Readers wondering about how the grid fits into our 21st Century lives might find this comprehensive article by Joel Achenbach in the July issue of National Geographic worth reading.
Source: Joe McNally, National Geographic
As Susie Kim-Carberry at Green Building Elements aptly points out, “In today’s ever evolving environment, economic-conscious consumers will be looking for a better way to control their energy use.” This is exactly what this work targets. The story even includes an interactive map highlighting proposed upgrades to our aged and unreliable national electrical grid that will allow the system to better incorporate greener & cleaner energy, improve reliability and ultimately become a smarter grid. How? By giving us the ability to be more aware of our electricity consumption – something most of us need in tight economic times.
Called the world’s biggest machine by many, the grid serving Canada and the United States carries one million megawatts of power across millions of miles of wire. The grid as we know it was conceived and built by Thomas Edison near Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge in 1881. In 1882 Edison lit up hundreds of offices at the same time — an engineering feat that many considered a miracle.
For anybody looking at how we tie into today’s grid, this article is a must-read.
About Glenn Meyers
