While at first I was thinking about this for low-power devices with limited current circuits (such as devices powered by 2.5 watt USB or 8 watt PoE) I think it has application in large power too.

What I propose is indeed for smart devices that ask before they draw extra current, and which also communicate the urgency of their ask, and can deal with messages that say they can’t have the current, or that they will have it at a certain time.

The goal, however, is for it to be invisible to the user. Many devices run on a cycle, including refrigerators, microwaves at less than full power, and most heating devices including stoves, ovens, dryers and the like. It’s possible for them to coordinate their cycles according to power capacity, which could allow you to run a modern kitchen — transparently — with far less peak capacity or far thinner wire. Some devices, while not normally designed to cycle are capable of temporarily turning off or down for short periods. This is not going to be always invisible but it would be mostly invisible.

While I did not have major plans for the stupid devices, I believe they can be handled precisely because wires can handle short surges. So plug in a toaster and possibly the fridge or oven takes a pause in its cycle and uses more power later when the toast is done. Plug in something that sucks all the power for a long time and you can no longer be invisible, you’ll have to signal an alarm, or possibly have the power to cut off the dumb, high-use device. But ideally that would be very rare.

Now, are we in such dire need of wiring the whole kitchen with just 8kw instead of 20kw? No — unless we’re running of alternative power, or in a power outage or brown-out. This could make a lot of sense in side an RV, for example, or any off-grid house. It could also make a lot of sense, as I noted, if coordinated with the master power company.

Power company costs are highly associated with peak capacity. There are costs per kwh, sure, but a lot of the cost is in peak kwh. A power grid able to — largely invisibly — control loads, particularly air conditioning loads, would gain a lot. Of course, the more homes on the grid the more there is the inherent balancing of randomness.

Back at the low power devices using very thin wires (like PoE) the need is more direct. You could run more devices on the same wires with this approach.