Computers Causing 2nd Hump In Peak Power Demand

Hugh Pickens writes "Traditional peak power hours — the time during the day when power demand shoots up — run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. when air conditioning begins to ramp up and people start heading for malls and home but utilities are now seeing another peak power problem evolve with a second surge that runs from about 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. when people head toward their big screen TVs and home computers. 'It is [not] so much a peak as it is a plateau,' says Andrew Tang, senior director of the smart energy web at Pacific Gas & Electric. '8 p.m. is kind of a recent phenomenon.' Providing power during the peak hours is already a costly proposition because approximately 10 percent of the existing generating capacity only gets used about 50 hours a year: Most of the time, that expensive capital equipment sits idle waiting for a crisis. Efforts to reduce demand are already underway with TV manufacturers working to reduce the power consumption in LCD and plasma while Intel and PC manufacturers are cranking down computer power consumption. 'Without a doubt, there's demand' for green PCs, says Rick Chernick, CEO of HP partner Connecting Point, adding that the need to be green is especially noticeable among medical industry enterprise customers."

Simple solution.

[Drakin020]

Just change the air time of American Idol to 6:00pm and turn politics to 8:00-9:00pm

Problem solved:

[Anonymous Coward]

Easiest way to fix these humps in power demand is to disable stanby/hibernation and leave computers on all day!!

Re:Wow.

[lymond01]

I think I'd rather have the USA's free market, even with its fiscal problems, then what's going on in North Korea....

It's tree bark and it's good for you! And if you don't finish your supper, you'll go straight to your corner of the room without any seawater.

problem solved

[flahwho]

Ive seen a TV program where these people on an island were powering a radio and washing their clothes using a bicycle and a couple of coconuts, so why do we have an energy problem?

Re:Wow.

[Idiomatick]

Lol i'd prefer getting beaten by a small child than a big german man too. I've no idea what your point might have been. Quick! someone Godwin this thread!