"Smart" Appliances Could Aid Power Grid

(CNET)  Did you know there's some leeway on when a refrigerator must run its automatic defrost cycle?

Well, apparently, there is, and it could help ease the stress on local energy grids during peak hours, according to GE Consumer & Industrial.

Currently, GE refrigerators' automatic defrost modes are prompted by factors like door openings. But, the company says, it could build refrigerators that delay that cycle until a local electrical grid signals it's a good off-peak time to suck down more electricity.

Refrigerators are not the only appliances that could be programmed to wait for convenient times to run.

GE is testing a whole range of what it calls "Energy Management-Enabled Appliances" with the Louisville Gas and Electric Co. in Louisville, Ky., the company announced Wednesday. It includes ranges, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and microwaves.

The appliances are equipped with a "Smart Meter" that communicates with the local power utility, and then times itself to run during off-peak periods. Consumers are still given a choice to override the program if they want to use a particular appliance during peak hours.

The program seeks to address the nationwide problem of peak energy demand, in which electrical grids are overburdened by a consumer surge in use. It's a problem power utilities are concerned about given the rise in electric plug-in vehicles.

GE estimates that there are currently about 3,000 utilities in the U.S. Many of them are considering their energy storage options, and some are considering moving to a tiered-pricing system to encourage off-peak electricity usage. Appliances that help consumers avoid peak hours could help them save money, according to GE.

But there's a catch. In order for the appliances to work, the electrical grid they operate on must communicate with the machine's "Smart Meter."

That means utilities would have to be onboard with a standardized system that allows household appliances to communicate with their grids.

By Candace Lombardi

[themassesi]

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[oneworldusa]

All fine and dandy until these products come out and cost $3,000 and nobody (or very few) can afford them, so essentially they will do little to no good.

[nothappyatall]

"Smart" Appliances Could Aid Power Grid"

Oh brother, not having FOUR kids and instead having ONE will go a LOT further! that power grid won''t be running THREE more entire households because they won''t be built or powered.

Refrigerators use very little power.

[truthislife1]

Sure am glad evolution is true and these things have no intelligent design.

[rmwhitman]

Great! Idea!

[yohnvilson]

This sounds like a weasely attempt to justify BPL! I mean, what''s this "communication" that the kajigger needs to have with the electric company? We''ve never had any problem coming up with appliances that know what time it is.

And other than that ... I swear I remember reading about this in French class 20 years ago, so it was probably old then -- I guess they''ve had tiered pricing forever over there so yeah, you just program your washing machine to faire le lavage at 2 AM when it''s cheap. So GE has decided to invent that?

[greeneyes222]

This all sounds reasonable to a point. Then you start wondering what happens when they control your thermostat, which would be ok for most but what if you have a medical condition?

Just because you can doesn''t mean you should. Especially when it comes to centralized control. One size never fits all, and good inventions are always perverted somewhere along the line.

[spadeisspade]

Gee, Pensacola; I thought all the people with tin foil over their windows down here in LA were trying to keep the gov''t from reading their thoughts!

[pensacola98]

A few years ago when data began to go wireless, some developers planned to create appliances that would respond to control signals that were modulated on the electrical power grid. The idea was to create time windows and send signals to turn water heaters and heat pumps on or off based on the how the owners had programmed them. There was also the idea to turn off appliances by zones during critical capacity emergencies.

Also a $30 device was marketed for refrigerators, heat pump compressors, fan moters and other appliances with motors to synchronize voltage and current signals to offer maximum efficiency and longivity for the appliance by improving the power factor.

For those living in the south, an old idea has returned for refrigerators - installing the appliance as a more permanent appliance with extra insulation and moving condensor coils outside to stop giving off heat inside a home, and reduce air conditioning requirements.

Foil wrapping a home during construction can block radiation that penetrates and heats a home.

Cutting a return air collector hole and installing another air filter near the ceiling for central air conditioning can reduce a/c run time considerably because the warmest air is near the ceiling and gets cooled faster by giving a pathway to to collector chamber.

[bobnjersey]

[That means utilities would have to be onboard with a standardized system that allows household appliances to communicate with their grids. ]

and they''ll be asking for federal dollars to do this, no doubt.

[The program seeks to address the nationwide problem of peak energy demand, in which electrical grids are overburdened by a consumer surge in use. It''s a problem power utilities are concerned about given the rise in electric plug-in vehicles. GE estimates that there are currently about 3,000 utilities in the U.S. Many of them are considering their energy storage options, and some are considering moving to a tiered-pricing system to encourage off-peak electricity usage. ]

heads up here. some business and most industrial customers already deal with these ''tiered models'' or what is more commonly known as ''demand'' charges. in many cases the demand charges part of the bill is 10 times the usage part.