PNNL smart technology helps homeowners reduce grid stress
Developed at the Department
of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the GridFriendly™ Appliance
Controller continuously
monitors the electric grid and alters homeowners’ consumption when the grid is
stressed. The appliance
controller can be installed in household appliances and adjust their energy use
for a few minutes or even a few seconds to allow the grid to stabilize when a
disruption is sensed. Following initial government investments in the
technology, the appliance controller was further developed and subsequently
patented by Battelle, which operates PNNL for DOE.
Work is underway with
several appliance manufacturers and utilities to demonstrate the technology in a
variety of projects with appliances. The controller is ready for licensing in
all fields. For more information, visit: PNNL’s GridFriendly Appliance
Controller Available Technologies page or contact Bob Silva
at Robert.silva@pnl.gov or 509-375-2489.
What started as a pilot
research project to develop more effective and less costly methods of grid
stabilization, has evolved into a technology ready for commercial
deployment. In two previous
demonstration projects, PNNL tested the controller’s demand-response
capabilities; the appliance controller successfully confirmed its ability to reliably
recognize and respond to events when the measured grid frequency went outside
the desired limits.
Significant benefits to the
innovative energy efficiency technology include:
*
reliable power grids are less
costly to run
* smaller electricity bills for
consumers
* more efficient power plant use
* inexpensive to manufacture
* a strong foundation for future
grid management.
The patented technology won
a 2007 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Excellence in Technology Transfer. In
2008, the technology was recognized with a prestigious R&D 100 award as one
of the nation’s 100 Most Technologically Significant Products.
About
PNNL
Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science
national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology
and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, national
security and the environment. PNNL employs 4,250 staff, has a $918 million
annual budget, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's
inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter.
Image
caption: Researchers study electrical grid
demand fluctuations at PNNL’s Electricity Infrastructure
Operations Center
(EIOC) to guide
innovations for new energy technologies such as the GridFriendly™ Appliance
Controller, a small chip installed in major household
appliances to adjust their energy use during peak demand times.
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