1 What Is a Smart Grid?
“Line ‘Em Up” by Ian Muttoo is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
A smart grid is a mixture of technologies used to optimize electrical power delivery. This mixture of technologies includes the extensive use of electronic communication to control and manage electrical usage and production. A more detailed explanation can be found at the US Department of Energy website.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses this definition “a modernized grid that enables bidirectional flows of energy and uses two-way communication and control capabilities that will lead to an array of new functionalities and applications.”
A smart grid would ideally allow all of the following to occur (Momoh 2) :
- Delivery of data for customers to make cost-saving choices
- Increased reliability, efficiencies, and securities
- Demand response management capabilities
- Electric storage capabilities
- Optimization of grid
- Increased incorporation of distributed generations such as solar
- Integration of “smart” appliances
- Smart metering explained in the Smart Meter chapter
- Dynamic fault detection, isolation, and restoration
In addition, a smart grid allows for “grid flexibility” (Hawken 30). To accommodate a higher percentage of intermittent renewable energy such as wind and solar, the electric grid needs to be able to adapt to the varying nature of these energy sources. This flexibility involves managing the supply side including storing or adding energy as needed and managing the demand side such as controlling thermostats, car battery charges, appliances, etc (Gellings 77).
Works Cited
Gellings, Clark W. The Smart Grid: Enabling Energy Efficiency and Demand Response. Fairmont Press, 2009.
Hawken, Paul, editor. Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Penguin Books, 2017.
Momoh, James A. Smart Grid : Fundamentals of Design and Analysis. IEEE Press, 2012.
“Smart Grid.” US Department of Energy, 16 Dec. 2019, https://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid/smart_grid.html.
Thompson, Kristy. “Smart Grid: A Beginner’s Guide.” NIST, 21 Nov. 2019, https://www.nist.gov/el/smart-grid/about-smart-grid/smart-grid-beginners-guide.