On 1/24/2013 7:55 PM, Dimitrios Paskoudniakis wrote:

"Wes Groleau" wrote in message
...
Electric company wants me to install a device that lets them remotely
alter the duty cycle of my AC compressor.

Is this truly harmless?

Can it make the thing less efficient, or wear out / burn out sooner?


--
Wes Groleau


I live in Maryland near DC. I have A/C on the first floor and basement
and a heat pump for the upper level. I get $50/month discount for the
four months of May - August by allowing the utility to be able to shut
off the A/C.

Two years ago during a heat wave, they shut it off from 11:30 AM - 7:00
PM. By that time, my upstairs thermostat read 91 F. That's not a typo.
It got back to a sleepable temp by about 1:00 AM.

You just need to decide what's more important, saving a few bucks or
having ensured comfort.

I was part of that heat wave too. When people complained online, the
utility originally said the AC was only off until 2:00 (or something)
and then come to find out they supposedly immediately implemented some
sort of second emergency cutoff. It was mid-90s in my house when I got
home. Dogs were panting. Speaking of programmable thermostats, part of
the deal was they gave me and installed one. Came in "handy" because
they day they turned off the AC, they displayed some message to that
effect on the thermostat! At least I knew my AC hadn't up and died on me.

Complaining aside, if the choice is between cycling the AC and having a
blackout, I'd like to at least have the capability of running my ceiling
fans rather than a total power outage. (My neighborhood gets enough of
those at random intervals anyhow!).