1) Due to the dynamic nature of electricity, energy accountability is a difficult feet for many building owners. Especially in structures with multiple tenants, figuring out who used how much energy is rather difficult. In many cities, energy audits and electricity metering are become mandatory in order to comply with energy efficiency local laws such as NYC local laws 84,87 and 88. To cope with the growing need to monitor more effectively, companies such as GE have released new submetering products (check the link). However, these products are limited at the current time and still there is much room for improvement. http://www.genewscenter.com/Press-Releases/GE-Energy-Announces-Two-New-WiFi-Enabled-Submeters-and-a-New-Compact-Industrial-Ethernet-Switch-365c.aspx.
2) In an attempt to optimize systems it is necessary to learn from nature’s example. Millions of years have converged to make life a (relatively) efficient system compared to anthropogenic developments. Although it is nothing new, take a look at these cool optimization systems: http://news.discovery.com/tech/fly-eyes-used-for-solar-cells.html. In this example, fly eyes are being researched to maximize the energy efficiency in solar cells. Hopefully we’ll see some bio-inspired projects cropping up on EnergyGridIQ in the near future.
3) Mixed energy grids have many perks. Diversified sources often balance one another and create an ebb and flow in the energy security. However, sometimes there is simply too much. This interesting piece discusses the downsides of when there is a surplus of energy being produced. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/surplus-renewable-energy-an-update/. The article goes on to talk about possible solutions such as energy rerouting. However, what is important to note is that potential energy storage units accompanied with the wind facilities could have mitigated the necessity to deal with the surplus in such an economically wasteful fashion.
As always check back into energygridiq.com for more.
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