The rising cost of power makes everything more expensive. This could be alleviated if technology like this ever gets a foothold.

Right now, electricity use in U.S. homes is pretty darn dumb. Electrons come in, get eaten by TVs, heaters, lightbulbs, iPod chargers, and myriad other devices. A meter records how much is consumed, but that's about it. So when people come home from work and turn on lights and appliances, or when Arctic cold or summer heat waves hit, the demand for power soars. Utilities must crank up additional generators or tap power coming across the grid from other locations. It's often a delicate balance. If something goes wrong, the result can be brownouts or blackouts, like the one that crippled the Northeast in 2003.

That's why researchers and utility executives have been pushing the idea of a smarter grid. Many homes already have computers hooked up to the Internet or other networks. So why not add appliances and other electricity-users as well? Throw in meters with enough brains to know the changing overall demand and the corresponding change in price for electricity, plus software and devices to control the appliances, and the whole grid can go from dumb to downright intelligent. Such a smart grid-connected to only those energy users who agree to it-brings a host of advantages. Household electricity use can be adjusted to ease, if not prevent, peak power loads. As renewable energy alternatives like wind and solar grow, the grid can be better adjusted to handle the fluctuations in power when the wind ebbs or clouds thicken. "Widespread adoption of these technologies can help provide reliable clean energy," says Robert G. Pratt, program manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).