To solve the problem permanently, Sentridge suggested installing 75kW ABB industrial drives on all the pumps, each equipped with ABB Anti-Jam software, part of its Intelligent Pump Control (IPC) software. An add-on to ABB industrial drives, IPC contains all the common functions needed by water and waste utilities, industrial plants and other pump users.

Every occupant in a building creates demand for lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort, and electrical power. Lighting, heating, and cooling unoccupied spaces is a huge source of energy waste in buildings, and many studies have shown that building occupancy profiles have a significant impact on building energy use and operational controls. Closer alignment of occupancy patterns to building equipment schedules can be an effective low-cost/no-cost energy efficiency strategy leading to more intelligent control of buildings, a better balance between occupant comfort and energy savings, and lower utility bills. This includes, but is not limited to, HVAC temperature set points, lighting schedules, and economizer schedules.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration projects energy consumption only through 2035. This is probably intelligent–crystal balls start to get a little hazy once you get past 25 years out.

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.