Futurismic

The New York Times reports on an intriguing – and apparently effective – method of encouraging consumers to curb their energy habits. A Sacramento utility company printed comparisons of energy use on their bills, and rated the consumers by comparison to their neighbourhood’s averages and best figures, labelling their success or failure with a happy or sad face respectively.

When the Sacramento utility conducted its first assessment of the program after six months, it found that customers who received the personalized report reduced energy use by 2 percent more than those who got standard statements…

Some clients complained and the utility stopped deploying the frowning faces, but the idea has apparently been taken up by other companies elsewhere. It’s interesting to note that this method is apparently more effective in encouraging efficient energy habits than emphasising the financial benefits or environmental impacts.

But of course, it’s playing on the urge to conformity, and there will always be those who react against such angles of attack. And while the end in this case is benign, it’s a strong reminder that anyone with a psychology (or marketing) degree has a lot more power to manipulate you than you might suspect. [story via WorldChanging; image by Emmaline]

One of President Obama’s first actions has been to announce his intentions to build a ’smart grid’ for the US energy infrastructure. WorldChanging explains the concepts behind the buzzphrase, and I’ll paraphrase their five broad categories here:

• End-user smart metering to use energy more efficiently
• Systems to integrate electricity generation with electricity storage
• A communications network that shares data on performance, demand and availability of power
• An ‘application platform’ that allows third-party utilities to connect the above systems together in useful ways
• Monitoring and controlling systems that allow the grid to respond to service interruptions in a self-healing manner

In other words, it’s a lot like an internet for power, if you will – not to mention a far cry from the crude lacework of cables and substations we have at the present time. There’s a lot of work to be done, but the benefits of investing the time and money promise to be immense. I wonder what our lot in Whitehall are doing about the UK grid at the moment? [image by C P Storm]

If you’re interested in seeing the sixty odd discreet technologies that break down into the five groups above, the US Department of Energy has made a big old PDF report on smart grids.

What the hell is a “smart grid city”? [via Worldchanging]

Well, maybe you could call it “Infrastructure2.0″, but whatever you call it, it’s a new (and hopefully more sustainable) way of looking at the issues of providing utilities to urban areas. According to Xcel Energy:

“The next-generation electricity grid will allow our company to better meet growing demands, address environmental challenges, maximize available resources and optimize the entire energy system. Ultimately, a “smarter” grid helps us serve our customers by creating more options for managing personal energy use, habits and costs.”

All hot air and sales jargon, you might be thinking. Well, Xcel seem to be walking the walk as well talking the talk – they’re going to make Boulder, Colorado into their first Smart Grid City, with the first phase predicted for completion this August. [image by tanakawho]

I’m pretty pleased to see the energy industry acting on these sorts of ideas instead of just paying them lip service, and I hope something similar starts appearing over here in the UK. Perhaps where Xcel leads, others will follow and surpass.