It depends on the type of control.

One method turns off the compressor only for an hour or so during peak times. Usually the agreement is for only a limited number of times a year (like 4). This won't harm the compressor. The fan stays active and will turn on if needed and run.

Another method is to control the thermostat. In this case, the setpoint is changed by perhaps +5F. So if you have it set to 74, the utility overrides that to 79F for whatever the time period you agreed to. This is harmless, too, unless you happen to be at home notice that it is getting warmer.

The $5 should be $5/month or $60 a year, right?

I see nothing wrong with load control by the electric utility. I have it through Duke Energy for cooling only during four summer mths. $8.00/mth and based on my memory, it's never been activated in the last fifteen years. I don't think DE offers this program any longer.

IMO

In the DC area the Power Company (Pepco) offers money back at three different levels of control for Cooling and electric hot water heaters.

We had massive power outages one WINTER and Pepco de-energized the electric hot water heaters without notifying the press/public.

Many people paid a plumber to come repair their heater only to find out nothing was wrong. (And paying for the service call.)

My old A/C struggled to keep my home cool on hot days and when Pepco turned off my compressor the home interior temp got really bad.

I no longer have the boxes from the power company - also the monthly fee was only for the summer months.

It shouldn't cause any problem with your equipment. I have used this type of load management with 2 different power companies. With one company it was great and the credit was around $120.00 a year and you didn't really know when they were cutting off the A/C. But where I currently live the A/C was cut off for more than 5 hours when the outside temp was 97 degrees. When I got home the second floor was 90 degrees. My first thought was the A/C wasn't working. But when I went upstairs and heard the airhandler running for the second floor unit I realized the power company had cut the unit off.

I was upset the house was so hot. I called the power company and was told that my units would be returning to operation at 5:00PM. Sure enough when that time arrived both units kicked on. I called the power company and cancelled the load control program.

ken

Anytime someone else controls your HVAC equipment, you run the risk of them having an equipment malfunction or operator error that impacts your equipment. If their malfunction or error results in a rapid cycling on and off of your equipment power, it could cause damage to your equipment.

The chance of that happening may be remote, but I still wouldn't do it, unless the rewards were very significant.

Thanks for the advice/comments everyone!

There's some merit to these programs, but $5/month to give up AC on the days you want it most? Forget it! Talk about a bargain for the utilities, because the power is costing them huge amounts at peak load.

Much more sensible for them to focus on heavy industries that use loads of power and can be more flexible about shutting down.

I've never had one of these on my home until we moved into our new house and the previous owners never had them removed. For at least a month and a half now, I've had to crawl into my attic and go outside to correct various problems with our HVAC unit. It's an older unit, so I have done everything I can to make sure it's maintained well and that all of the vents, coils, etc. are clean and properly functioning...and STILL I had issues with my fan blowing low and hot air, system overheating, fuses blowing, etc. Finally, I got the idea to remove these load management systems, Duke Energy calls it a "power manager", from my home when I came home on a 100º North Carolina summer day and, not only is my upstairs unit blowing hot air, but my downstairs unit, where the dogs stay during the day, is blowing hot air, and all the vents seemed to have lost pressure . I go outside and see that both of the load managers are tripped, so I immediately call Duke Energy to have them removed. I have NOT had a problem since. They tell you it's safe, they tell you it's going to save you money, but in reality shutting off part of your system at THEIR free will, and allowing some 3rd party to mess with the electrical wiring in your home for THEIR convenience, cannot logically be good for your AC unit, your home's power grid, or for your longterm costs with parts failing after being subjectively shut off and on. HVAC's are not designed to be partially shut off and on at random, and it puts a huge stress on your system if it's having to go from keeping a home at 75º then sky rocketing to 80º+, then having to drop back down to 75º on a blisteringly hot summer day. I'd love to help the environment and save energy...but this has had to be one of the most frustrating experiences I've had with a utility company. There's nothing worse than feeling like something you own isn't working right, especially on an investment like a home. And, personally, the idea of choosing to save the "whopping" $32 annually that Duke Energy offers you, over the comfort of my family and pets, is idiotic. All I know is I have this life to enjoy, and it's not going to be with a bead of sweat rolling down the crack of my a$$ for $2.67 a month.

Can't say what Duke Energy does with their load management process.

The local electric cooperative in my area has a voluntary load management program. They cycle the compressor off for only 7.5 mins twice per hour, on a rolling pattern across the customers in to the program. Not 24 hours per day every day. Only on days when they need to enact load management, between 3 PM and 8 PM during the months of June, July, August, and September. Doing so reduces their cost of power, so it benefits the customers more than just the direct bill credit. The control devices can malfunction, it's a simple enough matter to call them to report the situation, they'll promptly replace it.

This thread was finished over nine years ago. Are we adding new approaches?