Making the Power Grid Smarter

In a project launched earlier this year, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA have modified power-hungry appliances — such as water heaters, thermostats, and dryers — in hundreds of homes in the state to test how networked technology can both save homeowners money on electricity bills and relieve the strain on power grids.

The experiments are done under an umbrella project called GridWise, a U.S. Department of Energy-supported initiative to modernize the country’s power grids by installing telecommunication, sensor, and computer technology into the existing power infrastructure. By networking major appliances to the Internet in order to monitor real-time electricity prices, and equipping others with specialized chips to track grid stability, the researchers hope to overhaul the antiquated electricity infrastructure and harness the power of real-time tracking to optimize energy use.

Technology Review