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智能电网发展模式却出乎每个人的意料

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The smart grid is coming. But not from the direction everybody expected.


智能电网来了。但它的发展模式却出乎每个人的意料。



Over the years, utilities have promised consumers savings of energy and cash from smart meters. These gadgets, which would be installed in every home and business, would let people monitor and control energy use much more closely.


多年以来，美国电厂都承诺消费者可以通过智能电表节能并省钱。这些安装在每个家庭和企业中的设备可以让人们更紧密地监测和控制能源使用情况。



But officials in some states have balked at the high price tag of installing the devices. And consumers in other states where smart meters have been installed have complained the devices haven't lived up to their billing.


但有些州却由于安装设备的高昂价格而止步不前。而已安装智能电表的那些州的消费者也抱怨这些电表并没有降低他们的电费。



Now tech companies are trying to succeed where the utilities have so far failed. They're looking to sell off-the-shelf energy-monitoring products to cash-strapped consumers looking to lower their bills. For the most part, the devices don't do everything smart meters can, but they promise to better control the appliances and devices that use the most juice.


现在，科技公司正在电厂失败的领域取得成功。他们希望将现成的能源监测产品卖给手头拮据、希望降低电费的消费者。在很大程度上，这些设备并不具备智能电表的一切功能，但它们有望能更好地控制最耗电的电器设备。



Some offerings, like General Electric Co.'s Nucleus system, were designed for customers with smart meters, but have been modified to work without them. Other products have been developed without any need for a smart meter.


有些产品，例如通用电气公司（General Electric Co.）的Nucleus系统，是为有智能电表的客户设计的，但经过改造也可以在没有智能电表的情况下工作。还有些产品则无需智能电表。



Socket to You


智能插座



Much of the innovation has been enabled by the spread of Wi-Fi. Home wireless networks give the smart devices an easy way to communicate with appliances, making them much cheaper and more versatile.


无线网络的普及促成了许多创新。家庭无线网络让智能设备可以方便地与电器连接，让这些电器更省钱、更好用。



One application of the smart technology: special power strips or wall outlets equipped with Wi-Fi. People plug appliances such as space heaters or window air conditioners into the sockets; the devices show how much energy the appliances are using and let users control them remotely, whether from a special device or a smartphone.


智能技术的一种应用是：带有无线网络的特殊插线板或壁装插座。人们将取暖器或窗式空调等电器插到这种插座上后，这种设备可以显示电器用了多少电，并能让用户通过特殊设备或智能手机进行遥控。



EnergyHub, for one, offers the power strips, as well as a control panel called Home Base that lets users coordinate everything that's plugged into them. Likewise, Control4, of Salt Lake City, makes home automation systems that allow centralized and remoteaccess to various devices and appliances.


举例而言，EnergyHub公司为插线板配备了一个叫Home Base的控制器，它让用户可以协同控制插在插线板上面的所有设备。同样，盐湖城（Salt Lake City）的Control4公司开发的家庭自动化系统，让用户能够集中遥控各种设备和电器。



Another category of gadgets are smart thermostats, available from manufacturers including New York-based EnergyHub and Nest, of Palo Alto, Calif. These products not only tell you how much electricity your heating and cooling systems are using and let you program then to run on a timetable, they also allow you to operate them either from inside the home or remotely, from a smartphone or other electronic device. The Nest thermostat can program itself, based on information it collects about your schedule and preferences.


另一类设备是智能温控器，生产商包括纽约的EnergyHub和加利福尼亚州帕洛阿尔托（Palo Alto）的Nest。这类产品不仅能告诉用户取暖和制冷系统的耗电量，还能让用户设定时间表，使它们依此运行。用户可以通过智能手机或其它电子设备在家里或远程对其进行遥控。Nest温控器可以根据收集到的用户日程表和偏好信息自己设定程序。



Many of these products come from relatively small manufacturers. But one big entrant is due to hit the market: GE, which makes many of the smart meters that utilities install in people's homes, also makes an energy-management product called Nucleus that connects to a smart meter and provides energy-usage information. By March, GE will start selling a Nucleus product that doesn't need to be connected to a smart meter, says Dave McCalpin, GE's general manager for home-energy management. The product will include a device that essentially does the job of a smart meter.


