Climate and energy

Demand Response programs are mechanisms that allow utilities to adjust customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions, for example, having electricity customers reduce their consumption at critical times.

Both Westar and KCP&L offer demand response programs for their residential customers – through their programmable thermostat programs.  As CEP’s own Dorothy Barnett describes below, the free thermostat makes it a great deal for consumers, and the reduced peak load makes it a great deal for utilities.

I’ve had the day marked on my calendar for nearly a month – today I received my totally FREE Honeywell programmable demand control thermostat from Westar Energy (valued at $300)!

The WattSaver program is the newest way Westar Energy is helping me to save money, save energy and improve the environment.

So, how does WattSaver work?

Demands on Westar Energy’s power delivery system are the highest from June through September when many of us use our air conditioners. If needed, Westar can choose to cycle my air conditioner in coordination with other WattSaver participants to reduce energy demand. During that time my thermostat will display “SAVING”, my compressor will operate 50% of the normal run time (on for 15 minutes, off for 15 minutes), and the system fan will continue to circulate air throughout my home.

Cycling normally lasts about four hours or less between the hours of noon and 8 p.m. It won’t happen often and only on weekdays – never on the weekends or holidays. I can check the WattSaver website to find out it there is a cycling event planned that day. If I have a special event, company coming over etc. I can choose to not participate in one cycling event per month.

There is a chance my home could get a little warmer during a cycling event – however most of the time I won’t even notice.

Although I know it’s hard to believe there is NO fee to join WattSaver. Jeremy from Honeywell (contracted by Westar) came to my house, explained the program to me, took a look at my central heat and air units to make sure they were safe. In less than an hour, he removed my old thermostat (which he offered to recycle for me if it contained any mercury), hooked up the new thermostat, sent an electronic signal to the system and I was up and running. My Honeywell thermostat is both programmable and more accurate than my older thermostat so I’m looking forward to saving up to 20% on my annual heating and cooling costs.

One of the coolest things about my new thermostat is  being able to program it through my computer. I have a Work at Home schedule and an Out of Office schedule which allow me to keep the house comfortable when I’m here working and when no one is home, we crank down the heater (or crank up the air conditioner) to save the maximum amount of energy. Before we return, the thermostat cycles back to that comfortable schedule right when we need it.

If I leave town and forget to adjust to my Out of Office schedule, I just hop on the internet and change it from wherever I am. (I’m waiting excitedly for a Blackberry application so I can change the schedule  from my phone)!

So why does Westar want to save energy?

Westar estimates customer’s annual demand for electricity will grow by 1.5-2.5% (similar to national average). Programs like WattSaver help balance the increasing demand for electricity with the supply. When we reduce our energy consumption we reduce the amount of emissions released into the atmosphere.

As we help Westar reduce peak demand through the WattSaver program, they are able to use their existing power plants more efficiently and we help them delay building new expensive generation which helps keep electricity costs affordable and promotes a cleaner environment through reduced energy use. According to Karen Smith, Account Manager for Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management “It’s just the right thing to do”!

WattSaver was piloted in 2008 and kicked off in Wichita this fall. As of last week, more than 800 Westar customers have received their thermostats and over 500 more are signed up and ready to go!

If you’re a Westar customer – you can check out all the details here.

-posted by Dorothy Barnett, climateandenergy.org