Back in the day when Bird and I were preparing to move into the townhouse, I called the electric company to switch the service over from the renter to us. The woman on the phone took my information and then asked if I was interested in any energy/money savings programs. Savings? Of course I was interested, but I had called from work and I didn’t have time to listen to her script, so I made a mental note to check out these programs sooner rather than later.
Well, February turned into late July and after I received a larger than normal electric bill (curse you, super hot summer (but the air conditioning feels so good!)) I finally remembered to investigate these savings programs.
I went to the electric company’s website and clicked on the Programs buttons. There were about 4 or 5 programs listed, but most of them were not applicable to me. However, the Cycled Air Conditioning program sounded promising so I called them and signed up. Here are a few details from the website:
- You receive a $10 credit on your bill each June, July and August.
- On days when homes and businesses are using a lot of electricity and purchasing wholesale electricity is more expensive, we will cycle your air conditioner condenser on and off in 15-minute increments.
- Your fan will continue to run.
- Interruptions usually occur only on the hottest days of the year when air conditioners must work harder to keep people comfortable.
- Available only for central air conditioners.
Basically, they sent a technician out to install a little control box near my AC unit and then like they said, they will cycle my air on and off when they need to during peak times. And I save $30 a year. Of course, I missed out on ten bucks this year because I didn’t sign up for the program until July. I’ve now been on the program for 3 weeks or so and I haven’t noticed any difference with the temperature in my house. Of course, it has cooled down a little bit lately so maybe that has helped as well.
Anywho, nothing like saving $30 with one simple phone call. You are hereby encouraged to look into any savings programs your utility companies may be offering!
