On Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:59:12 +1100, Sylvia Else
wrote:

Dave M wrote:

Starting about 25 years ago, the local power company started a program
whereby they installed these boxes to home AC units and electric water
heaters, supposedly to reduce peak demand on the grid in times of high
demand.

Wonderful idea. If the AC units are creating an excessive load, just
turn them off remotely. Beats investing in grid infrastructure.

SDWOTN.

(Sarcasm does not work on the net.) You might be serious. If so, I
think you're right. The infrastrucutre would be generators. Very
expensive.

Most homeowners don't really need air conditioning anyhow. They
should open the windows and buy some fans. My greatgrandparents
didn't even have electric fans.

In a way, I shouldn't take this money for putting a switch on my AC.
I only use it for 2 or 3 weeks most summers anyhow, so they probably
don't cut down the load when they radio me. Last summer was the
least hot of my life, and I didn't use the AC at all.

Sylvia.

D, it was pretty easy to get me to sign on. They pay 10 or 15 dollars
(I forget which) dollars a month during the summer for the AC and
since I almost never use the AC, it's defitely a bargain. But I think
a substantial percentage of people have signed up, 10, 20, 30 percent
or more. I have one friend who uses it all summer who did.

They also pay maybe 5 dollars a month during the summer for the water
heater. I don't know why, but I didn't like the idea of them
fiddling with that. I think I thought it woudl come out ugly looking,
even though it is in the basement, sort of like the AC did the second
time (I had signed up 10 years ago during the previous round. I don't
know if BG&E had the first round that Dave mentioned.)

I get the impression they only turn off the power for short periods
two or three days a summer. Maybe 20 days at the most in a hot
summer.