Smart sockets & renewable

alicef

The beeb has a story on smart sockets which, apparently, can determine when one is using 'green' energy rather than, well, not 'green' from the National Grid.  How do they do this?

k_man

Do you have a link to the story?

k_man

But no, they can't.

alicef

here we go...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-61030903

k_man

As stated in the article...
The socket checks with data from national grid, and shows whether the majority of power is from green/renewable or not.

What you actually use comes from a big mixed pool of both.

Being green is more complex than this though.

Benny2020

But its on the BBC so it must be true?

alicef

So is it the case that the National Grid has something in its data collection that indicates for person x that they have been supplied over time period y with energy from a renewable source?

Robin9

Is there any point in time when the grid is 100% green ?

Can rhe Grid can communicate that info  by a carrier signal superimposed on the 50 Hz

Gerry1

Why are sockets always called plug sockets?  Are they paid by the word?  Or just the sort of churnalists who think that steel balls are ball bearings? 

[/rant]

k_man

alicef said:

So is it the case that the National Grid has something in its data collection that indicates for person x that they have been supplied over time period y with energy from a renewable source?

No, it just shows what the current split between green and not green energy is, for the whole of the National Grid. 
It is not specific to the user, just the time
The led colour will be the same for everyone at a point in time.

http://measurable.energy/faqs

featuring an integrated LED Impact Indicator. The Impact Indicator light changes colour to reflect the environmental impact of the power grid, in real-time.

The led appears to be a bit of a gimmick, although may encourage usage to change.
The smart socket itself is aimed at busineses to allow energy monitoring and control (commercial version of domestic plug in smart plugs)

Ectophile

What gets me is that the sockets themselves have to powered on 24 hours a day, so that they can fetch data from the internet, to change the colour of an LED.