Nucleus Energy Manager Helps Homeowners Monitor Energy Use
GE smart grid technologies help Martha’s Vineyard achieve greater energy independence.
On Martha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard Energy Project (VEP) and Vineyard Power Co-Op turned to GE for help with their long-term vision: to provide 100 percent of the community’s power with wind and solar energy during the off-season, when the destination is home to 16,000 residents.
During the summer, when approximately 110,000 people might be on the island at a given time, Martha’s Vineyard would purchase power to supplement wind and solar. Smart grid and demand response-enabled technologies could help the island balance its energy supply and demand, and maximize the benefit of its sustainable energy resources.
Martha’s Vineyard Utility Pilot
In a pilot program, GE outfitted more than three dozen households on Martha’s Vineyard with GE’s Nucleus energy manager and GE Profile appliances equipped with Brillion technology to help them more efficiently manage their energy use and costs. VEP, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of clean and sustainable energy, received nearly $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to implement smart grid technologies—including smart appliances.
“GE’s Profile appliances, equipped with Brillion technology and Nucleus energy manager, could play a critical role in helping us achieve a more sustainable electric grid.”
— Ted Bayne
Vineyard Energy Project
Nucleus, when used with a smart meter, provides a wireless home energy monitor that plugs into any standard electrical outlet. Once installed, Nucleus energy manager communicates with the smart meter to collect and store household electricity consumption and estimated pricing data.
To help utilities manage peak demand, the Nucleus and Brillion technologies can receive and respond to price and “demand-response” signals from power companies to lower or delay power consumption of enabled devices and appliances during certain hours of the day. Demand-response programs also can help utilities avoid building more power plants by incentivizing consumers to lower their demand during “peak” hours. Reducing energy use during peak hours also reduces the community’s need to purchase backup power to meet demand during energy spikes.
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