On 8/8/2012 8:17 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2012 05:41:55 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:

An overview story. But buried in the story is this:

"But progress is being made. CenterPoint Energy, a regional utility company
based in Texas, is in the final stages of constructing a network of smart
meters across the city and suburbs of Houston. By 2013, 2 million smart
meters will track energy use in Texans' homes, and allow CenterPoint to turn
off air conditioning units during times of high demand for instance,
although CenterPoint admits it will need customer consent for this."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...lights-on.html

Wonder: How can Centerpoint distinguish between an a/c and a 240v welding
machine? Or would they just cut both of them off?


They have to add a switching device to the circuit going to your A/C.
(water heater or whatever)


I don't know if it's still offered but Alabama Power installed a radio
controlled cutoff unit on customer AC condensers that would interrupt
the 24volt current to the contactor in the outdoor unit whenever the
power company had a big demand and transmitted the cutoff signal. I
don't know if it was for a certain period of time or what but it's been
about ten years since I last noticed one on an air conditioner. ^_^

TDD