Wattsaver Program

**beks37** · 05-11-2010, 09:48 PM

I got a flyer in the mail from my electric company about a Wattsaver program they have. It sounds really neat. They will install a programmable thermostat in my house...then this is what the program does. (from the flyer)

"On the hottest days from June through September, when energy use reaches peak demand, the electric company may cycle participants' central air conditioners or heat pumps in a coordinated effort to reduce energy demand. These cycling events will normally last about four hours between noon and 8 p.m. and occur on weekdays only-never on weekends or holidays. While the compressor is cycling on and off every 15 minutes, your system fan will continue to run, circulating air throughout your home. You may choose to opt out of a cycling event once per month.

The more participants in the program, the more we can significantly reduce the demand for electricity on the hottest days from June through September. Reducing this demand helps keep electricity costs affordable for all of us and promotes a cleaner environment through reduced energy use."

I am going to sign up for it and then see if it ends up saving me money. I'll report back in my savings and anything else interesting that I notice with this.

Does anyone else have a program like this with their electric company?

**frugalfranny** · 05-12-2010, 12:56 AM

I will be curious beks. Keep us posted.

Yeah....people in Calif. have them........it is called
blackouts!!

Don't think they need a programmable thermostat for that!!

**2ndGenGranola** · 05-12-2010, 06:12 AM

Our area has one but we do not join in on it.

We have the type of air conditioner we have for medical reasons and we don't want someone in government deciding for us when we can or can't use it. We already use our system frugally and their program will increase the temperature of the house by about 5 degrees. We already keep it about 78-80 with the exception of medical events where we drop it to 75.

You can buy your own programmable thermostat at a reasonable price. If you operate your system frugally, there is no need for this program.

**beks37** · 05-12-2010, 09:43 AM

FF-LOL Blackouts! No fun!!

2ndGen-The program is operated by the electric company, not our local government. They will not let you participate if you are using medical equipment in the house. My dh uses a C-Pap machine, but it will not affect the performance of it.

I talked with my brother who has been on the program for more than a year. He has nothing but good things to say about it. One thing I didn't know is that we can access our thermostat online...so we could be out of town and still adjust the heat/cool in the house. If we drop out of the program before 3 years, they take the thermostat and replace with your old one. After 3 years, it's yours! We're planning on staying in our house at least another 3 years, so that part doesn't matter.

**monkeywrangler71** · 05-12-2010, 09:55 AM

That's neat that you can access your thermostat online. Our electric company has the same program, but we never bothered joining. If I'd known about the remote thermostat access I might have done it. They can't keep up with the energy demands here in the summer, so they turn down air conditioning to prevent blackouts, we haven't run the air conditioner in 4 years so I didn't see any point in joining.

**McD** · 05-12-2010, 10:07 AM

I believe they have the program here as well. But we have our own programmable thermostat and I prefer to use that, rather than giving the control to our utility.

**2ndGenGranola** · 05-12-2010, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by beks37

FF-LOL Blackouts! No fun!!

2ndGen-The program is operated by the electric company, not our local government.

I suggest you research it further. It may be "operated" by the electric company but...

**McD** · 05-12-2010, 12:07 PM

Out of curiousity, I did look at the program details on our utility's website.

MidAmerican Energy Company

I do find it interesting that they do not reference temperatures or anything of that nature.

**Contrary Housewife** · 05-12-2010, 02:29 PM

We already had a programmable thermostat when they began offering it, so we passed. DH did not want to give control of his comfort to someone else. I think we do a good job of managing our power bill by ourselves.

Whatever "savings" they claim to be making it is offset by the amount of advertising we continue to get from them trying to sell this program. About once a month I get a colorful slick ad urging me to buy into this. I wonder how many trees they kill every year.