HVAC control

I recently had a new furnace and AC unit installed. The electric company is offering me a rebate plus 10 bucks off every month from June – September if I let them install a control switch that will allow them to cycle my AC on and off every 15 minutes on warm days between 4-8pm. I’ve never done something like this and I’m a little worried that not having full control of my AC on a hot day might kinda suck. Anyone else participated in this type of program and would you do it again? I’m leaning toward trying it one summer next year to see how it goes.

Thanks

Never done it and won’t ever do it. Being comfortable in my home is worth a extra $10

Coletrain27 wrote:

Never done it and won’t ever do it. Being comfortable in my home is worth a extra $10

I should mention that the one time rebate for signing up is 200 bucks. I am required to commit for those 4 months in order to be eligible for that one time rebate. If I don’t like it after one summer, I could quit the program.

Well for $240 it might be worth it for 4 months and if you don’t like it then cancel?

Coletrain27 wrote:

Well for $240 it might be worth it for 4 months and if you don’t like it then cancel?

Yes, that’s what I can do. I was just wondering if anyone who has had it, what their experience was. I mean if it sucks because you can’t keep your house cool during peak periods of a hot day, that doesn’t seem worth it.

Not sure if this is the same program, but I run off peak for my a/c and heat pump and it seems to be worth it. Hardly notice it in the summer if they cycle it off. When I installed it a couple years ago I got a coupon that basically paid for heat pump upgrade, and then added off peak electric for heat pump and a/c and it’s definitely worth it.

What if there’s a massive heat wave and they just decide no AC for you. The demand is too much. We’ll keep your house at 82. I believe that happened in California this year and people were pissed… but they signed the dotted line for a couple hundred bucks.

ajw wrote:

What if there’s a massive heat wave and they just decide no AC for you. The demand is too much. We’ll keep your house at 82. I believe that happened in California this year and people were pissed… but they signed the dotted line for a couple hundred bucks.

Not really how this works. They can only cycle it off every 15 minutes between 4-8pm on really hot days.

gregory wrote:

Not sure if this is the same program, but I run off peak for my a/c and heat pump and it seems to be worth it. Hardly notice it in the summer if they cycle it off. When I installed it a couple years ago I got a coupon that basically paid for heat pump upgrade, and then added off peak electric for heat pump and a/c and it’s definitely worth it.

That sounds similar to what I’m referring to here.

I passed on it with our new home. With a stressed grid and aging infrastructure facing more demand, I’m not about to raise my hand and volunteer to be the first one forfeiting control of my own usage

Not really how this works. They can only cycle it off every 15 minutes between 4-8pm on really hot days.
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How long is the OFF?
15 off and then 15 on etc?

We did this years ago except there was no contract just a month to month thing to save $10 a month after the first month we quit doing it. Got too hot in the house for me and there was nothing we could do about it.

In Austin per our public utilities it is required to have a load management controller on your a/c unit. I couldn’t ever tell you if they have shut my a/c off during peak times or not, I’m sure they have but the effects are negligible.
I’ve never had anyone complain when I come to their house to replace one when hooking up a new a/c unit.

I would say sign up for it to save a few bucks. That’s more money for bait!!

In the 3 years of heating/ cooling with off peak I’ve maybe had 6 total times they cycled me on off, I’m sure it’s dependent on area. I’m in pierce county Wisconsin, I have a coop that should be charged for robbery for electricity. So it was worth it for me. Typically it’s once or twice in winter for heat pump, and once or twice in summer they cycle it. But I am concerned about the future demands.

No thanks

I’ve had this before at my old house. It would cycle the ac and it would get so far behind that the house wouldn’t cool down until the next morning. After 8 pm the ac would run all night nonstop. I would never consider this even for $5000.
I don’t think there is any saving in cycling an ac unit. I don’t think this helps the lifecycle of your ac unit either.
What’s it worth to be guaranteed comfortable in your own home for the few hours your actually there?

MX1825 wrote:

How long is the OFF?
15 off and then 15 on etc?

Yes. That is what they do.

Thanks for the responses. Not sure what I’m going to do yet. Sounds like some people don’t even notice it and others have seen a major problem trying to cool down the house.

