‘Smart’ grid to iron out the dips and recharge our cars

OUR electrical cars will charge overnight while our ‘smart’ dishwashers will be set to turn on when electricity demand dips in the early hours of the morning — such is the vision being outlined by engineers who believe a ‘smart’ electricity system must be part of our future.

This smart electrical network will be powered by a digital ‘smart grid’ — smart meters in our homes and smart domestic appliances. The metres and appliances have been developed, but Ireland’s development of a smart grid is lagging behind, according to UCC senior lecturer in civil and environmental engineering, Dr Eamon McKeogh who is speaking on the topic at UCC tonight.

Dr McKeogh said our current electrical distribution and transmission systems won’t cope with the variety of electrical suppliers and their varying rates of production.