Keeping with Mueller’s commitment to sustainability and bringing the community to the effort to support clean energy development in Austin – and the nation – Pecan Street Project, Inc. deployed the first phase of its home energy smart grid system in 100 Mueller homes earlier this month. Deployed by Austin-based Incenergy LLC, the home smart grid systems capture minute-to-minute energy usage for the whole home and six major appliances or systems. Over the coming year, the systems installed in homes throughout Mueller will be used to help project researchers learn how homeowners use electricity, gas and specific appliances during the course of the day. The system works by monitoring energy usage within a home’s circuit panel, sending the information to a gateway system within the residence and then transmitting the data via the Internet to the project’s data center. In addition to the 100 Mueller families who volunteered to participate in the first phase of the project, 100 families outside of Mueller will also participate in the baseline study. Two Mueller residents serve on the project’s executive committee as well and have participated in the field trial planning and assessment. In November 2009, Pecan Street Project, Inc., a smart grid and clean energy research and development organization, received a U.S. Department of Energy stimulus grant to fund this smart grid demonstration project at Mueller. To learn more about Pecan Street Project, Inc. visit www.pecanstreetproject.org.
