As mentioned to Moose, we hear that something like that is coming. They
already provide fiber to the premises for many of us, who subscribe to their
telephone, TV, and internet service. The fiber box is just below the
electric meter. With a smart meter, they could get feedback via a fiber
circuit to make smart billing possible. My hot water and furnace are gas,
but, with a relay circuit, they could block the A/C compressor if they so
desired.
However, the Power System manager also told me that they were going to
install a recloser-type breaker in place of the high-voltage fuse that feeds
our neighborhood, which gets tripped frequently by suicidal squirrels, tree
limbs, etc. I'm still waiting for it to happen.
A Skeptical Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Norton" <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 5:31 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] IMG: Two Images from HOT Tennessee
> Jim's picture of the wildly spinning meter reminded me that I was
> going to mention that we got our house wired up the the "Smart Grid".
> Everything is electric in it (no natural gas). The power company asked
> a bunch of us if we'd like to save a few bucks a month.
>
> Yeah, like I'd turn that down?
>
> So, our air-conditioner and hot water heater now have these nifty
> controllers on them that allow the power company to disable them
> during peak times. Of course, the way our place is built, we aren't
> that big of a draw anyway, but we said sure. So these controllers do a
> rolling 10 minute blackout on our devices. The rest of the house is
> fully electrified, but the controller cuts off power to the these two
> devices for up to 10 minutes at a time. Theoretically, we should never
> know the difference. Sure, if the thermostat were to decide to turn
> the air on, the fans go on, but the compressor doesn't. If the
> thermostat turned it on right at the time the rolling blackout
> occured, it would take up to 10 minutes longer before the house cooled
> back down to the set temperature, but that would be worse-case.
>
> So, for no real inconvenience we get to save $10 per month. The way
> these are wired in, there is no damage to the systems. With this heat
> wave, I'm sure if they are actually going to utilize it, they probably
> have. But we're none the wiser.
>
> Another thing that we've done for a couple years is peak/off-peak
> billing. During the hottest summer months our electric bill will be
> slightly higher than normal billing, but the rest of the year it is
> very much in our favor. We save over $200 per year on this program.
>
> AG
> --
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>
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