Redux 1984

Ken Garlock

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Well the boys on the left coast are at it again. I heard on the radio today that there is a movement in California to give the utility companies the right to remotely set your thermostat at what the company thinks it should be. It is promoted as an authorization to be invoked in an emergency. Can you say global warming?

It is crap like this that gives substance to the saying about California: what ain't fruits and nuts are flakes.

Do you love Big Brother?
 
Heh heh. That reminds me of an office incident years ago ... back when WordPerfect was still headquartered (and coded) in Orem.

The thermostats in my particular building were in the corner offices, and there were no manual controls on them. My manager (in a corner office) kept complaining about how cold it was (must have been Winter) and how he couldn't adjust the thermostat himself.

One day he got the bright idea to get a Popsicle from the kitchen and just lay it on the thermostat box. It seemed to have the desired effect (the heat came on) but before long he had to eat -- or otherwise dispose of -- the Popsicle. A few of us were in his office 10 or 15 minutes later, when someone from the facilities group came to check out what appeared to be a defective thermostat. :eek:

WE weren't about to rat on the boss with him standing there, and HE didn't volunteer anything, so the poor guy went away none the wiser. :huh:
 
Well the boys on the left coast are at it again. I heard on the radio today that there is a movement in California to give the utility companies the right to remotely set your thermostat at what the company thinks it should be. It is promoted as an authorization to be invoked in an emergency. Can you say global warming? ...
I sure haven't heard of this movement, and I seriously doubt it will take place in my lifetime. I don't see people letting this happen here, even though I do understand the "emergency" they are trying to address. (Power shortages in the summer.) Not sure how this ties in at all with global warming, though. They had power shortages out here long before global warming became an issue.

And you might be surprised at the number of us (sorta) regular folks that live here. We're the ones that you don't hear about on the news. They need a fair number of us here to keep the fruits and nuts in line. ;)
 
Well, it's already happening here ... on a voluntary basis in the summer.

Here's one paragraph from Rocky Mountain Power's [Cool Keeper info page]:
Sign up for Cool Keeper and a device will be connected to your central air conditioning unit. On selected summer days when energy demand soars, the Cool Keeper device receives a wireless signal. This signal tells the device to turn your central air conditioning unit off and on, lessening the strain on the power system.​
They sure try to make it sound good, but I dunno:
  • No charge for installation (or removal, if it comes to that)
  • $20 credit each summer
  • Only applies June through August, never on holidays or weekends
  • A/C is typically turned off for a few minutes per half hour, 2-8pm, selected weekdays
  • "Cool Keeper activation will have little or no impact on your comfort. Some customers report the change in temperature is only 1 to 3° F."
:dunno:
 
Ah, another rumor to bash California with. I love 'em. I do have the do-hickey that let's the Electric company turn off my Air Conditioner if there is too much load on the grid in my area. I get paid $x whether they use it or not and I get $X+Y if they do. They credit me $X+Y about a half a dozen times a summer. Best part is, I never turn on my AC :rofl:
 
I should clarify a bit...I've heard of this being done on a voluntary basis, but not that the utility companies would have a right to do so without your approval. :rolleyes:
 
I sure haven't heard of this movement, and I seriously doubt it will take place in my lifetime. I don't see people letting this happen here, even though I do understand the "emergency" they are trying to address. (Power shortages in the summer.) Not sure how this ties in at all with global warming, though. They had power shortages out here long before global warming became an issue.

And you might be surprised at the number of us (sorta) regular folks that live here. We're the ones that you don't hear about on the news. They need a fair number of us here to keep the fruits and nuts in line. ;)

Well we could save you a lot a money if we just cut the lines from Washington to California you know those hydro electric lines:eek: :) :D :rofl:.

When I lived in Imperial Beach CA. they were going to raise the rates so we started BBQing & for I think somewhere around a month shut off & unplugged everything we could & they lost way more then they would have gained with the rate jump.
 
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Well we could save you a lot a money if we just cut the lines from Washington to California you know those hydro electric lines:eek: :) :D :rofl:.
The NorCal people would probably not be too happy with that, but down here in SoCal I think we get most of our power from Boulder Dam. So much for "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", huh?
 
