Heat waves put a serious burden on the electric grid. Day after day of 90 degree heat translate into peak load for PECO as customers crank up the air conditioning.
PECO Smart A/C Saver, part of the
Smart Ideas program, asks electric users to participate in load reduction, not just by turning up the thermostat by a few degrees, but by allowing PECO to install a switch directly on air conditioner compressors.
As a thank you, residential and commercial customers receive a $30 rebate in June, July, August and September for a total savings of $120, whether or not the Smart A/C Saver kicks in. Last week, amid days of 90 plus degrees, the first ever A/C Saver event occurred, according to Cathy Engel Menendez, manager of communications for PECO. And participants probably didn't even notice.
After agreeing to join the Smart A/C Saver program, PECO sends out a technician to install a small gray box directly on the exterior compressor unit. A Smart A/C Saver event means that the compressor cycle will be slowed down, and the compressor rests up to 15 minutes of every half hour between the hours of noon and eight in the evening.
While the program quietly launched last summer, the big marketing push occurred this past spring, and this summer is the first that the program is in use, with 67,469 residential and commercial customers for a savings of 320 megawatt hours. The Smart A/C program also created 161 new jobs in the Philadelphia area.
Smart A/C Saver is part of a broader initiative. "In Pennsylvania, the Public Utilities Commision challenged all utilities to come up with products and programs to help customers save money and energy," says Menendez, who adds that the timing couldn't have been better with the expiration of rate caps this past January along a with sluggish economy.
Other programs in the Smart Ideas suite include energy efficient appliance rebates, old appliance recycling, and incentives to use better bulbs. Menendez reports that taking the whole suite of programs into account, through May 2011, customers saved more than 546 million kilowatt hours of electricity, and an estimated $131 million.
Source: Cathy Engel Menendez
Writer: Sue Spolan