Transcript:
In the near future, many homes could act like giant batteries to store energy and help reduce strain on the electric grid.
Wesley Whited of the consulting firm DNV Energy Services says historically, utilities have generated electricity and sold it to homes and businesses. But with new technology, they can now buy and sell energy back and forth from consumers.
Whited: “A virtual power plant is this idea of you as a consumer taking normal household appliances … and modulating how they are using their energy based upon signals that are sent from the grid.”
So when demand for electricity is high, utilities could automatically turn down people’s hot water heaters or thermostats very slightly. And they could draw excess power that’s generated by residents’ rooftop solar panels or stored in their home battery systems.
Whited says consumers would be unlikely to notice the small changes. But the combined impact from many homes would reduce pressure on the grid.
Whited: “And that is going to defer the utility’s need to go build a new substation, to procure a new transmission line, or to build a new natural gas peaking power plant.”
So the approach could help utilities meet the growing demand for electricity more efficiently.
Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media
