51–60 of 226 posts
Smart thermometer manufacturers could solve this fairly easily by randomizing the start time. Instead of them all turning on the heater in the winter at 6am, they could i.e pick a random start time between 5:30-6:30 by default.
The power grid is a very complex thing, and I strongly believe that demand management is an important component for stability. There are ways we could better organize our HVAC fleets to provide near-equivalent levels of comfort. The current proposals really suck though. Storage is a big deal that seems to be the focal point of most of the renewable/non-renewable debate, but there are other concerns that are discussed…
But we are at an interesting point in time where "smarter" devices make the addition of demand management easier than ever, and at the same time less predictable power generation makes demand management financially more attractive. We just have to settle on the right mechanism: do electricity prices stay simple, but the provider can control your devices, or are electricity prices reflective of actual supply and devices regulate themselves based off that.
Ecobee has eco+ which has "Community Energy Savings" [0]. It was just way too intrusive. It seemed to be a reactive system vs proactive. Technology Connections goes into this more [1], but I believe they should be providing a system that proactively cools when there is less demand _prior_ to an expected increase in demand. Effectively using your house as a "battery". When I had it enabled, I was _always_ too hot (in…
How is this different from a regular timer thermostat which turns on exactly at the set time?
I think thermostats "smarter" than a simple bimetallic strip were relatively rare before modern internet connected thermostats.
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Australia has split flush buttons, with a half-size flush possible. Haven't seen many here in the States; might be good to require in new construction.
They exist, but in my experience are unnecessary. Just adds another component that can break, and saves less water than simply not flushing.
The power grid is a very complex thing, and I strongly believe that demand management is an important component for stability. There are ways we could better organize our HVAC fleets to provide near-equivalent levels of comfort. The current proposals really suck though. Storage is a big deal that seems to be the focal point of most of the renewable/non-renewable debate, but there are other concerns that are discussed…
Think stuff that's naturally storage-oriented, like charging forklift/AGV batteries, pumping something into a tank, boiling a large kettle, etc. These are all potentially loads where the convenience cost might be well worth a discount from the utility, where the discount is maybe proportional to how long the throttling can be— some loads you'd only want to lose a few minutes (so, basically buying the utility time to spin up another turbine), whereas others you could lose for hours at a time (actual load shifting).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps we should have a national “if it is yellow, let it mellow, if it is brown, flush it down” ad campaign.
Australia has split flush buttons, with a half-size flush possible. Haven't seen many here in the States; might be good to require in new construction.
In almost all cases they are shoddily built and break really easily. I miss a proper metal lever based flush.
Ecobee has eco+ which has "Community Energy Savings" [0]. It was just way too intrusive. It seemed to be a reactive system vs proactive. Technology Connections goes into this more [1], but I believe they should be providing a system that proactively cools when there is less demand _prior_ to an expected increase in demand. Effectively using your house as a "battery". When I had it enabled, I was _always_ too hot (in…
It doesn’t work. People use electricity at peak hours because working people and families are on similar schedules. We all get home from work or wfh office, start cooking, and doing other things because we have time after work/school. Not to mention 5pm is usually the hottest part of the day so ACs run.
I find myself going "huh, it's getting a little warm" at about 5:45pm, at which point I check and remember it's a "Rush Hour" session.
Ecobee has eco+ which has "Community Energy Savings" [0]. It was just way too intrusive. It seemed to be a reactive system vs proactive. Technology Connections goes into this more [1], but I believe they should be providing a system that proactively cools when there is less demand _prior_ to an expected increase in demand. Effectively using your house as a "battery". When I had it enabled, I was _always_ too hot (in…
Like heating/cooling your house more in advance of demand? It would be neat if they could enable/disable demand on a rolling basis where AC runs for one subpopulation for part of an hour then for another subpopulation the next part.