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I did this about 19 years ago! I remember it well. I was pregnant...it was July. I went home with a headache and wanted to lie down. As I walked up the stairs, I could tell it was getting warmer and warmer! It was about 4 pm in the afternoon and when I got to the top of the stairs, the temps were in the 90s!
I called (it as CP&L back then) and demanded (told ya I was pregnant) they send someone out immediately to get my air back on! Lady on the phone was soooo nice. She explained to me how to go outside and disconnect the signal thingie!
I did, my air came back on and I delivered a healthy baby girl 2 months later!
NEVER AGAIN will I allow anyone to control my A/C!!!
We had it years ago also. When we knew it was going to be really hot, we'd crank up the a/c so it would be nice and cool when they shut it off. So I don't think we were saving any money or energy. We finally cancelled it.
A measly $25 for the right to control my a/c in the humidity-laden 90-100 degree summer days? Not happening. Excessive short cycling will shorten the life span of your compressor to boot.
$5 per month to grant them the right of turning off your A/C 16.5 minutes out of every 30 is not enough compensation. Note that they reserve the right to do this every 30 minutes from 1 pm until 10 pm. In other words, you could be without A/C for as much as 55% of the time on a hot day. Don't count on being able to keep your temperature anywhere near where you want it -- unless your A/C system is grossly oversized.
We enrolled....then forgot about it until the summertime...wondered why the house was so darn hot. We won't reenroll because there were several days that we just felt too toasty in the house.
Sounds like it's not worth $25 to me. Although if no one will be in your house on a weekday in the summer and you don't plan to be back from work until 6-7, it could be okay. My previous electric company in another state had a much better program where you paid a variable rate based on electricity demand. If you weren't home in the afternoons on a weekdays with the AC cranked up you could save a lot. Early in the morning and at night (when we were actually home), energy was as cheap as dirt, about 1/6 the normal "flat rate". I think over the course of 2 years with the program we saved about 25% on our electric bill overall.
Sounds like it's not worth $25 to me. Although if no one will be in your house on a weekday in the summer and you don't plan to be back from work until 6-7, it could be okay. My previous electric company in another state had a much better program where you paid a variable rate based on electricity demand. If you weren't home in the afternoons on a weekdays with the AC cranked up you could save a lot. Early in the morning and at night (when we were actually home), energy was as cheap as dirt, about 1/6 the normal "flat rate". I think over the course of 2 years with the program we saved about 25% on our electric bill overall.
Progress has that program as well. I believe it's referred to as the "TOU" or "Time of Use" program.
During the summer I find I'm fine, personally, turning the a/c off while the wife is at work. I let it heat up to about 85 then turn it on right before she gets home. It cools down to 80F within 30-45 mins then runs normally after that. Saves a ton of cash, and the compressor is on and running instead of on/off on/off on/off on/off which is bad for electronics.
You could probably get similar savings running some sort of smart thermostat. Couple it with the TOU program and you can save some money. In the winter it would be tough though unless you have gas heat, then it makes sense. Heat pumps run 24/7 in the winter...
A measly $25 for the right to control my a/c in the humidity-laden 90-100 degree summer days? Not happening. Excessive short cycling will shorten the life span of your compressor to boot.
The $25 wasn't a major factor to my decision about this. In Phoenix, brown outs and black outs were not uncommon due to everyone using the a/c on the hottest days. I was concerned that the same issues might occur here, and enrolling in this program might be a way of helping solve the problem.
Regardless, it seems like it doesn't work well, might not be good for our a/c equipment, and since it's a brand new energy certified house, I'm betting the equipment isn't allowed to be in the program anyway.
The $25 wasn't a major factor to my decision about this. In Phoenix, brown outs and black outs were not uncommon due to everyone using the a/c on the hottest days. I was concerned that the same issues might occur here, and enrolling in this program might be a way of helping solve the problem.
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We don't have those kinds of problems around here, like the west coast does. One of my best friends works for a public utility and I remember years ago Cali was having brownouts and rolling blackouts in the winter. She said "you've got a serious problem when you can't generate enough electricity in the middle of the winter!".
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