Employing Smarts with Smart Devices

February 17, 2010

The rollout of smart grid technologies to the public via public utilities represents a very exciting time in history. For the first time people will be empowered to be active participants in their energy savings. The early adoption phase of this process, however, also brings with it some significant challenges to utilities – how to communicate exactly what is so “smart” about these devices and what their benefits are to their customer base. People often talk about smart meters as if those devices themselves are smart…this is the wrong way to look at it. The “smarts” come into play when the data from those devices enables people to make informed decisions regarding their energy usage. While today’s consumer devices provide rudimentary two-way communications, the challenge is they really only report a snapshot of data to the consumer, who then doesn’t have the context to know what that data means. How much will this cost them? What can they do to reduce that cost? What kind of actions can they take and what impact would their actions likely have? How should utilities address those concerns? What consumers will gain from the interface of smart meters with their utility will be a way to make smart decisions…understanding the impact of running the dishwasher in the evening rather than the middle of the day or of raising the thermostat a degree or two on a very hot day to take advantage of new tiered pricing; and the ability to do all this remotely. In these early “pilot” stages, there will of course be challenges. Case in point: the recent article regarding PG&E’s experience with a smart meter rollout. The most important tool a utility can have is effective messaging that speaks to the consumer’s needs and to a quality experience. That is just a “smart” idea.