Going green is the new “it” thing. People everywhere are becoming environmentally conscious ensuring that every decision made has the least harmful affect on the environment. The smart grid and its consumer benefits can play an integral role in going green and help provide a positive impact on the environment for thousands of years to come.

The luck of the Irish

During the second half of the 19th century, many Irish and Irish-American men became rich from their gold and silver mining successes. This association of Irish fortune and luck led to the term, widely used to today, known as the “luck of the Irish.” The undertones of the phrase insinuated that only by luck, not smarts, did the men become successful and wealthy miners.

While the luck of the Irish may have been based upon luck, the savings consumers can receive from modernizing today’s grid are based on smarts, smart energy usage that is. With digital meter installation, a smart grid technology, consumers may see direct-bill savings of almost $600 a year. There’s no more guessing what lies on the other side of the rainbow. The pot of gold or the luck of the Irish is right there in your pocket.

Spring into renewable feasibility

March is full of changes. The temperature, the leaves and the season are all symbols of the changes taking place during March. The changes remind consumers of the need for energy alternatives. Wind, solar and water are all natural, renewable energy sources that researchers are working to make feasible for nationwide usage. The smart grid can assist in making these resources an option. Within five years, renewable energy will be able to generate enough clean power for 1.2 million households.

The truth of the matter

The environment can only take so much wear and tear before the resources it provides begin to rapidly diminish. Similarly, the U.S. current electrical gird has become outdated. The system that is over one hundred years old can only last for so long. The smart grid can update the current infrastructure and prepare the electrical grid for the demands of today’s world. By investing in a more modernized grid, we can support the growing demands for renewable energy. It’s time for America to be energy independent, a goal the smart grid can make practical.

The luck of the Irish changed the lives of miners who dared to dream and risk their lives for gold and silver. A modernized grid is similar to the luck of Irish; it’s based less upon luck, yet it can change the lives of people nationwide. A smart grid can change the way the world understands energy, while saving money at the same time. Go GREEN with the smart grid.

By Taylor Fraser | March 3, 2015