October 19, 2023 - WorldOra Carbon News

How pre-cooling homes could dramatically reduce energy usage In the most comprehensive study of its kind, Sanders and Stepp Mayes, a USC Viterbi Ph.D. student in civil and environmental engineering, have found that if people sufficiently cool their homes in the afternoon when solar energy is plentiful, they will use less electricity between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., when the power grid is most at risk of rolling blackouts. That five-hour window is the time when energy is most expensive, and, with solar vanishing from the grid as the sun goes down, electricity is often generated by gas powerplants that belch climate-warming CO2.

On sweltering summer days, for instance, the USC researchers said residents could lower their thermostats to 72° beginning at 2 p.m., when clean energy is abundant. When the peak demand period begins two hours later and the electricity is dirtier, they might reset their thermostats to 78°. And wait. After the peak demand period passes and the grid becomes less stressed, people could reset their thermostat to a comfortable 75°.

"We'd like to see people shift some of their electricity consumption, to really aggressively use air conditioning at one time of day in order to use less later by relying on a building's ability to store energy," Mayes said.

Gravity urban EV fast chargers areUL-certified fast and saves space Gravity’s system includes small dispenser boxes that the company calls “Distributed Energy Access Points,” which can be mounted above or in front of a parking spot and deliver up to a ridiculously high 500kW of energy. That compares to DC fast charging stations from other companies, which have larger stall units and max out at 350kW.