CPS Energy Manager is saving me money (how much, house)

[Zone Read]

About a month ago I signed up for CPS Energy Manager. CPS subcontractor came in and put in a new thermostat and monitoring/control devices on my water heater and AC. Using a web interface, I can adjust the temperature, turn my water heater on and off and program these events to happen based on when I'm home, at work, on vacation, etc. It also allows me to monitor usage. It shows energy consumption of the water heater, AC and everything else by the day and by the hour.

I'm already seeing some significant savings. The best part is that it didn't cost me anything, CPS provides it for free.

[Labamigo]

I would like an easy way to program my water heater. The only time I really need it at all is first thing in the morning. It's gas.

[Torpedos]

i got the thermostat, but i did not know about the water heater

[sinsativ]

They came to my house, did the assessment, said they were going to install the thermostat and water heater control, haven't heard back, over 3 months.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I thought about signing up for the program, but in the fine print it said that CPS could shut off my air conditioner during peak usage periods.

[datacity]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

I thought about signing up for the program, but in the fine print it said that CPS could shut off my air conditioner during peak usage periods.

This could happen on summer days where they would turn up your thermostat by a few degrees for short periods of time, not large enough to make it an issue for you, but in aggregate it can make a significant difference. Note that even if your thermostat temperature is changed by CPS, you can manually change it back if you are at home so you can over ride it.

Originally Posted by Labamigo

I would like an easy way to program my water heater. The only time I really need it at all is first thing in the morning. It's gas.

Originally Posted by Torpedos

i got the thermostat, but i did not know about the water heater

The ability to use this with a water heater only applies to electric water heaters (and electric furnaces as well). Also, Energy Saver is different from the Peak Saver program. Energy Saver is more robust and allows for remote monitoring and settings as well as showing real time energy use. It especially makes more sense for all electric homes.

I have a gas water heater, clothes dryer, cooktop and central furnace so all I would be able to work with is central A/C. As part of this program, they also update your meter to a "smart" meter. So you can see that in the future, CPS will likely offer some time-based electric rates that charge more during peak hours and offer much lower rates at night and on weekends.

[Zone Read]

I know they can turn off your AC for brief periods of time under the Peak Saver and Energy Saver, but as Datacity said, you can override it. I never have and have never noticed it when they did turn it off. In addition to AC and water heater, they said they could also do pool pumps as well. I'm a gadget freak so I love this kind of stuff, and it saves me money.

[TowBar]

They came out to my house and did the assessment. They were scheduled to come do the install last Friday, but called Thursday to say they need to reschedule. So they are supposed to come out this Friday. All I have is the AC, as my water heater is gas. So I don't know how much difference it will make, but I am also a gadget freak, so it will be cool to check it out. I didn't know they changed out the meter as well. While they didn't come last Friday to do the install, we were in our kitchen last Friday morning and heard what sounded like someone messing with something on the side of our house. I peeked out the kitchen window and could barely see someone was in fact messing with something on the side of my house. So I grab my gun and head outside to see if someone was trying to steal something. Before I get there, as I was walking out my front door, I saw a guy look like he was carrying my electric meter, and was walking towards a CPS truck, so I figured he was a good guy, and I wouldn't need to shoot him. I guess he must have installed a smart meter. He probably should have knocked on our door before messing around on our property, but then again I never open the door for people I don't know either.

To sinsativ, did you call and schedule the install? After they do the assessment they should have left you a number to call to schedule the installation.

[hillcountrywinefan]

Originally Posted by datacity

This could happen on summer days where they would turn up your thermostat by a few degrees for short periods of time, not large enough to make it an issue for you, but in aggregate it can make a significant difference. Note that even if your thermostat temperature is changed by CPS, you can manually change it back if you are at home so you can over ride it.

As far as I know you cannot override the cycling once CPS initiates it. CPS controls the cycling of your A/C unit's compressor. You can drop the temperature setting on the thermostat all you want but if the compressor is being cycled, your temps won't drop until it is working constantly to move the heat load.

You can opt out of being cycled on a particular date by contacting CPS ahead of time.

I'm in IT and have looked online for ways to override it but since it's technically still CPS property, I don't want to mess with it.

We have had the thermostat almost 3 years and upon the completion of that, we're dropping out of the program. The cycling has made a difference in inside temperatures and an uncomfortable one at that. Our unit is able to handle the high temps we've been having recently, but if cycled, the indoor temps creep up about 3 to 4 degrees. Enough to notice. Not worth the savings or the "feel good" that we're helping save electricity.

We agreed to the terms of the agreement when we signed on for this back in 2009 in exchange for the "free" programmable thermostat, but have found that it isn't worth the slight loss in comfort. Would I do it again? No. I'd pony up the $$ for a nice programmable thermostat and maintain a steady indoor temperature. Our A/C is very efficient and our home well-insulated. Our A/C has never cost us more than $170 in the hottest of summers and our house is almost 2,000sq ft.

I'm not an A/C tech, but I would imagine all that cycling the compressor on and off so frequently isn't good on the compressor or the capacitors in the outdoor unit.

[AFMike]

We signed up as well, havn't got a bill yest but tracking online seems like it will be a good savings. I especially like the water heater control, a water heater is one of the most wasteful things in a home!

Like other have said they can screw with your ac (allow it to raise by 4 degrees) and you can override this, but in the big scheme of things you are helping to prevent blackouts...

You can set weekend, weekday, vacation schedules with a bunch of different settings (e.g. water heater on 6am off 6:30am; on 8am off 9am; on 7pm off 9pm; etc) same with temps and times.

Works with pool pumps as well if you have one.

You must have central AC and Electric water heater to qualify and they will put a new box on the side of your house for each item (AC, Water heater, Pool pump).

-Runs on the Verizon network

Let me know if you have questions...