Power to the People

The green bandwagon can feel a little crowded these days, but there's no doubt that the public is behind the whole message-well, more or less.

The green bandwagon can feel a little crowded these days, but there's no doubt that the public is behind the whole message-well, more or less.
 
Actually, from the research I see you probably don't want to make it either too hard, too intrusive or, yes, too much of a burden on the hip pocket.
 
Of course telling consumers it's their fault, or that our homes have to take the lead in solving the world's energy problems, doesn?t have that much longevity I suspect.
 
We need broader ideas and I've long championed the impact of broadband on how we distribute and consume energy, and of course smart grids, if done right, could be very powerful.
 
I'm glad to say that copper will be right at home here, as it is with things like solar, wind, geothermal and probably even tidal energy.
 
Of course the copper industry can't just expect these markets to be a fait accompli. We are doing-and need to keep doing-the research, developing the ideas, connecting with people and helping to create great products. Hard work, of course, but still very rewarding.
 
Here in Australia we have always pushed the simple, if still elusive, idea of a 'smart home' to really give consumers control over energy, but also to make it an effortless ask.
 
Unfortunately we're still a long way from most homes even having anything like some sort of network control of such basic energy components as light bulbs.
 
This despite the affordability of both wired and wireless systems that allow the lights of a home to be programmable, connected to sensors and/or linked to a home's overall performance.
 
I'm cheered that we are closer to good broadband being available to most Australian homes soon, well at least within the next 5 years. But I remain concerned that government and industry is not working together to put bigger ideas like this into play.
 
Telling consumers to turn off lights or air conditioners is all good and well, but is probably doomed to failure. We have the ability to create smarter homes with very little cost in the overall scheme of things.
 
The copper industry in Australia developed Smart Wiring as part of that and we have continued to push the power of broadband at home. But it's part of a much bigger idea and we need to help give it real energy.