Architectural Technologist - Smart Meters & Smart Grids

: Image by The Sierra Club via Flickr

I saw this video below and thought it set out the main points of Smart Meters and Smart Grids, quite well, it could equally be applied to just about any country on the globe, don’t forget smart meters are separate from the smart grid, a film shown in the presentation looks at this and goes into the way both can be used and why. I am a futurist, I know we can design out of this energy mess we have got our selves into, we as a planet, can not continues for the next 50 years the way we have for the past 50 years, if we don’t take control and reduce power use and its distribution, nature will take control with disastrous consequences.

I have had a long term interest in Smart grids and meters for some time, this presentation is about an hour long, and well worth your time to watch it, the basics are clearly explained and some of the options that the smart grid can offer, by integrating electric cars, wind, solar,PV, thermal, power generation. and battery storage.

Google is also am major catalyst in this emerging technology and their power meter technology will show just what and when you use power in the home.

Why spend time researching this technology, simple we as Technologists have the power to spec this technology, make it work, make it integrate into the building fabric, so go and learn, and given the chance, install. Even the simplest PV cell on a roof is going to help.

The up and coming tax breaks promised by the current government and possibly the next incoming government, will make these changes worth while and help bring down the cost of the primary products.

About 10 mins after I posted this blog, I started to wonder about youtube and saw this exellent vido on the smart grid, its a good link into the overall presentation but concentrates on the smart grid technology, and is again almost required watching.