Smart, Powerful and Recognized

Image BC Hydro

Across the country, energy efficiency measures are some of the most concrete ways we have of using our energy better. Prince Edward Island, for example, has an entire office devoted to energy efficiency, and Ontario’s smart metering program has already installed 4.1 million smart meters in homes, with an ultimate goal of 4.4 million. Efficiency is important, and that’s why BC Hydro recently recognized 26 individuals and businesses through its Power Smart Excellence Awards, praising their leading roles in energy conservation.

The 14 awards include categories like the Power Smart Leaders, awarded to “customers that continuously demonstrate a best-in-class approach to strategic energy management and an ongoing commitment to energy conservation in BC.” This year, the award was given to both Simon Fraser University and Sinclar Group Forest Products. Other categories include “New Technology,” awarded to companies that develop innovative conservation technology, and “Sustainable Communities,” recognizing local governments and developers whose actions have included entire communities. Eleven organizations earned BC Hydro’s “Leadership Excellence” designation, given to organizations that have already earned been recognized as Power Smart Leaders.

BC Hydro’s customers account for about two thirds of the energy consumed in the province. According to BC’s provincial energy minister, Bill Bennett, “we are counting on their commitment as we work together toward achieving our provincial target of meeting 66 per cent of the province’s future electricity needs through conservation by 2020.”

This is the eighth year for the program, which will now promote its winners through a province-wide online and print advertising campaign. The hope is that the winners will encourage British Columbians across the province to change the way they use energy, just as organizations across the country are trying to reach Canadians.

Winners

• Power Smart Leaders: Simon Fraser University and Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd.
• Leadership Excellence:
  • Abbotsford School District (34)
  • Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc.
  • City of Richmond
  • Hudson’s Bay Company
  • Kwantlen Polytechnic University
  • Molson Coors Canada
  • Overwaitea Food Group
  • The University of British Columbia
  • Vancity
  • Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
  • Vancouver Airport Authority
  • Workplace Conservation Leadership: City of Dawson Creek
• Larry Bell Award: Dr. John Robinson
• Energy Conservation Commitment: Canadian Tire Corporation
• Energy Manager: Fraser Health Authority
• Sustainable Communities: Millennium Development Corporation and the City of Vancouver
• New Construction: Encana Corporation
• New Technology: Taseko Mines Limited
• Conservation Partner: BC Food Processors Association
• Consumer Product Manufacturer: Philips Lighting
• Residential Builder/Developer: Glacier Creek Pacific Contracting Ltd.
• Lighting Retailer: The Home Depot
• Appliance Retailer: Sears Canada Inc.
• Electronics Retailer: Best Buy Canada

How smart is smart metering?

Smart metering is the centrepiece of a new wave of electricity transmission technologies:  a way of monitoring energy use in real time that allows consumers to be more active in the way they use energy. Time-of-use rates, for example, make consumers pay more for electricity during high-use, “on-peak,” periods (such as the dinner hour), and less during periods where everyone (with the possible exception of panicked, deadline-conscious bloggers) is asleep. Ontario plans to install smart meters in every home and business in the province by the end of 2010.

It’s the perfect solution for reducing our total energy use, right? Not necessarily.

In a study published in the September edition of the Building Research and Information journal, researchers from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands found that while Danish smart meter users saw an initial reduction of an average of 7.8 per cent, many users’ electricity consumption eventually returned to previous levels in the longer term. Like shock campaigns designed to scare drivers away from risky behaviour, the effect only lasted as long as its novelty.

The study only included about 304 participants, a relatively small sample, but it provides some of the same cautions that other researchers have already found. The UK, for example, is planning on installing smart meters in 27 million homes and two million other sites over 10 years. But an article written by a British researcher, also published in the September issue of Building Research and Information, found that usage levels won’t drop unless governments are also “[providing] a determined focus on overall demand reduction (rather than on peak electricity demand reduction) … designing customer interfaces for ease of understanding, and … guiding occupants towards appropriate action.”

As both studies note, different meters provide varying levels of information to the user, which means that better technology offers room for improvement in any smart metering campaign. But no matter how smart our metering gets, the “smartest” technology that we have when it comes to energy use will continue to be energy users themselves.

Via PhysOrg.com

Making an example of Masdar

In energy strategy documents across the country, energy efficiency has been identified as one of the best ways of decreasing total energy use. Replacing light bulbs and buying better appliances are valuable steps, but one of the most profound changes being suggested are in the basic infrastructure that we use every day.

Across Canada, infrastructure improvements have included incentives for energy efficient building and smart meters to monitor and modify daily energy use. But while Canada is taking a series of small steps in its energy-related infrastructure, the United Arab Emirates is taking a single giant one: they’re building an entire city specifically designed to showcase energy efficient infrastructure and alternative energy sources.

Masdar City, created under the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company will eventually be home to 50,000 residents over six square kilometres. Located east of the capital city of Abu Dhabi, adjacent to the international airport, the city will be carbon neutral, produce zero waste and utilize all water, including waste.

It’s no coincidence that Masdar City is being built in an emirate whose crude oil exports make up nearly 60 per cent of its GDP. With non-renewable energy already integral to the region’s economy, proven strength in the growing renewables sector would provide a diversified, enduring position as an energy leader. Energy is already showcased in Abu Dhabi’s annual hosting of the World Future Energy Summit, and the city is also currently home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 2011, this IRENA secretariat will be transferred to Masdar City itself, where its advanced energy infrastructure will provide an exemplar of the world’s future energy use.