这些产品中，许多都产自于相对较小的生产商。但有一家大公司就要进入该市场了：那就是通用电气公司。该公司生产了许多电厂安装在人们家中的智能电表，现在还生产了一种叫Nucleus的能源管理产品，它与智能电表相连，可以提供能源使用信息。通用电气公司的家庭能源管理业务部总经理戴夫·麦卡尔平（Dave McCalpin）说，明年3月，通用电气公司将开始销售一种不用与智能电表连接的Nucleus产品，它将包含一个基本上可执行智能电表所有功能的设备。



That's just the start. Consumers are likely to see more of these types of products offered by larger service providers, such as cable-TV and telecommunications companies, as they home in on the fledgling market, says Seth Frader-Thompson, chief executive of EnergyHub.


这只是开始。EnergyHub的首席执行长塞思·弗拉德-汤普森（Seth Frader-Thompson）说，当有线电视和电信公司等大型服务供应商加入这一新兴市场后，消费者将可能看到更多的此类产品。



The gadgets will also get easier to find in stores. Home-improvement retailers have sold home-energy-management devices, such as programmable thermostats, for years. Now other retailers are getting in on the act. Best Buy Co., for one, has set up home-energy-management sections in three of its stores, complete with staff who are versed in the software and hardware, says Kris Bowring, the company's seniordirector of home and energy management.


商店里也可以更方便地找到这种设备。诸如可编程温控器这样的家庭能源管理设备在家庭装修零售店里已经卖了许多年了。现在，其他零售商也纷纷加入这一行列。例如，百思买公司（Best Buy Co.）的家庭与能源管理高级总监克里斯·鲍林（Kris Bowring）说，该公司已经在三家门店建立了家庭能源管理部门，并雇用了精通相关软件和硬件的员工。



Positive Developments?


积极的发展？



But will the devices actually deliver big savings to consumers? Some experts aren't so sure.


但这些设备能真正让消费者省下一大笔钱吗？有些专家对此不是那么肯定。



Devices that show how much energy an appliance uses are unlikely to lead to much energy savings, says Mark Connelly, seniordirector of appliances and home improvement at Consumer Reports, which has tested and reviewed many of the devices. Why? Most people are probably not going to throw out their television or set-top box because it uses a lot of electricity.


《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）对许多此类设备进行了测试和考评，该杂志的电器与家庭装修部高级总监马克·康柰利（Mark Connelly）说，显示电器用电量的设备不太可能让用户省很多电。为什么？因为多数人不太可能因为电视机或机顶盒很耗电就扔掉它们。



Rather than trying to control an appliance's power use, Mr. Connelly says, consumers should check its energyefficiency before they buy. That said, he thinks programmable thermostats are probably the most useful of such devices, since heating and cooling represent a big chunk of most utility bills.


康柰利说，消费者不应试图控制电器的用电量，而是应该在购买之前检查它们的能效。他认为可编程温控器可能是此类设备中最为实用的，因为取暖和制冷系统是最耗电的电器。



Some utility officials take a positive view of the new market. People don't need the devices to cut energy use, says Gene Rodrigues, director of energyefficiency and customer solar at Southern California Edison, but 'for the consumer who wants to learn more about how they use energy and do something about it, an energy-management device can help.'


有些电厂的管理者对这一新兴市场抱积极看法。南加州爱迪生电力公司（Southern California Edison）的能源效率与家用太阳能总监吉恩·罗德里格斯（Gene Rodrigues）说，人们要这些设备不是为了减少能耗，"能源管理设备将对希望更多地了解如何使用能源并加以改进的消费者有所帮助。"



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