The smart grid

Often described as the most intricate machine humans have constructed, the electrical power network still operates largely through mechanical parts. This book argues that existing sensing, communication, computing, and control tools can substantially upgrade how power is distributed and prepare it for the demands of the twenty-first century. It shows how these components can be joined with feedback loops to form a continually self-adjusting "smart grid."

The author walks readers through the IntelliGrid architecture and the EnergyPort concept, and explains how to bring intelligent systems into the grid to improve reliability, control costs, and raise energy efficiency, both in generating and delivering power and in how energy is used at the point of consumption.