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Smart Grid – Where Technology Meets Alternative Energy
Ask anyone in the New York metro area where they were during the infamous blackout in August of 2003, or the brownouts that residents of southern California experience a given year. In metropolitan areas like these that are highly dependent on power for public transportation, traffic control, street lighting, and safety, a major power event is not only inconvenient - it’s dangerous.
How would residents in these and other geographic regions with high power demand respond to a device that networked their home’s power usage to their local utility provider to conserve energy, help prevent black and brown outs and save them money? The smart grid could make this possible by transforming how consumers produce and use energy.
As the world’s outdated power grids are overhauled, “smart” utility metering for electricity, water, and gas is gaining popularity to improve the storage and distribution of power. With growing interest in the “clean tech” movement, fueled by government stimulus dollars supporting alternative energy projects, the demand for smart grid and metering applications is on the rise. Utilities, manufacturers and technology providers are responding. New technology can enable the integration of abundant sources of renewable energy, cut energy costs, build new industries and create jobs and opportunities throughout the supply chain.
A smart grid infrastructure is critical to the promise of renewable energy making a significant energy and environmental contribution. Without it, renewable energy will remain niche. The predominant smart grid market applications include advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), demand response, grid optimization, distributed generation, energy storage, advanced utility control systems, and smart homes/networks. Increasingly, smart grid will be about moving new, renewable energy technologies from the novelty to the everyday. Home-area networks, and the sense of empowerment they offer consumers over their power consumption, will also help drive consumer acceptance of smart grid technology.
Arrow Electronics has a dedicated alternative energy team, and is helping OEMs develop designs for AMI and the entire smart grid infrastructure. Arrow draws from its vast line card of world-class manufacturers to offer customers a total solution, including meters, home thermostats, and appliances, as well as the technology that will enable them to communicate wirelessly.
Arrow’s alternative energy initiative provides support and expertise for engineers designing a range of applications, including clean tech, energy creation, harvesting, storage and energy distribution. Arrow offers a complete portfolio of products, services and expertise from a single source. This includes engineering resources and support for next-generation designs, access to pre-qualified, third-party design service companies through Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) and a broad selection of flexible cost effective ASIC designs through Arrow Custom Logic Solutions.
For more information on Arrow’s alternative energy solutions, visit www.arrownac.com/alternativeenergy