AllSafe report on the development of the Smart Grid

According to Sean Cochrane of AllSafe Franchising Pty Ltd - AllSafe Energy Efficient Products , Americans are beginning to take sustainability and their future power delivery extremely seriously. They are approaching the dilemma with a holistic view, developing and rolling out innovations such as:

• More efficient photovoltaic panels
• Domestic sized vertical wind veins called wind spires
• Smart / wireless home automation devices that monitor, track, alter and conserve household power consumption

What is a Smart Grid and why is a Smart Grid needed?
The easiest way to describe what a smart grid does, is to compare it to what the internet did for the transfer of information. Essentially, the smart grid will do for the transfer of power what the internet did for the transfer of information. In the past power flowed from the power plant to the user, basically one-way traffic. The smart grid will enable multidirectional follow of electricity and data.

Australia’s current electricity grid was designed approximately 100 years ago. It is mechanical, clunky and in many parts of the country is stretched to overload – when demand peaks it is overloaded and brown or black outs occur, which take time to rectify. As it is, the existing grid is inefficient, costly to maintain and constantly needs the creation of more coal-fired power plants to help deliver the extra power that society demands these days.

With a smart grid efficiencies can be made, as it is self-diagnostic and self-healing. Therefore, surplus power can be routed from one area to another when peak power is required in that area, resulting in a more efficient, stable system and excess power is not lost.

Aside from these features, the smart grid will also utilise new technology that can deliver several other innovative features:

1. The two-way flow of information between the utility company and the user allows the consumer to see how much and when they are using power and at what rate they are being charged for that power. This enables the consumer to alter and adapt when they use power to save money and power. 
2. Smart meters will enable consumers to control the power that enters their home, through optional and fairly inexpensive wireless and hard-wired products that interface with PCs or smart phones. Users are able to set when appliances such as air conditioners, lights, and hot water units are turned on or off, therefore optimising power usage and reducing costs. 
3. The smart grid’s two-way flow capability facilitates wind and solar photovoltaic connections and these green power generators also lessen demand on the grid at peak times. This is a boon for consumers with grid-connected wind or solar power units, as it rewards them with 2.5 to 3 times the going rate per KWh for renewable power that is exported to the grid. 
4. The smart grid also enables plug-in electric vehicles to be charged at home rather than at charge stations – allowing the user to choose when power is drawn e.g. when power prices are cheaper at off-peak times. Electric vehicles would also allow (with the owner’s permission) for power to flow back into the grid from the batteries during peak demand times. The stored battery power of 10,000 electric vehicles in a given area could be drawn on by the grid during peak demand could, helping to avert a crisis. The vehicles can then be programmed to drawn power back at a later time at a cheaper rate. This would also offset some of the running costs of the vehicle. 
5. An Australian smart grid would require fewer power stations to be built to cover base load demand, which will mean less greenhouse gas emissions.

AllSafe energy efficient products retail franchises supply insulation, hot water systems, solar power, ventilation and skylights. Installation of all products offered is also available.