I've run some of the BOINC projects in the past, but haven't for a while. They could be a good way to use excess power. A lot of people have home solar panels that may give more than they need if they are not at home and you may not get much for giving it to the grid. I would hope it is also possible to divert excess power to things like heating water for domestic and industrial use or to charge electric cars. Those are both ways to store energy for later use. We have to be as efficient as possible with our energy usage.
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Yes @steevc and that has been staring me in the face as I have solar panels and use (some) of the excess to heat my own domestic hot water, but when its sunny like we had in the UK at the end February this year, I produced so much energy there would be no way for me to lay on resources to economically store/burn it. Scale that to grid proportions and you really need some major way to sink the excess.
You should open a car charging station at home, March starts also warm and sunny ;)
Profound article, great read!
Yeah, all I need is neighbours with EVs!
Many thanks.
I keep hearing about 'smart' appliances etc, but is it really happening? Some places have big batteries like Tesla installed in Australia to deal with fluctuating demand. I expect we will see more of that.
I would love some solar panels, but we still haven't got there.
Yes smart applicances could be told to start and stop based on grid conditions, but its tricky to start and stop your washing machine in mid cycle, that can work but its shifting demand rather than consuming over-supply.
Plus there is the problem that a smart appliance needs a smart grid to talk to, and to have a smart grid you need a smart government ;)
It does need joined-up-thinking, but some types of devices do not need constant full power, e.g. anything that is charging. To improve the world we need a mix of better technology and changing attitudes