Wireless or wired? That was the question for Washington Electric Cooperative. The small electric co-op, based in East Montpelier, was looking to buy a smart grid system that would provide near instantaneous information from meters installed at each member's home.
The wireless option uses small radio transmitters to send the data back to headquarters. The wired alternative uses the power lines themselves to carry the signal. Co-op General Manager Avram Patt explains that the hard-wired system was cheaper, and better suited to the co-op's rural territory.
[Patt says,] "We made the decision to go with a power line carrier not over any health issues, which some people are concerned about. It really had to do with in our case it made the most sense from a technology point of view and a cost point of view."
AMI ("Smart Meters") Coming To Your Co-op - WEC
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