Off peak and cycling are different programs. I am adding off peak to my shop right now. When doing off peak you get a CT and an extra meter to hook up to your house. That extra meter comes with a monthly extra charge to read. Then they will give you what every power that uses for ½ cost. Cycling turns off your AC from 4-8 every 15 min on high demand days for like $10 off your bill that month. This can be worth it depending on your system. I am going to remove my AC cycling because saving $0.33 a day is not worth it to me.

Rodwork wrote:

Cycling turns off your AC from 4-8 every 15 min on high demand days for like $10 off your bill that month.

I believe that is the correct terminology. Cycling is what its referred to on high demand days from 4-8pm. The new system I had installed is Carrier and its souped. The outside AC unit is like 3 times the size of my old one lol

I did this in my old house. I went out back one day and put a jumper in the box so they couldn’t shut my system down. But I always got the discount.

We have had that switch for many years on our house in Crystal. Never noticed a cooling issue with it. My wife is still able to keep the house at icebox levels.

We’ve had that system for A/C, electric boiler heat, and water heater for 20+ years. You may notice it at first, especially on hot humid days. Our electric boiler is not our primary source of heat so it isn’t a big deal in the winter. By signing up for this system, we get a reduced rate per kwh on our cooling, in-floor boiler, and water heater on top of rebates we received at install.
I’d say try it for the 4 months and see how it goes.

MnPat1 wrote:

I’ve had this before at my old house. It would cycle the ac and it would get so far behind that the house wouldn’t cool down until the next morning. After 8 pm the ac would run all night nonstop. I would never consider this even for $5000.
I don’t think there is any saving in cycling an ac unit. I don’t think this helps the lifecycle of your ac unit either.
What’s it worth to be guaranteed comfortable in your own home for the few hours your actually there?

That doesn’t sound like a saver switch problem, that’s just a problem with your AC in general being really undersized or something wrong with it.

gim wrote:

I recently had a new furnace and AC unit installed. The electric company is offering me a rebate plus 10 bucks off every month from June – September if I let them install a control switch that will allow them to cycle my AC on and off every 15 minutes on warm days between 4-8pm. I’ve never done something like this and I’m a little worried that not having full control of my AC on a hot day might kinda suck. Anyone else participated in this type of program and would you do it again? I’m leaning toward trying it one summer next year to see how it goes.

Thanks

Do it.

We’ve had that system on our AC system for over 20 years.

1. Despite all the fear and paranoia about the utility company leaving you roasting in your own house for days on end and dying of heat exhaustion that doesn’t happen.

During a very intense heat wave about 10 years ago I noticed the switch cut delayed the ac starting about twice in a day for a couple of days. It’s never two cycles in a row, it was always spaced out by several hours. At most I would guess the house warmed up by one degree and then the switch went off and the AC unit restarted.

That was the last time I’ve ever noticed it and my wife and I work from home and have for at least the last five years.

2. Let’s say you had the switch installed and then you psychologically broke down with crippling fear of loss of control. Of course this would indicate a lot of other mental health issues, but still…

You could have the thing removed by any electrician or you could remove it yourself in about 15 minutes if you can do basic wiring.

I think I am going to at least try it for one summer. There is no long term commitment like 5 years or anything like that involved, I just have to use it from May – Sept in order to receive the initial rebate. I am able to have it removed or not participate after the 4 months if I don’t care for it.

Is that an Xcel program?

tegg wrote:

Is that an Xcel program?

No, mine is Wright-Hennepin Electric.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tegg wrote:</div>
Is that an Xcel program?

No, mine is Wright-Hennepin Electric.

Our option that I passed on was through the crooks at Xcel.

Reef W wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MnPat1 wrote:</div>
I’ve had this before at my old house. It would cycle the ac and it would get so far behind that the house wouldn’t cool down until the next morning. After 8 pm the ac would run all night nonstop. I would never consider this even for $5000.
I don’t think there is any saving in cycling an ac unit. I don’t think this helps the lifecycle of your ac unit either.
What’s it worth to be guaranteed comfortable in your own home for the few hours your actually there?

That doesn’t sound like a saver switch problem, that’s just a problem with your AC in general being really undersized or something wrong with it.

I had Wright Hennepin and they had a 15 on and 15 off schedule and it was very common for them to shut you down. I had a house with mostly western exposure so the sun would bake it all afternoon. The only time they shut you down is when it’s 95 because everyone has there ac unit running nearly 100% of the time. If your ac unit is running only 30 minutes and hour when it’s crazy hot it’s oversized.