Deaths-head Jester

About:
[The Project]
[The ApocaDocs]
[Equal Share]
The Six Scenarios:
[Species Collapse]
[Infectious Disease]
[Climate Chaos]
[Resource Depletion]
[Biology Breach]
[Recovery]
Explore:

Play:

It's weekly, funny, and free!

SEARCH

More than 5,600 stories!

A great gift
for crisis deniers!


The ApocaDocs have a Book!
Humoring the Horror of the
Converging Emergencies
94 color pages
$24.99 now $15!
Or read FREE online!




Twitter




Ping this story
in social media:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
NowPublic
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon

Posted Mon Mar 30 2009: from US News and World Report:
6 Scientists on the Cutting Edge of Energy and Environmental Research http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1238439857
Donald J. Hammerstrom envisions a day when every electrical appliance is wise to what's happening on the far side of the wall socket. The inexpensive device he and his Pacific Northwest National Laboratory colleagues in Richland, Wash., have developed, dubbed the Grid Friendly Appliance Controller, is designed to reduce reliance on backup generators and prevent power outages that can occur when the electrical grid suffers momentary capacity problems. The controller, which he says could be built into a water heater, clothes dryer, or other energy-hungry appliance for $5 or less, recognizes when telltale fluctuations in the current flowing through the socket indicate that the grid is straining to meet demand. The controller's response: briefly scale back the appliance's electricity use. That move, if multiplied by many appliances in thousands of homes and buildings, would be enough to relieve the strain on the grid, potentially averting a blackout. The grid would also need less 24-7 standby capacity (read, wastefully idling generators) to buffer the occasional unexpected fluctuation in electrical supply or demand.
[Read more stories about: climate impacts, efficiency increase, sustainability, technical cleverness, technological innovation]

New!:
Your Quips:
HarryP says: "cool story! there's even a segment on termites and biofuels! plus some great advances in solar..."

Got a PaniQuip?

Your Quip (limit 140 characters, no links, just wit):

First name:

The text shown in the Web image to the right:


We reserve the right to reuse, remove, or refuse any entry.

'Doc Michael says:
It better not know everything going on, on the far side of that wall socket!

NEXT>
More stories:
  • Tensions High as EPA Reasserts Mining Authority
  • Global warming could melt winter sport industry: report
  • (6 Scientists on the Cutting Edge of Energy and Environmental Research)
  • Hottest Electric Cars Soon To Hit The Roads
  • Fit every home with water meter by 2020, says Environment Agency

  • Want to explore more?
    Try the PaniCloud!
    Copyright 2010 The Apocadocs.com