Ontario is starting to set up its 'smart' energy system. Everyday, hundreds of homes throughout the province are being visited by the local utility company to switch out the old electricity meters with 'smart' ones.
These brainiac meters are different from the current ones in that they are capable of measuring electricity usage at different times throughout the day and have the ability to send these readings immediately to the utility company via a wireless signal. Moreover, with the appropriate additions, some of these meters will be able to also send this information to the homeowner, allowing them to view up-to-date information on their usage. Even Google has gotten involved, so we know the possibilities could very well be endless.
The installation of these meters will allow Ontario to implement a new pricing structure for electricity. When demand is high, the price to the consumer will increase. When demand is low, the price will be cheaper.
Currently, the Ontario pricing structure is a flat rate. No matter what time people decide to turn on their stoves or do their laundry, the price is the same. So people do that stuff when it's most convenient: often in the morning before they do to work or past 5:00 after work. This is fine for the homeowner, who pays the same rate. But for the province, which produces and purchases the power, it's not a flat rate.
The production of electricity comes from a variety of sources: coal, hydro, nuclear and some renewables. But the cost of producing electricity varies from source to source. Coal and hydro are fairly cheap, but nuclear and renewables not so much. So when demand is low, more power comes from the cheaper sources, and when demand is high, more has to come from the more expensive sources, costing the province (and ultimately, the taxpayers) more money.
Sometimes demand on the grid can be so high (see heat waves & air conditioning use in Toronto) that the province's total production capacity is not high enough. It then has to import power from out of province and even out of the country. This is even more expensive.
So if the province can make higher-demand times more expensive to the consumer, it hopes that people will start to do these electricity-sucking activities at different times of the day, thereby spreading out the demand and reducing the number of times that the province needs to use its really expensive power or import it. It's a great idea.
While this will give homeowners a beneficial increase in control over their electricity usage, those who use electricity consistently will get hit hard. The biggest group of consistent electricity users are those who use electric heating & cooling. If electric heaters are needed to maintain a consistent level of heat in a home, they will operate throughout the day, at both high and low demand times. In all likelihood, the higher demand times will be much more expensive than the lesser demand times cheaper, so these people will get hit.
And some people trying to be 'green' might also get hit. In a recent conversation with a friend of mine who had once considered getting a geothermal system, he pointed out that geothermal systems require an electric heat pump to circulate the air or water through the pipes underground and in the house. These will run all day and are anything but light on electricity use.
Despite these downsides, the smart metering system is a wonderful idea. I've come across several ideas that take the existing infrastructure several steps further. What if the appliances were smart enough to communicate with the meter and only operate a lower-demand times? What if heating units were able to optimize when they operate and strike that perfect balance of cost and home temperature?
The smart metering is a first step. Our electricity system is about to get a lot more futuristic. It should be very cool.
These brainiac meters are different from the current ones in that they are capable of measuring electricity usage at different times throughout the day and have the ability to send these readings immediately to the utility company via a wireless signal. Moreover, with the appropriate additions, some of these meters will be able to also send this information to the homeowner, allowing them to view up-to-date information on their usage. Even Google has gotten involved, so we know the possibilities could very well be endless.
The installation of these meters will allow Ontario to implement a new pricing structure for electricity. When demand is high, the price to the consumer will increase. When demand is low, the price will be cheaper.
Currently, the Ontario pricing structure is a flat rate. No matter what time people decide to turn on their stoves or do their laundry, the price is the same. So people do that stuff when it's most convenient: often in the morning before they do to work or past 5:00 after work. This is fine for the homeowner, who pays the same rate. But for the province, which produces and purchases the power, it's not a flat rate.
The production of electricity comes from a variety of sources: coal, hydro, nuclear and some renewables. But the cost of producing electricity varies from source to source. Coal and hydro are fairly cheap, but nuclear and renewables not so much. So when demand is low, more power comes from the cheaper sources, and when demand is high, more has to come from the more expensive sources, costing the province (and ultimately, the taxpayers) more money.
Sometimes demand on the grid can be so high (see heat waves & air conditioning use in Toronto) that the province's total production capacity is not high enough. It then has to import power from out of province and even out of the country. This is even more expensive.
So if the province can make higher-demand times more expensive to the consumer, it hopes that people will start to do these electricity-sucking activities at different times of the day, thereby spreading out the demand and reducing the number of times that the province needs to use its really expensive power or import it. It's a great idea.
While this will give homeowners a beneficial increase in control over their electricity usage, those who use electricity consistently will get hit hard. The biggest group of consistent electricity users are those who use electric heating & cooling. If electric heaters are needed to maintain a consistent level of heat in a home, they will operate throughout the day, at both high and low demand times. In all likelihood, the higher demand times will be much more expensive than the lesser demand times cheaper, so these people will get hit.
And some people trying to be 'green' might also get hit. In a recent conversation with a friend of mine who had once considered getting a geothermal system, he pointed out that geothermal systems require an electric heat pump to circulate the air or water through the pipes underground and in the house. These will run all day and are anything but light on electricity use.
Despite these downsides, the smart metering system is a wonderful idea. I've come across several ideas that take the existing infrastructure several steps further. What if the appliances were smart enough to communicate with the meter and only operate a lower-demand times? What if heating units were able to optimize when they operate and strike that perfect balance of cost and home temperature?
The smart metering is a first step. Our electricity system is about to get a lot more futuristic. It should be very cool.
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