Re: [smartpower-interest] [smartpowerdir] FYI OSTP requests input on SmartGrid

["Richard Shockey" <[e-mail]>]

That is clearly a local utility issue. Though in North America the cost of
driving a electric car would be 2.5 cents per mile vs 12 cents currently
with gasoline at the US's absurdly low price per gallon. The CAPEX costs
still make hybrid vehicles a challenging ROI issue.

And if gas prices go up again ( which they surely will ) you can easily see
a stampede into the showrooms faster than you can say "cash for clunkers".
There is demand for this. 

I could write the commercials. "Buy a Chevy Volt and screw an oil
company!!", while the Star-Spangled Banner is being played in the
background.  

>From the Utilities perspective increasing demand during off load times makes
sense, its very profitable especially during the 11PM to 5AM time frames.
It's essentially idle capacity that could be put to better use. It just has
to be managed since demand would become highly localized to specific
substations based on income/demographics, like you live in Berkeley CA or
here in Fairfax county VA. You just cant put a big egg timer in your garage
( presuming you have a garage) its much too complicated for that.

The larger issue in managing smart appliances is that there are no effective
standards and there are at least 5 approaches at last count, plus the larger
political issue of who owns the meter data, how is it accessed by the
consumer and or/who is the Home Energy Management partner is for the
consumer. Those are the core issues at the heart of OSTP questionnaire.  The
US Government is, at least, asking the right questions. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Bierman [mailto:[e-mail]] 
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 3:22 PM
To: Richard Shockey
Cc: [e-mail]; 'Wilhelm Wimmreuter'
Subject: Re: [smartpower-interest] [smartpowerdir] FYI OSTP requests input
on SmartGrid

Richard Shockey wrote:
> I find the discussions of the SmartGrid and my clothes dryer somewhat
> boring, but the SmartGrid requirement to manage plug in electric vehicles
is
> totally compelling.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/business/15electric.html?hpw
>
> A full automotive charge at 240 volts would use almost the electricity
that
> a typical 1800 sq foot house would use during the entire day. 
>
> That is a load factor that has to be very very carefully managed by a
highly
> secure communications network.
>
>   

I was interested in how consumers would utilize
and manage their smart appliances.  There are a lot
more dishwashers and clothes dryers out there than electric cars.
If I doubled my home usage because of an electric car,
my bill would go up 5 fold, using the current monthly
tiered rates.  That's not a compelling use case.
Even at the lowest tier, it is still 5 or 10 times
more expensive than gasoline where I live.


Andy


> -----Original Message-----
> From: [e-mail]
> [mailto:[e-mail]] On Behalf Of Andy Bierman
> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 1:09 PM
> To: hector
> Cc: [e-mail]; Wilhelm Wimmreuter
> Subject: Re: [smartpower-interest] [smartpowerdir] FYI OSTP requests input
> on SmartGrid
>
> hector wrote:
>   
>> Wilhelm Wimmreuter wrote:
>> ...
>>
>> Let the game begins after the price of energy is increased first -
>> cost of building this.   Maybe I am a skeptic, but I find it a little
>> hard to shallow that consumers will be paying any less than are are
>> today, and that there would be a rates menu ala cart.
>>
>>     
>
> The rates that residential customers pay for electricity
> seems very different all over the world.  I don't see how
> appliance manufacturers could deal with this problem
> on their own.
>
> If my utility offered significant savings to use power
> between midnight and 6 am, then I would be able to
> select which appliances I want to use during that
> predictable time period.   Appliances already have
> buttons to delay-start.  I don't need a SmartGrid for that.
>
> I don't think I want a complex electric bill, and
> automated appliances bidding for kilo-watt-minutes,
> and running whenever the 'price is right'.
> I prefer the simple midnight - 6am solution for homes.
>
>
> Andy
>
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