GridStatus suggests when you should turn on power-hungry appliances such as kettles and may even help you cut your carbon footprint.
It uses colours to show the current load on the UK National Grid, based on grid frequency (number shown):
- RED: The Grid is overloaded.
- GREEN: The Grid has spare capacity.
- YELLOW: Supply and demand matched.
The status is derived from measuring the frequency of the Grid electricity supply. This gives an indication of the load on the grid due to fluctuations in frequency with load. The exact carbon mix of the grid cant be measured this way and electricity comes from numerous sources in the UK so you cant be 100% certain that youre really cutting carbon - but you ARE helping to keep the load down and, until all UK power comes from renewables, thats a good start!