Coin Vs. Coin: GRID/WOZX
Grid+ GRID (# 4) and Efforce WOZX (#3) are two of the leading coins in the Energy sector of the cryptocurrency market. With a focus on increasing efficiency and decreasing waste, Grid+ and Efforce are avoiding the politics of climate change and focusing on consumer savings. GRID and WOZX are pioneering a path toward a new kind of energy business model for ordinary people all across the globe.
Grid+
As distributed energy resources (DER), such as solar panels and batteries, have proliferated in recent years, a new type of power grid has emerged known as the Transactive Energy Grid. The transactive grid could be compared to the network of nodes facilitating bitcoin transactions: a nexus of sources providing an asset (energy) to various endpoints (consumers).
According to their whitepaper, Grid+ was created to “increase durability of the electrical grid, while simultaneously increasing efficiency, and enabling the adoption of more renewable energy.” Grid+ uses a tech stack connected to an Ethereum gateway, enabling Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, such as Tesla Powerwall or Nest thermostat, to connect to the transactive energy grid and the web.
Grid+ provides commercial-grade transactive energy through its Smart Energy Agent hardware platform. It can “programmatically buy and sell electricity on behalf of the user and intelligently manage smart loads [of IoT devices].” The Smart Agent governs the electricity necessary for the consumer while automating a smooth crypto payment system using its GRID token.
Efforce
The Efforce energy platform is an energy-saving blockchain created by Steve Wozniak, inventor of the Apple Computer. Its platform is designed to solve common energy waste and inefficiency issues using smart meters and control units, where available.
The company’s whitepaper points out “the energy demand for cooling habitable environments is greater in those parts of the world that lack regulation to support energy efficiency processes.”
Efforce records the amount of energy used by each consumer. The consumption data is recorded on the Efforce blockchain, and WOZX tokens, commensurate with the energy saved, are returned to the consumer. The tokens can then be used for “free energy savings that they can keep, sell, or use to offset their energy consumption.”
Using its Energy Saving Tokenization, Efforce boosts energy efficiency while saving energy costs. The company says it has already saved a combined $700 million for more than 2,000 users over the last eight years.
Similarities
GRID and WOZX each bypass several middlemen in the energy market using smart meters, control units and IoT devices, recording data directly on the blockchain.
Save customers money by making the payment process and energy administration efficient and much less wasteful.
Able to provide a common market for people to save, lend, and sell unused energy in tokens.
Differences
GRID is focused on a web-based application of IoT devices to harness energy savings for consumers; WOZX is more concerned with reducing energy waste.
GRID uses existing technologies, like batteries and solar panels which are unconnected, to build a decentralized network and service; WOZX is dependent on new technologies, such as smart meters and control units, to be built to support its network.
Grid+ is part of the larger GRID company with goals completely separate from the energy sector; this could divert resources away from its energy project. Efforce is built with a singular focus on solving energy waste and increasing efficiency.
GRID and WOZX
As many countries turn to renewable energy sources, decentralization will be a major factor in designing more efficient energy systems. GRID and WOZX redefine what the traditional utility company looks like.
Their blockchains remove several middlemen, such as service personnel coming to a home to measure the amounts of gas and electricity, office administrators who could duplicate tasks, and cumbersome payment systems.
The future of energy is always going to be a hot political topic. But for the ordinary citizen, efficiency, utility, and savings will always be top of mind. Efforce and Grid+ focus on value add, providing the market with a new service structure.
