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A few of Pike Research’s smart grid industry predictions include the following:- Security will become the top smart grid concern- Distribution Automation will rival AMI as the most visible smart grid application- The “Bakersfield Effect” will continue, but some consumers will actually LIKE the smart grid- Smart meter and AMI focus will shift toward Europe and China- The “Year of the HAN” will not arrive… yet- The Demand Response business transformation will accelerate- The ARRA smart grid “stimulus” will finally have a positive impact- The standards “horse” will begin to catch the deployment “cart”- Data management will be the next bottleneck to smart grid benefits- Existing data and telecom vendors will get serious about the smart grid

AHAM lists the following six key features associated with smart appliances: Dynamic electricity pricing information is delivered to the user It can respond to utility signals Integrity of its operation is maintained while automatically adjusting its operation to respond to emergency power situations and help prevent brown or blackouts The consumer can override all previously programmed selections or instructions from the Smart Grid, while ensuring the appliance‘s safety functions remain active When connected through a Home Area Network and/or controlled via a Home Energy Management system, smart appliances allow for a total home energy usage approach. This enables the consumer to develop their own energy usage profile and use the data according to how it best benefits them It incorporates features to target renewable energy by allowing for the shifting of power usage to an optimal time for renewable energy generation, i.e., when the wind is blowing or sun is shining According to a research piece written by Zpryme, the smart appliance market is projected to grow from $3.06 billion in 2011 to $15.12 billion in 2015, with the U.S. accounting for 46.6 percent of that in 2011 and 36 percent in 2015. By contrast, China is expected to have an 11.6 percent share in 2011 and an 18.2 percent share in 2015. What's more, there are some strong drivers to smart appliance investment: Pricing: Bringing smart appliances to the mainstream means aligning ecological innovation with affordability Environment: With the build-out of metering and real-time pricing, consumers will see economic and environmental incentives for reducing power consumption first hand with their smart appliances Energy efficiency: When a consumer buys an appliance, they commit to paying both the first cost and the operating cost for the life of the product. And over the existence of the appliance, the energy cost to run it could be significantly greater than the initial cost Smart grid build-out: Smart appliance growth relies heavily on how quickly smart grid infrastructure can be rolled-out and readily accessible to communities Government subsidies: Like the Cash for Appliances program in the U.S., governments could and should play an active role in furthering the smart appliance agenda

Many politicians are supportive, not least Barack Obama, the US president, who in October promised $3.4bn in grants to pay for smart grid equipment.However, an investment on that scale does no more than lay the foundations: a full smart grid for the US will require an investment that is orders of magnitude greater. The commercial and regulatory framework to deliver that investment has not yet been developed.

The epithet “smart” can be applied to a wide range of network technologies. But among industry leaders, there is broad agreement about what a smart grid entails: the use of intelligent devices at all points in the electricity network, from the high-voltage transmission lines to appliances in the home, that can send information and receive instructions.

Not surprisingly, this intelligent, interconnected network is by no means a straightforward proposition. It has a lengthy ingredients list, and so requires extensive deployments to make it work: The most obvious component is the smart meter, which stores detailed data on energy usage and transmits and receives information, acting as the communications “gateway” into the home. On top of this, a new communications network needs to be built. Operating in parallel with the electricity grid, this network distributes data between all elements of the new intelligent grid. In the distribution and transmission network, advanced utility sensors and control systems need to be deployed in wires and substations. Such a network then provides the sensors and controls that will improve the system’s resilience. The final element is software. This is required to present, interpret, analyse and react to the huge amount of data that will consequently be flowing through the system.

Is the smart grid nearly as smart as the hype around it says? It depends on whether you expect the technology to ax energy consumption and carbon emissions … or whether you think it’ll act more like a scalpel.

The Cleantech Group’s Lisa Sibley takes a look at GE’s latest smart grid move in China, and some of the players in the space, though they may not all last.

Smart metering is a sexy topic in the energy world, with nearly all Western economies considering plans for large deployments.  It can be used in many different ways but normally there is more than one goal behind a smart metering deployment: In the US, smart metering was, for the most part, driven by the desire to reduce the costs associated with manual meter reading, to reduce peak load and to enhance security of supply. In Italy, one of the key drivers was tackling energy theft and the cost of managing meters. In Ontario, it was peak shaving and the move toward time-of-use pricing. But if smart meters have the potential to address a number of issues, that potential can only be realised by flexible system design and deployment, avoiding excessive rigidity. In this case, one size most certainly does not fit all. We fear that the UK’s current plans for a nationwide rollout of smart meters may well be taking us down the wrong path by imposing standard solutions on the wrong part of the system.

In the realm of intelligent buildings, there's a lot of talk about the smart grid, B2G, and "convergence." Denis Du Bois interviews Siemens, a major player in both sectors. Is there a roadmap for this convergence, or will it be a pile-up?