information and logistics. The new grid systems use internet connections between power stations, power meters, and appliances ultimately drawing power to make the flow of information about the state of the grid a two-way process between utilities and consumers. This enables consumers to make better decisions about their power usage; which they can even do automatically via the smart power meters.
Smart grid systems change the logistical nature of the grid from the centralized transmission and distribution system to a decentralized network model where excess power can be transmitted from one area to another as needed. Even better is the ability to use energy storage devices in households (such as plug-in hybrids) and power generating devices such as residential solar panels to supply energy back to the grid during hours of peak demand.
The goal of the smart grid system is to increase the reliability and efficiency of the power transmission systems on two fronts: (1) It decentralizes power generation with households that are both clients and suppliers; (2) It improves power consumption. Consumers are now in the driver seat and are better able make more precise decisions about how they consume power.
Test programs of smart grids have been steadily increasing over the last few years. Enel S.p.A. of Italy built a smart grid serving 27 million Italians in 2005. Essentially Enel invented the concept by installing smart meters that enabled two-way communication between the utility and energy consumers. Austin Energy, a Texas power utility, has been working on a similar initiative to replace all its power meters with smart meters by December 2008.
The GridWise Olympic Peninsula project, a study conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, equipped homeowners with digital thermostats and computer controllers on their water heaters and clothes dryers. Participant homeowners were then able to set performance preferences of these devices according to their own preferences. The average household in the study saved over 10% on its yearlong electricity usage. A subset of the program used price-sensitive settings with the price of electricity varying as a function of power load on the grid and the performance of the appliances being set to respond to the price of electricity–these customers saved even more.
For businesses looking to leverage future developments in smart grid technology, it would be worthwhile to review all the power uses in their companies. Gaining an understanding of what power usage can be time shifted as well as coming to an understanding of inventory opportunities to sell power back to the grid will help businesses position themselves to take advantage of green grid technology to lower costs and even gain new revenue streams.
Given that the growing energy crisis is having a dramatic effect on the global economy, there is an urgency to begin planning NOW to help protect your business from rising energy costs.
Bottom line? - Apply this information to improve your profitability, reengineer business models, and strengthen or gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. And apply the free Fiscal Test at http://fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html.
From Gary W Patterson, www.FiscalDoctor.com Copyright 2008
NetworkAgenda more than a useful tool
By christ martin
”Running a business isn’t as easy as it used to be back in the dark ages, before the advent of the computer and the Internet. Now that NetworkAgenda has rolled out its online suite of virtual office tools, you’ve probably arrived at the conclusion that running a business in the old days was considerably more difficult.
Before NetworkAgenda developed an entire suite of online office tools for one low monthly subscription price, running a business effectively required an entire room full of support staff to handle a variety of tasks, such as payroll, scheduling, filing, as well as project management, and other multiple details.
Today, by simply paying one low monthly price it’s possible for you to handle all of the following tasks on your desktop and the Internet:
1)- timeclock
2)- Project manager
3)- contact manager
4)- Web calendar
5)- conference room
6)- data storage
Life isn’t really all that much easier since the advent of Network Agenda’s suite of tools. You still have to manually program your VCR, and your children are still required to learn how to tie their shoes. Business however, is another story. NetworkAgenda has developed so many useful and practical tools that your business could almost run without you.
So grab your golf clubs, and log on to www.networkagenda.com and put Network Agenda to work helping you to run your business.”
NetworkAgenda is striving to help you to virtually run your business, while you concentrate on the more critical elements necessary to the success of your organization. Find more information on NetworkAgenda here.
Is Teamwork Important to YOUR Work At Home Business?
By Lady Di
Teamwork could easily be the most important part of a legitimate work at home business. Teamwork is crucial in being able to use and market an effective work at home business on the internet. There are just to many bits and pieces required to be effective on the internet.
Teamwork has become a very over used and misunderstood word in todays business world. All companies preach teamwork in their business practices but only the ones that follow through seem to be successful. A legitimate and successful business requires work and contributions from all members of the business.
How does this relate to your work at home business? You need to work with other people and programs in order to succeed on the internet. There is just so much information and methods available on the internet you need to use all the resources available to you.
By using trial and error and working as a team, you can put all the pieces together to create a legitimate and successful work at home business. Work with, listen to, experiment with the information you gather, use trial and error to discover what works for your work at home business.
It took my two Golden Retrievers to see the light. We were playing at the lake one day and they were retrieving a stick. I threw the stick in a difficult area and the next thing I knew they were working as a team to retrieve it. This made me stop and think that maybe this was what I was lacking in my work at home business.
I began working with other people I had met on the internet, listening to and trying to use information I gathered from my efforts and not being afraid to try new methods. This has helped to increase my list, gain higher ratings for my website, increase sales and meet a lot of wonderful people.
Teamwork, in the true sense of the word, is how to have a true legitimate work at home business and be successful on the internet.
Diana Rickett
D & G Home Business Partners
http://businessonastring.com
Read more on work at home here.
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 1:30 pm and is filed under business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.