Good afternoon, I just signed up for a pilot program that monitors and regulates electricity consumption during peak demand loads for A/C window units, washer,dryer done through ComED, the Citizens Utility Board and Greenlet A tech company with a new idea. A plug-in at the outlet and a router to the database to record and control these appliances during peak load times. with the weather we have been having(hot) it should be interesting. My "test lab" continues. Stay tuned
Greenlet kit for Consumers: A small kit is sent by mail to customers for quick and easy self-installation. Consumers connect each Greenlet unit to an appliance, which connects the gateway to the local router. There is no need for professional installation or knowledge and installation takes less than 5 minutes. The Greenlet system automatically registers on the Web application. Greenlet frequently sends power consumption information to the management system. Through commands received, the Greenlet system controls appliances (e.g.: stop/postpone usage) and regulates power.
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Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on August 13, 2012 at 2:22pm I just received the greenlet package this is the plugin to the outlet
Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on August 17, 2012 at 4:38pm Sounds very much like what OG&E is doing with smarthours. The main difference is OG&E is going for the "big boy" the central A/C unit. Professional installation of the thermostat is required but it's provided to customers free of charge. Users can log onto myogepower to get hourly updates on total energy use for their home. Lower prices during off peak hours encourage shifting of loads. No load control devices have been implemented other than the Thermostat. In the future water heaters, pool pumps, and hot tubs could be added. The 120v device unloading is nice, but pales in comparison to a 4000W heating element or a 2000W pump.
Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on August 17, 2012 at 4:42pm I think gearing for window units think NY not much central air
Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on August 17, 2012 at 5:25pm Is there any financial incentive for customers to install the devices in their homes?
Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on August 20, 2012 at 11:37am There is Bob, you get $20 per window unit for participation in the program. You also have some sort of energy use information tied into ComED. I will have to wait until the end of the month for energy use info. It has been rather cool here so I don't think we'll be having peak loads anytime soon. Stay tuned
Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on August 20, 2012 at 12:11pm I went onto the site and it is running. I started a load of laundry and it is showing 577w real time 433w for A/C in kitchen and 749w for living room. so it does show real time usage on the major appliance loads (not the fridge) By plugging in a greenlet to the washer thats another $20. Once I let this log data for a while, I'll see if i can get some useful info. After turning everything off I see 3w of phantom load on either 1 appliance or 1w on all three appliances. The lab continues. It also shows 1Kwh for the last 24hrs.
Permalink Reply by Bob Blanchette on August 20, 2012 at 3:05pm Is the $20 a 1 time thing or does it repeat every month? Is there a way to prevent dishonesty such as hooking up the A/C to a different outlet?
Permalink Reply by randy tolowski on August 23, 2012 at 8:01am Yes it is a one time thing. As far as dishonesty, I don't know how it would be advantageous to hook the A/C to a different outlet. I feel that by seeing exactly what the A/C is using I can make an informed decision on whether or not I need to upgrade the unit with a more energy efficient one. When I look at the graph of usage from my washer I now realize the elec use through the different cycles: water fill,wash, rinse(spin), fill,wash,rinse. I haven't done the numbers yet but when I do I will know exactly what it costs to do a load of laundry. This will probably stop bad behavior(from an energy point of view) like washing 1 pair of jeans. The lab continues.
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