BURNABY, BC: The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and Silver Spring Networks are partnering to save energy dollars, understand energy use patterns, and make a positive impact on the environment. They are using leading edge smart grid and energy technology to do it.
Imagine your dishwasher turning on when power was in less demand—lowering your environmental footprint and possibly saving you money. Your clothes dryer might advise you to wait until energy is less expensive after peak consumption periods—before drying your clothes—instead of using energy that is more expensive. This is what Silver Spring Networks is working on with BCIT.
The technology that makes this type of energy research and conservation possible is now installed in BCIT’s AFRESH home—a fully-functional and sustainable family home located on the Burnaby Campus.
“We are very pleased to partner with Silver Spring Networks on a project that has far-reaching and positive implications for consumers, energy utilities, and the environment,” says Dr. Hassan Farhangi, director of the Group for Advanced Information Technology at BCIT. “This is really an exciting time in the energy research field and we feel, with partners like Silver Spring Networks, we are poised to help reduce the potential for blackouts, integrate current energy sources, and ultimately benefit the consumer.”
The Silver Spring Networks-enabled smart meter measures the total energy used and generated in AFRESH Home and sends this information wirelessly to an in-home monitor. The system provides real-time feedback on energy use, factors in on-site power generation from solar power, and estimates potential costs. The technology allows BCIT to mimic a power utility. Simulated energy grid information is sent to the home and consumers can decide how much power they want to use at any given time.
“The success of the Smart Grid depends on a close partnership between consumers and their utility”, says Eric Dresselhuys, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Silver Spring Networks. “By providing real-time information, consumers are able to save anywhere from ten- to twenty-percent per month on their utility bills. We are delighted to see this technology used in what some might call the “Home of the Future”.
Silver Spring’s Smart Energy Platform is a secure, proven, end-to-end IPv6 network that lets utilities engage, educate, and empower consumers so they can work together to achieve conservation, energy, and operational efficiencies, monitor and control energy use, and achieve environmental benefits.
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For further information, media can contact:
Kelly Friday
Manager, Media Relations
Tel: 604.432.8773
Cell: 604.836.6700
kelly_friday@bcit.ca
