Duke Energy Envision Center

Location: Outside Cincinnati, Ohio

Partner Organization: Duke Energy

Overview
Customers
Technologies

Demonstrating the Smart Grid
While there has been a good deal of industry dialog about the future Smart Grid, much of the discussion has been theoretical. Now DNV KEMA and Duke Energy have collaborated to bring the Smart Grid one step closer to reality. The Duke Energy Envision Center, just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a first of its kind working demonstration of a Smart Grid. The project makes it possible for utility executives to experience the benefits of a Smart Grid rollout in a hands-on setting.

The Envision Center’s movie-style set features substations with two-way, digital distribution network technology, a "smart" home complete with smart appliances, solar panels and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, an apartment and small business complex with smart meters and a power delivery work center that monitors conditions with real-time data.

Educating Customers
Duke and DNV KEMA give utility executives, government and regulatory officials and other worldwide stakeholders access to the Envision Center for demonstration tours. These demonstrations illustrate how power flows from Duke Energy’s generation units to substations, through power lines and into neighborhoods—all with the addition of greater automation and data capture. The demonstration acts as a concrete visualization of how smart energy technologies will enable utilities to closely monitor the health of the power delivery system, better manage voltage levels and more effectively pinpoint outages and restore service faster. The tour incorporates a mix of video presentations and simulations, such as a thunderstorm, lightning strike and a power outage.

Smart home simulations feature the use of an energy management system that allows residential consumers to control lighting, charge a plug-in electric vehicle and use high-efficiency appliances. The center also demonstrates the ease of incorporating clean energy into the Smart Grid.