Skip to main content

Grid Addiction

In this episode - Grid Addiction . . .

Last week I asked you to walk out your front door and find the electric meter for your home. While you were out there, did you examine the power lines that link you to the electric grid (the grid)? You may live in a neighborhood like ours where all you see are the street light poles - no distribution lines because they're all underground. But one thing is for sure, we all rely on the electricity that connects us to the vast infrastructure called the grid.

Let's consider the obvious first; you have a smartphone. You carry a charger and a cord connecting you to power to keep that device functioning. It could be a USB cord these days that plugs into your car's charging port. For all we know, the electricity that charged your phone may have been generated miles from your home. Anyway, you get the picture you're reliant in some way to get power for that device. Without it - there's panic!

As I learn more about the challenges and benefits of renewable energy, I'm convinced that too many people today take electricity for granted - they are addicted. It's not "Where's the beef" It's - "Where's the Power?" They don't consider - or care - how they charge their devices but are hell-bent on plugging in wherever they find that ubiquitous outlet.

For example, when was the last time you were in an airport? If you've had to wait to board your flight, stop looking at the screen of your phone and look at the people around you. You may catch a glimpse of what appears to be the hind end of a hog rooting for truffles - expecting to claim the nearest free power outlet before someone else does. Why didn't they charge their device before leaving home? Who knows.

Anyway, let's begin the day again. It's 5:30 a.m. your opportunity clock goes off and rattles you out of bed. You stumble to the bathroom and flip on the light. If that light is incandescent, it converts about five percent of the electric energy to light the rest dissipates as heat. All the while, your refrigerator, heater, air conditioner, TV, WiFi router, home computer, Smart Assistant, water heater, and for some, electric cars are plugged in and drawing current from the grid. Do you start the day with coffee? If so, when you turn on the brew, it draws power. What about the toast you had for breakfast, lights in the kitchen, opening that refrigerator door a few times, and hearing it kick on? More Power draw!

And let's consider this for a moment - most households' needs are small potatoes. What about Hospitals, local businesses that provide services, Supermarkets with refrigeration, gas stations, restaurants, huge Cloud-Based server farms, office buildings, and, let's not forget, the Internet and cellular 5-G infrastructure? All this power generation and consumption happens magically for millions of folks concurrently without consideration or thought on your part. This is a daily occurrence that you expect or demand, provided you pay your electric bills.

But what happens if the power goes out? With technology today, thanks to a smarter grid, it's usually a brief outage in most urban areas unless a tornado or natural disaster takes out the power lines.

"What going on?" You ask, Damn utility company! We must have blown a fuse or a circuit breaker tripped, not so - and what about the folks that have solar? Well, their power is out, too; why? Because their PV system, connected to the grid, is designed to shut down during a power outage so your solar and everyone else's do not overload the grid (unless you have battery backup). Remember, all this is part of a delicately balanced network we call the grid that cannot be overloaded or out of balance.

My listening friends, we walk a precarious balance with electricity. By now, you get my drift - we are all "addicted" to electricity, like it or not. On second thought, maybe addicted is not the right word - dependent!

Indeed, the charger is your final connection to the grid. Always carry that wire - your umbilical cord - to avoid the dead phone jitters. 

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Believing Is Seeing

🎄 In this episode, Believing Is Seeing . . . It's December, we bustle, we wrap, and we dash. We sort life into boxes— myths  here,  to-dos  in a stash. We whisper of Santa (adult code: “Not Real”), but hold on one minute—let’s rethink this whole deal. For the stories we cherish, the movies we stream, hold more truth in their sparkle than we grown-ups may deem. So hop in this sleigh and hold on real tight— We’re chasing down Santa by the glow of his light! Scott Calvin once landed in the North Pole’s cold air, with elves, cocoa, and snow everywhere. He squinted and frowned—“This just  cannot  be so!” (Like thinking tangled lights will detangle if we  blow .) Then Judy the Elf gave a cocoa so steaming,  and said something simple . . . yet surprisingly gleaming: Seeing’s not believing—no, that’s not the key. "Believing is seeing!"   Just trust, and  you’ll  see!” Kids don’t need a map or a satellite screen to know Santa’s workshop is her...
1 comment
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . .  (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...
2 comments
Read more

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩   In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...
Post a Comment
Read more