Derek ColeGM, Simmons One Hour Heating & Air · AI HVAC Answers

They Have Control of My HVAC

8 Jun 2017 · 1 min

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1:11

In this short commentary, Derek Cole explains why he would refuse a utility demand‑response program that pays roughly $30‑$32 per year in exchange for the company’s right to remotely shut off his air‑conditioning for extended periods—potentially up to 18 hours. He describes a recent incident when, during a 101 °F day, the utility could have turned his AC off for several hours, causing the house to heat up to the high 70s or low 80s by the time he returned home in the evening. Cole argues that the modest financial incentive does not outweigh the loss of personal and family comfort, the inconvenience of having to readjust the thermostat after a prolonged outage, and the broader discomfort of a hot home.

Chapters

I'm going to give you my opinion. I would never sign up for this program. My energy company offers it to me and I say no, because for $32 a year, they now have control to turn my power off and my AC off. I'm sorry, my AC, not my power. My AC off whenever they feel like it. So last week it was 101 degrees and they could turn my power off or my AC off at 2 PM and leave it off for— I think the contract says like, you know, within 18 hours. They can go more than 10 hours. What? You realize how warm a house gets when it's 100 degrees outside and my AC is off? So no, it's not worth it. For $30, I'm not going to sacrifice my comfort, my family's comfort, and more importantly, when I get home at 5:30, 6:30 at night. I don't want my house to be 79, 80 degrees and I'm having to pull it down to 74 because the power's been off on my AC for the last 2 hours. So