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Any Ideas for the Smart Grid?

Posted July 23, 2010 7:17 AM
User-tagged by 5 users

General Electric has launched its GE's Ecomagination Challenge, a $200 million call for new ideas for the next generation smart grid. This is just the most recent in smart grid announcements that are propelling the concept further. How do you think the smart grid will affect the valve industry?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Valve Technology, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Valve Technology today.

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marcot
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Canada - Member - Specialized in power electronics

Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Montreal, Canada.
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#1

Re: Any Ideas for the Smart Grid?

07/24/2010 12:08 PM

The "smart grid", a "solution" in search or a problem. Marketing is just trying to associate "catch words" to the products.

There is very little the "smart grid" will do to improve your life. The main effect will be to reduce reliability by increase complexity. Somebody will pay for this and it won't be the politicians pushing it as a solution for all problems.

I have seen how smart valves make the life of maintenance people much harder. Now, it takes an expert from the manufacturer to set the limit switches and do basic troubleshooting.

A valve must open and close when commanded by the control system or the plant personnel without questioning if it is the the time of the day where electricity is the least expensive.

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chrisg288
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Engineering Fields - Electromechanical Engineering - Technical Services Manager Canada - Member - Army brat Popular Science - Cosmology - What is Time and what is Energy? Technical Fields - Architecture - Draftsperson Hobbies - RC Aircraft - New Member

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#2
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Re: Any Ideas for the Smart Grid?

07/24/2010 1:24 PM

well said. ga.

did they define "Smart Grid"??
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ageniusforhire
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Location: kentucky
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#3

Re: Any Ideas for the Smart Grid?

07/24/2010 5:55 PM

Untill the us power grid is made "smart" enough to keep a few dozen terrorist from crashing it with kites and carbon fiber strings, anything they do to make it smarter is just a waste of money. KISS, spend the money on thermoelectric generators and woodgas tech waste burning to run them. And break it up into community sized grids where everyones yard, tree,trash and sewer input is gassified to create clean heat, like the new epa wood burning stoves. Look at my little bio-burner. It will cleanly burn anything that ever lived, and can power a whole house worth of teg generators. It also heats a 30 gal modified gas water heater from 40f to 160f with about 3-4 lbs of woodchips. The output temp reaches over 1200f. All self aspirated, with no blower motor. www.aaalogging.com these are not for sale yet, so this is not a sales pitch. Any potential investor, however, feel free to email me, lol. charles

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Anonymous Poster
#4

Re: Any Ideas for the Smart Grid?

08/26/2010 11:27 AM

smart grid? smart for whom? maybe smar grid for GE and others but not to consumers.
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