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The GridPoint Connect feeds information about a consumer’s energy usage pattern to GridPoint operations center via the Internet.
Slideshow
View SlideshowCoal means a lot to the residents of Utah. It has the distinction of being Utah’s state rock and is burned in power plants to generate heat and electricity for millions of homes and businesses. Nearly 95 percent of Utah’s electricity is supplied by coal-fired power plants, according to Western Resource Advocates, a non-profit environmental law and policy organization. “On the surface, it makes a lot of sense to use this resource for energy and stay on the utility grid,” says Ken Schreiner, who owns a home with his wife, Abbie, in Salt Lake City. “The problem is, when coal burns it creates a lot of air pollution.”
Fortunately, sunshine is another resource that’s abundant in Utah. Blessed to live somwhere that has more than 300 sunny days a year, Ken and Abbie decided to do something good for the environment and also take a step toward energy independence by harvesting this clean, renewable energy source to power their home. They started by contacting a local solar dealer to install tracking solar panels onto a pole in the backyard. The rest of the setup, which resides in the garage, can be managed completely from the Schreiners’ home PC. The size of a small refrigerator, the GridPoint Connect feeds information about Ken and Abbie’s energy consumption patterns to the GridPoint operations center via the Internet. There, the data is tabulated and placed on a private energy management web portal, GridPoint Central, that the Schreiners can access via their computer.
The web site shows in near real time (the data is updated hourly) how much solar power the panels are producing and sending to the utility grid, how much solar energy the homeowners have used and which appliances are drawing the most energy, among other bits of information. “The system really gets you in touch with your house,” says Ken. “For example, from the information on the web portal, I learned that certain devices, like our cable boxes and stereo receivers, were consuming energy overnight when they weren’t even being used.” Ken plugged those devices into a surge strip that could be completely turned off. This clever solution cut his home’s nighttime energy usage in half.
The GridPoint system goes a step further, powering devices like refrigerators and air conditioners with solar energy that has been stored in its batteries. “We can run completely off solar energy during the day, then use the backup solar power at night,” explains Ken. While it’s possible for GridPoint users to occasionally pull themselves off the utility grid, the system was not designed to eliminate a consumer’s dependence on his or her local utility, says GridPoint vice president of product strategy Brian Golden. “In addition to optimizing consumers’ use of renewable energy sources, the system helps them take advantage of energy-saving utility programs like load management and net metering.” For example, through the GridPoint web portal, a homeowner can see when power from the utility is cheapest, then program certain devices like pool pumps and dishwashers to run during those off-peak times. Through net metering programs, GridPoint users like the Schreiners can share stored solar energy with their local utilities for credits on their monthly utility bills. This program has helped Ken and Abbie save a bundle. For example, in one month they sent 14.1 kilowatt hours of surplus power to their utility company. That was enough to reduce their $130 utility bill to $50. Thanks to the GridPoint system, “we’ve become not just an energy user but a producer,” says Ken. Sharing energy and saving money—that’s green living at its best.
This is pure ecogeek fantasy as you pointed out.
First, that single array in the pic will hardly give the results the article described. A basic system cost somewhere on the order of $10 per watt. So something that does what is described in this article is a $50,000 system at minimum.
Also. I love these self absorbed greenies who have 5000 sq ft second homes, add energystar appliances, bamboo flooring and solar panels and are suddenly “green”. What a farce.
Sure they’re greener than if they didnt do those things. But it would be even greener if they didnt build monuments to their egos.
Don
Good article, but please provide more details
Is there any information about how much power they use a day, and how large their solar system is, physically and financially?
How many watts of energy does it produce?
What was the cost of the solar system, including installation labor?
I know that systems with battery backup are quite a bit more costly than those without, but this is not addressed in the article.
Does the dealer who installs the system provide a warranty for the system? If so, how long?
Is the solar system user serviceable? For example, what if a battery or panel needs changing? Is this something the user can do?
What if a panel breaks or battery dies.
This may not seem like an issue now, but if this system is supposed to be used and depended on regularly by the house, if would be a significant issue if power all of the sudden became unavailable to the homeowner, or if the system produced less than normal amount of power.
I understand that this user is still connected to the grid, but then their power costs would be elevated until a repair was complete. What if the repair could not be completed for several weeks or months due to a part not being available?
Just some items to consider. I’m all for going green and solar seems like a great way to do so, but having consumers go from only consumers to producers of energy means they have to consider ALL their costs, not just initial costs, but equipment failures, service time, down time, labor costs, part costs, etc. etc.
These are things no one thinks about when they only use the grid. The power company simply goes out and repairs the item and you’re up and running again, typically within a few hours and the repair is at no direct cost to the consumer, but when the consumer becomes a producer, everything changes.
‘m looking for Jim Peterson who used to be on shopnbc selling computers. I was directed to this web site but i don’t see Jim any where do you know where he is?
quote: This program has helped Ken and Abbie save a bundle.
Based on the article, that’s a wholly unsubstantiated comment… How much did the solar panels & GridPoint System cost? Is there a monthly subscription fee?
based on the meager financial details in the article… if the system cost around $5,000 and the monthly savings are $80/mo, then the system have to operate (service-free) for at least 5 years before Ken and Abbie would see any ROI.
I know reporters love writing these feel-good eco-geeky stories, but without any economical footing, there just inaccessible, useless sidebars to the majority of the population.
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Why is it that so many people only care about the $? Fine, these people are wealthy and to be green should not have built another house. And your right, this article says nothing about the ROI or how long that will take or even the cost of the installed system. But it seems short sighted to think the right thing to do is the economical thing to do. Should we all wait until solar is so cheap that it doesn’t matter who has it or who installs it because it is all the same thing anyway? What, you free market enthusiasts, is going to drive the market if we wait that long? How are we ever going to achieve energy independence or a cleaner environment if we all insist on pissing and moaning about the cost? admittedly not eveyone can install this type of system in their house, but isn’t that the free market dream? Are you all so jealous of these poeple that you must criticize their attempt to “go green”?