GridSense™, An Acorn Energy Company, Provides Affordable

Monitoring of Electric Vehicle's Impact on Power Grid

Sacramento, CA - January 9, 2012 - GridSense™, an Acorn Energy (NASDAQ: ACFN) company that develops and markets advanced monitoring solutions for the electric power industry, has been working with utilities to monitor the effects of electrical vehicle (EV) loads on the residential grid. Using its TransformerIQ™ monitoring solution and Grid Insite™ proprietary software, GridSense™ is able to monitor the load on residential transformers without costly infrastructure prerequisites.
Two West Coast utilities are currently using the TransformerIQ™ and Grid InSite™ combination to assess their network's capability to absorb EV loads, in just such an environment. Although initial data indicates slower than anticipated adoption rates nationally for EVs, they are gaining popularity in West Coast US metropolitan areas whose populations are early adopters. Clustered in urban environments, EVs can place a major strain on our aging electrical grid.
According to a study led by Dr. Ghinam Putrus at Northumbria University, "EVs may be considered as active loads, increasing the demand on the network during charging, and as generators when operating in regeneration mode. Therefore, the impact of EVs when operating in both modes, charging and regeneration, need to be analyzed."
Unfortunately, many utilities don't have intelligence on normal residential transformer load. Therefore, they can't predict how these transformers will react to the addition of disruptive EV loads. With TransformerIQ™, utilities can begin with a small pilot to develop a baseline for residential transformer load. The Grid InSite™ hosted platform lets them access the data via cellular connection quickly, with minimal IT involvement, and no long