Climate change is pushing the world’s electricity networks to their breaking point. People in Texas turned up their thermostats due to unusually chilly weather last year, overloading the electricity grid and causing days-long power disruptions.
In California, the electricity is cut off before a fire has a high chance of igniting.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have developed technology that automatically adjusts a home’s power use up or down in response to fluctuating prices set by real-time market demand to combat the electric grid’s vulnerabilities and reduce the use of non-renewable energy sources.
The Transactive Energy Service System, or TESS, also transports power across the grid to where it is most required. This improves the grid’s resiliency while also saving money for both consumers and utilities.
Last month, TESS was installed in four homes for the first time as part of a residential test. Over the following two years, it will be put in hundreds of houses across the Northeast.
The residents of the residences where the test-runs are taking place come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in order to demonstrate how TESS is a cost-effective and efficient approach to ensure that everyone has equitable access to energy.
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