The Green Revolution – Why now?
Most Americans have no idea where their power and utilities come from. We’ve been blessed with the ability (for those that pay their bills) to turn on the lights with a flip of the switch. However to transfer this amount of power to your home, neighborhood, city, county and state is a massive undertaking, and frankly it’s being questioned if it’s a sustainable model, or in other words, it’s not working anymore. There are 6 colliding trends- a stressed grid infrastructure, global warming, energy costs, customer expectations, down economy and technology – that are creating a tidal wave for the consumers, utilities, and America as a whole.
The first three trends are pretty straightforward. First, the energy grid is becoming maxed out in capacity. Second, the major ways we’re creating energy are damaging our environment, and third the overall cost of producing energy is growing at an extraordinary rate, forcing us to look for new ways to produce and use energy. The last three trends are subtler. Consumers’ expectations have changed from just getting cheap energy to getting cheap energy that is produced with minimal impact to the environment. Technology has changed the consumer and the way energy can be used. Consumers are now looking for technologies to help them minimize their consumption while (the user) using minimal effort. The down economy is a perfect time for a whole new industry to arise where a capitalistic economy can latch onto and grow in new ways that haven’t been seen before. Also the technology is finally there in homes where a smart grid can actually happen. Example, for a long time many household appliances were made with 8-bit chips since a 16-bit chip was much more expensive and harder to produce. With the cost of these chips decreasing, most appliances and household products now have 16-bit chips installed since they’re faster, more efficient, and cheaper. But the biggest part of this transition from an 8-bit to a 16-bit chip is 16-bit chips can talk to each other allowing them to be networked to actually allow people the ability to create something as intricate as the smart grid. Simply put, Smart Grid is moving the electric grid from a “static” to a “dynamic” state.
Looking at all of these factors, the green revolution is moving ahead in full force, and I’m personally glad to be part of it by being involved with Microsoft Hohm. We are in extraordinary times where we’re faced with the threat of massive environmental problems. Just like other social economic problems faced in the past, the solutions provided by the new green revolution lie in the ability for individuals to change their view of the world. Join the conversation and don’t be afraid to ask questions, give constructive criticism, and share your thoughts on how we can improve as we all take this journey into a new era.
