Every day we wake up, turn on the lights, make ourselves coffee and breakfast, shower, and do chores like laundry, vacuuming, and running a dishwasher. Though we rarely stop and think about it, all of these things depend on electricity, and without it, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. All of these items and regular household equipment like air conditioning increases the demand for electricity, and arguably the best way to decrease this use is an idea called demand response.
According to studies, demand response programs offer the ability to lower our electrical use during peak hours, high prices and during emergencies. Currently, the power grid is aging, and new measures need to be introduced to help lower greenhouse gas emissions yet somehow keep up with growing demands for power. According to studies by the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States used 3,883 billion kWh in 2003, equaling out to be around 13,868 kWh per person. With that number only increasing since then, the need for demand response continually grows.
When we use too much energy, power grids fail, causing problems such as blackouts. Unfortunately, blackouts aren’t just annoying, they’re also incredibly costly. USA Today stated that the 2003 Blackout in New York City cost around $750 million in lost revenue, and the New York Times estimates that around $50 billion is lost each year because of power outages. With our economy that’s already in tough shape, we can’t afford to let this continue. Programs such as an automatic direct response system could help forsee potential problems, so we have a chance to correct them before they occur. Individually, we can all contribute by cutting back the amount of energy we do on a daily basis. Waiting to do laundry or run a dishwasher until you have a full load, not letting the shower run until you get in, and cutting back on the number of lights you use are all simple ways you can help lower your electrical use.
We can’t keep waiting for things to get better, if we want a better economy, a healthier planet, and more money in our pocket, we have to start fixing the problem today. Electrical bills are expensive, let’s lower our costs today!
See how buildings can help demand response in this video!
Sources:
New York Times
USA Today
US Department of Energy