Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by TheLoneWolfling on Thursday May 22, 2014 @05:05PM
(#7786535)
So you can end up getting charged ~13x the price if you opt-in?
No wonder it's not particularly popular.
Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by joezydeco on Thursday May 22, 2014 @05:27PM
(#7786668)
Like I said, I've saved money with the program. If you're not able or motivated to monitor your usage and the current price then yeah, it's not going to work.
This is where a more intelligent system than the Nest could be beneficial. I'm not for the power company modulating your use but if you had a system that cooperated locally with your habits I think there's a lot of potential. Nest is 50% there.
Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by ironchef on Thursday May 22, 2014 @07:14PM
(#7787150)
I'm on RRTP too. I've saved > 25% using it in the summer. In the summer (for example), I'll crank it down to mid to low sixties overnight (it's pretty cheap) and give it one final kick down to high fifties / low sixties just shy of 6 am. Then set it for 76 or so for most of the day (If it's pretty hot and the temp has drifted up I may do a mid day cooling for a short bit)....then kick things down again at 8 pm or so. You can follow the pricing here: https://rrtp.comed.com/live-prices/?date=20140522 (that's today) or predicted next day: https://rrtp.comed.com/live-prices/predicted-prices/
Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by joezydeco on Thursday May 22, 2014 @08:22PM
(#7787382)
Preloading the house is definitely a great trick for the hot summer days. I've toyed with the idea of building some kind of thermal storage unit in the basement for the really cheap periods...but it was getting kind of silly.
But if you know anyone selling a cheap commercial ice maker I'm all ears.
Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by erichurkman on Thursday May 22, 2014 @05:14PM
(#7786595)
It works really well if you have a programmable thermostat (Nest or otherwise). Particularly if you are at work during the high afternoon temperatures. If you're at home frequently during those periods, or in an area where it does not cool off until 9 pm, it probably does not make sense. A high insulation rating helps, too.
Re:The Lowly Thermostat, Now Minter of Megawatts
by jamesaguilar on Thursday May 22, 2014 @05:20PM
(#7786623)
> If you're at home frequently during those periods, or in an area where it does not cool off until 9 pm, it probably does not make sense.
Although this is something you have control of as well. For the right amount of money, I can arrange to be out with my friends when it is hottest, then come home later. :)
In Chicago you can opt into a program where you pay real-time pricing for electricity. This price can swing from 0.0c/kWh during overnight summer hours when peaker plants need someone to burn off wattage, and I've seen it go over $1.00/kWh during heat waves or when the south is having a freezing snap and everyone is running their heat pumps down there. Standard users pay about 7.5c/kWh.
While the Nest doesn't connect to this pricing, ComEd also offers an optional breaker box (connected via cellular radio) to cycle power to your A/C compressor for short periods of time when the price exceeds a certain level (i.e peak summer demand). So this kind of automatic control exists without needing the Nest infrastructure in place.
In the meantime, I've saved about 15% off my standard bill with a little bit of diligent dumb-thermostat programming. I'm planning a more intelligent system of my own that can watch pricing, house occupancy, and weather forecasts to try and beat that statistic.