Smart grid savings go beyond cost

The grid will focus on smart meters and connected appliances to shut off power usage when unneeded in order to reduce strain on the network and overall power consumption - which in turn would eliminate need to build more dams or coal-burning power plants to supply needed energy. The U.S. Department of Energy is planning several other deployments across the Pacific Northwest, including converting the University of Washington's campus to a smart grid.

According to Green Tech Media, another key advantage of smart grid deployments is improved voltage management. Managing volts, rather than total power usage, can reduce peak-driven strain on the infrastructure while overcoming limitations of legacy voltage optimization systems. By utilizing smartmeters and the needed serial to Ethernet converter solutions to connect them to the grid, providers can analyze grid voltages and fine-tune power delivery in order to cut wattage during peak loads without affecting consumer's lives in noticeable ways - other than a reduced energy bill at the end of the month.

With expanded investments into smart grid technologies, many providers are seeing significant improvements to their operations that span much wider than initially expected. Harnessing these advantages and utilizing them to drive further growth will open up the opportunities utility companies need to meet consumer demand without increasing their impact on the environment as well.

Perle offers a range of cost effective serial-to-Ethernet converters to help meet NERC-CIP compliance for the protection of critical cyberassets in substations. The IOLAN SDS HV/LDC Terminal Server is designed to meet harsh environments associated with Power Substations with attributes such as support for substation AC and DC voltage ranges, extended operating temperatures and meeting emission, immunity and safety approvals associated with substation IT equipment.