Smart grids linked to lower cost of living

Smart grid technologies are known to provide some significant benefits to residents in the areas they are deployed in. Arecent report from Smart Grid News indicates they can lower the total cost of living for city dwellers as well, making housing more affordable, and more appealing, to many.

According to the news source, roadways, bridges, electric, water and sewer systems can all be upgraded with smart grid solutions. Beyond these core staples, however, a city needs to consider other needs of its residents in order to appeal to a broader populace and increase the quality of living. This means improving system efficiency, reducing waste and implementing information systems to better manage the data generated by these day-to-day operations in order to boost their appeal.

Smart grid deployments offer several advantages to city living. For one, they improve power consumption, reducing a consumer's bill and improving the reliability of the provider's infrastructure in order to eliminate blackouts and brownouts. Additionally, these technologies boost the effective collaboration between systems, which helps a city automate significant portions of its infrastructure. Lighting, traffic control and even garbage pickup can be enhanced through smart systems automatically conveying information back to authorities and allowing them to adjust service on the fly.

With real-time data coming in, city governments can enhance living and boost the services that affect citizens' lives in the background. While power delivery has the most obvious applications, exploring new potential with smart grid deployments can streamline both the cost and quality of operations.

Regardless of how a city invests in smart grid technologies, the need to do so is great. Any community that doesn't will quickly fall behind others as they optimize quality of living and show their residents the benefits of living in a smarter city.

In order to truly optimize smart deployments, any organization needs to ensure it is utilizing the right technology. Terminal servers, serial to Ethernet converter solutions and Ethernet I/O platforms will be essential for optimization, requiring companies to invest in top hardware for their grid infrastructure.

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.