Those brains can sop up the millions of tiny communications chores coursing through data centers, especially the peak loads that can swamp traditional servers.

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At the top of the scale, demand response (DR) systems allow multiple enterprises to manage their usage through a third-party provider to balance peak loads and let each participant optimize costs.

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When peak loads exceed supplies bad things quickly happen.

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Mr Rogers of Cinergy notes that it might also allow utilities to manage peak loads by, for example, turning down your residential air conditioner remotely while you are at the office, in return for a lower tariff.

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He dreams of building gigawatt-size plants, of shipping solar thermal power to the cloudy Northeast and of using molten salt to store energy so thermal plants can power homes at night. (Nevada Solar One is only for daytime peak loads.) He envisions mirrors in space that can soak up sunlight 24 hours a day.

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Examples of household electrical loads that could be shifted to off-peak hours via an automated or controlled mobile app include charging a plug-in vehicle, running a dishwasher, running a hot water heater, running the refrigerator's defrost cycle and ice-making.

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