When University of Colorado at Boulder chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson and his wife, Val, have a friendly debate over where the thermostat should be set, it’s nobody’s business but the Petersons’ — and utility giant Xcel Energy’s.
The chancellor’s residence in Boulder is the first in Colorado to be fully outfitted with a sophisticated energy-tracking system under Xcel’s $100 million “SmartGridCity” program.
The system allows homeowners and businesses to closely monitor and adjust their power use and gives Xcel Energy the capability — with the customer’s permission — to curtail certain appliances if the utility needs extra electricity.
“I’m a mechanical engineer by background with a pretty good level of knowledge in this area, but I’m amazed by the technology applied to this system,” Bud Peterson said.
Versions of the program used at the Peterson residence will be installed at 15,000 Boulder households and businesses by the end of the year. Eventually, it will be rolled out to 50,000 customers in Boulder.
Xcel chose Boulder as a pilot location for the system, one of the first and most sophisticated in the nation.
Xcel is funding $15 million of the start-up costs with shareholder equity — not ratepayer funds. The remainder of the $100 million budget comes from a combination of government grants and partnerships with five private companies.
If the program proves successful in managing and conserving energy, Xcel may ask the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to mandate it for all of Xcel’s 1.3 million electric customers in the state.
The system installed at the chancellor’s residence allows the Petersons to adjust thermostats and appliances remotely via the Internet.
“With my laptop, from Vail or Washington, D.C., or wherever I am, I can change the temperature of our home and monitor our power use,” Val Peterson said. “It really gives us a lot of flexibility.”
Not all homes in the Boulder pilot program will have the full array of features used in the Peterson residence, which include advanced metering, online energy management, solar photovoltaic panels and emergency power from batteries.
Xcel also is loaning the family a plug-in hybrid Ford Escape that can be charged with the home’s solar generation.
Smart-grid customers can designate certain nonessential appliances that Xcel can remotely turn off during power shortages — an enhancement of the voluntary “Saver’s Switch” program in which the utility can cycle air conditioners on and off during peak power-consumption periods.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
Getting smart at the chancellor’s digs
Not all of the 50,000 Boulder homes and businesses targeted for Xcel Energy’s “SmartGridCity” will get the full array of features installed at University of Colorado chancellor Bud Peterson’s residence:
•”Smart” electric meter allowing two-way communication between the home and Xcel
•Web-accessible energy-management system for scheduling and remotely controlling appliances and thermostats
•Battery array providing 40 hours of backup power
•Six kilowatts of rooftop-mounted solar photovoltaic panels
•Use of a plug-in hybrid Ford Escape that can be charged with solar or conventional energy