Our electric utility has an option in program similar to that for electric water heater users. We can volunteer to have a load limit switch installed at no cost. They in turn can cut off power to the water heater in times of peak demand. This apparently saves them a bunch in buying electricity during periods of peak demand. We get a $2 per month reduction in our electric bill. We signed up for it when the program started some 10 years ago. We have saved enough over 10 years to buy a decent router and have never run out of hot water.:thumb:
 
Well the boys on the left coast are at it again. I heard on the radio today that there is a movement in California to give the utility companies the right to remotely set your thermostat at what the company thinks it should be. It is promoted as an authorization to be invoked in an emergency. Can you say global warming?

It is crap like this that gives substance to the saying about California: what ain't fruits and nuts are flakes.

Do you love Big Brother
?


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Let's keep this in mind, folks.... :doh:
 
California has a VOLUNTARY program where the utility company can turn your A/C off for certain periods of time when there is a power emergency. The longer, and more often, you allow them to turn your power off, the more rebate you get on your electricity bill.

It's highly unlikely that the power company would be able to control your thermostat. It would require that some new thermostat be installed in your home which would be able to receive radio signals from the power company which told it what temperature to operate at. How would the utility company get into your home to install such a thermostat unless you gave them permission and invited them to do so? And why would you do so unless there was some significant benefit for you?

A much better way to lower electricity usage is to get people to do it on their own through economic incentives. One way to to price electricity by time of day. So electricity is more expensive first thing in the morning (when everyone is getting ready to go to work) and in the afternoon when people are returning home. This can be done by a change to the electric meter, which the utility company has access to without your permission.

But such an approach is not that bad. We'd quickly adjust our lives to do high electricity usage things late at night when the rates are lowest.

And such an approach is being considered for many parts of the country, not just for California.

Many people (like the OP) like to take shots at California but that's just the penalty we pay for living in Paradise. If everyone had to live here for six months before they could move somewhere else in the United States, we'd have standing room only.

Mike
 
Cali can be blamed for some real winner ideas. Take trucks for instance. We got bridge law formula from CA.

Explanation of Bridge law

I can see the point of it but have you ever been in Pittsburgh or NYC with a 48 foot trailer? :rolleyes:
The formula might have come from someone living in California, but the physics behind structural engineering that produced the formula were around long before California was on the map. ;)
 
No worries, I'll just put my tinfoil hat over the thermostat to shield it from the mind controlling signals.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Intelligent Thermostats

This thread is kind of interesting...

With my new heating system it seems my thermostats are the dumbest part of the system. They just tell the control valves to come on, or go off. As a visionary, in the coming years I see that changing to intelligent thermostats.

The thing is, I have Radiant Floor heating, which is one of the best ways to go, but when the days go from say 40 degrees one day, down to zero degrees another day, and then right back up to 40 degrees again, I get this hot/cold effect. That is because my concrete slab takes about 8-10 hours to feel a change.

Now imagine if the National Weather Bureau or NAOA had weather forecasting data base. I could tie my heating system into that. My heating system would then have enough intelligence and data to almost predict what it would need to do 12-24 hours ahead of time. That could save me a lot of money in the long run. It would also even out the hot/cold spikes.

Really, I am being serious here. Right now the weather is predicted to get a lot colder next week. My intelligent boiler would already know this, and begin raising the temp of the slab up a degree or two in anticipation for the cold weather ahead.

Maybe we are not ready for this. Or maybe we already have it, I don't know. I know my place is not as bad as my dad's. He has oil fired heat (I have propane) so he cannot meter his hot water as well. When we get warm/cot spikes in temp, his house seems to be hot when its hot out, and cold when its cold out. A system that could use weather forecasting would really even out the heat.
 
Maybe we are not ready for this. Or maybe we already have it, I don't know. I know my place is not as bad as my dad's. He has oil fired heat (I have propane) so he cannot meter his hot water as well. When we get warm/cot spikes in temp, his house seems to be hot when its hot out, and cold when its cold out. A system that could use weather forecasting would really even out the heat.

Ok your going to educate me here, Since the only experience I have with a boiler is my redneck home brew out door one. Why would the type of fuel make a difference? I would think it has more to do with boiler design than anything
 
"A system that could use weather forecasting would really even out the heat."

I don't think so only because of human fallibility.



Just an example of this is a 35% chance of rain predicted for Whidbey Island which for us comes out of Seattle where Seattle gets the rain & we don't.

When ever the prediction is 35% or less I just ignore it because it not happening.
 
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