So, what will a city designed to use the most advanced energy-efficient infrastructure look like?

First and most importantly in an emirate driven by oil: Masdar City will run entirely on renewable sources including solar, geothermal and waste-to-energy. Under its “Technology Roadmap,” Masdar hopes to continue work in over 90 programs focused on these areas, both as showcase technologies and functional pieces of the city’s operations. But it isn’t just the power that fuels the city that will be different than the urban infrastructure we’re already familiar with.

Canadian transportation accounts for 36 of our total emissions. In Masdar City, transportation emissions will be reduced to zero through the city’s inherently walkable design — shaded, narrow walkways that reduce glare — and cutting edge transportation technology. Plans include providing a “Personal Rapid Transit” (PRT) system, with more than 3,000 emission-free vehicles at 85 stations operating 24 hours a day. Through the city and beyond, a six-station LRT system will connect Abu Dhabi, Masdar City and the airport.

Water, meanwhile, always an important consideration in a desert city, will also be taken care of in novel ways. A solar-powered desalination tank will provide drinking water for the city, and the resulting grey (waste) water from the city’s activities will be collected and used for irrigation.

All these technological changes will be supported by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is already in its second semester of operation. Partnering with MIT, the focus is on developing the alternative energy technologies that will enable future cities like Masdar. After all, if the infrastructure that allows us to use our energy needs to change, that change will ultimately have to be a global.

One million smart meters installed

Milestones are important. 

They’re indications of progress, and a way of gauging the strength of social trends. So it’s very much a big deal that Hydro One and Hydro One Brampton recently announced they’ve installed 1,000,000 smart meters. 

Why is that a big deal?  Smart meters are incredibly effective energy savers. When used in a jurisdiction with time-of-use pricing, the financial incentive to shift some electricity usage to off-peak time has effectively reduced overall use. 

That’s why Ontario’s provincial government announced its intention to install smart meters in every home and small business in the province. That announcement was made in 2006. Do the math – that’s a rate of around 300,000 meters per year installed since then. 

Why the rush? Hydro One, the largest utility in the province, intends to adopt time-of-use pricing in 2010. That date still has a far-off sound to it, but it bears repeating that’s just next year. Time-of-use pricing is effective in reducing energy use, but only when customers have access to smart meters.

The rush will continue. Another 400,000 more Hydro One customers have made appointments to have smart meters installed. Once the province is effectively converted to the new technology, there will be a host of “spinoff” benefits. 

Smart meters will eliminate the need to estimate bills – on average, most meters are physically read only every two or three months, sometimes creating surprisingly large bills. 

Not having to read bills will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as meter readers will no longer have to criss-cross the province. Ontario’s a big province. Those criss-crossing trips add up.   

Indeed, it seems smart meters are the smart choice for managing energy use.

Smart meters a smart choice for curbing consumption

As electricity consumption reaches record highs, utility companies and governments are searching for eco-friendly alternatives to the energy crisis. 

Smart meters can provide real-time readings of energy use, providing more detailed information than conventional meters. Many energy companies throughout North America and Europe are in the process of replacing manual meter readings with these instant, automated systems. 

If consumers know the time-of-use prices for its energy consumption, the hope is that they will think twice before doing a load of laundry or running the dishwasher during peak evening hours. The long-term goal will be to reduce overall electricity demand, therefore requiring less generating capacity. 

Smart meters can cost anywhere from $250 to $500 depending on features. Critics argue that the cost of installing the new smart meters does not justify the expense, especially when used by low energy consumers, such as homeowners. 

The cost of managing old meters is about 50 cents per unit, compared to the nearly $5 per unit for the smart meters. Although expensive to install, the idea is that meters will save money by eliminating the process of sending paid employees on-site to manually read or manage the meters.  

Energy savings are expected to be around 10 percent per household, but in order for the system to be truly effective, the smart meters need to be coupled with a sliding pricing rate and data feedback to consumers. 

With cooperation and ingenuity, smart meters can be another effective step towards reducing energy consumption.

Every little bit makes a difference

Consumer demand for electricity is growing. It’s estimated that over the next 20 years, an additional 214 gigawatts of electricity will be required to keep up with demand. 

To put that in context, that’s 357 large coal plants worth of capacity.

So while governments and utility companies are doing their part to provide clean-burning alternative energy sources, consumers are being asked to start changing their consumption habits.

Beyond the basics, switching to CFL light bulbs, buying Energy Star appliances and simply switching off the switch, consumers now have other ways they can make a difference.

Take Smart Meters, as an example. Companies, like Xcel Energy, are finding ways to make smart meters as fun and as easy to use as TiVo. How it works is consumers manage home electricity via a web page that displays energy consumption and carbon footprint data and suggests ways to save energy (and cash).

By tinkering with the SmartGridCity site, savvy users can manage the power flowing to each appliance and rank them according to the order they should be shut down when prices rise. Turning energy consumption into a video game that saves you money.

Another option is by inserting special plugs into electrical outlets, almost anything—from hall lights and pool pumps to garage door openers—turning those appliances into a smart appliance.

The important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what you do, every little bit helps.

Illustration: James Day