SMECO Cool Sentry

[SamSpade]

Has anyone joined this yet? I got a flyer in my bill yesterday, and at first it looked like a good idea, but I'm not so sure. SMECO apparently is phasing out its Load Management credits in favor of this new program.

As near as I can tell, they put in, free of charge, a programmable thermostat in your home. Installation and the product itself is free, and it sounds like they may even give you a small credit just for having it.

But this is where the language gets fuzzy to me - it says that on specific days when demand goes way up, it will activate - meaning - what? It will turn your AC off? It clouds the issue by saying that your fan will still run and most families won't notice the difference.

I'm guessing this means this - they either set the programmable settings for you and you can't change them, or they turn your AC off when the demand goes way up, but for short periods of time so that it won't inconvenience you. Further, it doesn't look like it affects emergency heat when the temperatures drop, and the electrical backup heat kicks on.

Am I close? Is it worth trying? It IS free.

 

[The_Twisted_Ear]

As near as I can tell, they put in, free of charge, a programmable thermostat in your home. Installation and the product itself is free, and it sounds like they may even give you a small credit just for having it.

Yuppa! Why? Read on...

Days when demand goes way up, it will activate - meaning - what? It will turn your AC off? It clouds the issue by saying that your fan will still run and most families won't notice the difference.

Yuppa! And, that is the catch. However, we had a similar service at one time - I really couldn't even tell it was shut off. The shut off periods were very short.

 

[vbailey]

How much of a credit do you get? We have not had our AC on the month of August ,just only for a couple of hours this past Sunday. We have been very blessed to have such a cool August.

 

[Pushrod]

I would be very hesitant to allow any company to have control over how I set my thermostats or when it kicks on. Can you over ride it if neccessary? Can you set the 'cooling' temperature higher than what they want it set at? If there is an extreme event, can they shut you down for a day? a week?
I just don't feel comfortable with giving someone else that kind of control over my household.

 

[SamSpade]

I went to the Cool Sentry site. (Google "Cool Sentry"). They show pics of the "Cool Sentry" and it's just a radio activated cut-off device on your AC. That's it. They suggest that maybe a couple times a year, they'll cut it off for a few minutes.

I suspect the programmable thermostat that SMECO is offering is a bonus, and honestly, I've been wanting to do that but I didn't know if the ones in the store would work on a heat pump, or how well it would work in a home that has TWO (like mine).

The Comverge website shows that they have programmable thermostats that are managed on the web. How cool is that?

 

[HouseCat]

I would be very hesitant to allow any company to have control over how I set my thermostats or when it kicks on. Can you over ride it if neccessary? Can you set the 'cooling' temperature higher than what they want it set at? If there is an extreme event, can they shut you down for a day? a week?
I just don't feel comfortable with giving someone else that kind of control over my household.

No kidding. What if you get hot flashes?! You're screwed. lol
No thanks, SMECO.

 

[GopherM]

The older load manager gave SMECO the same control over your system. If you had the units hooked up to both the electric hot water heater and the heat pump/central AC, SMECO could interupt power to those units when demand was high. I have had one for several years and have only had one problem. The load manager shut down my AC on a very hot day and the software failed. I called them and they did a reset and had my AC back on within a half hour.

 

[MGenie]

I went to the Cool Sentry site. (Google "Cool Sentry"). They show pics of the "Cool Sentry" and it's just a radio activated cut-off device on your AC. That's it. They suggest that maybe a couple times a year, they'll cut it off for a few minutes.

I suspect the programmable thermostat that SMECO is offering is a bonus, and honestly, I've been wanting to do that but I didn't know if the ones in the store would work on a heat pump, or how well it would work in a home that has TWO (like mine).

The Comverge website shows that they have programmable thermostats that are managed on the web. How cool is that?

I found this thread because was researching this new system myself. The SEMCOCOOLSENTRY.COOP site is not to be found as yet. While it sounds good to me, the site was a sales pitch to the utility company and not consumer driven so it brought up more questions than it had answers for. I have many of the same concerns as the previous posters. Like: Who’s going to control how comfortable I am in the my own home? I can’t stand being cold in my own home. In the winter even 72 to me is unacceptable for comfort, while 80 in summer is fine for me. If it's just a programmable thermostat, will I be allowed to set for my own comfort level? Based on what the CoolSentry website says all the information provided was targeted towards the utility company and their bottom line, not the consumer the end user. The site says: "Allows control to be activated by time-of-day, day-of-week, holiday list, high/low set-points of monitored inputs, or any combination of these criteria" Which will be used? Additional it states: "Comverge offers two different optional Adaptive Algorithms, known as the "Prior Hour" and "Ideal Control Day" algorithms". Which algorithms are they going to implement and what are the differences? As for programming your thermostat from the web while that is an option with the system it will be up to the Utility company itself whether or not they will allow for that feature. They have complete control over the system from there end depending on what services they purchase as a user and what they allow the consumer to use.

Will SMECO eventually address some of these questions to the consumer or just sell everyone on the idea by providing a sleek looking programmable free thermostat with free installation? Which BTW is in their best interests, since they themselves will be getting rebates as a participating utility company. What exactly are the incentives? How much does that come down to in dollars for ME? A few pennies a day or some serious change will determine whether or not I sign up for this. Until someone or some source can address to me all these questions I will be holding off on jumping on this bandwagon. I’ll settle for just setting the thermostat at a steady temp and leave the dam thing alone. Since typically the cyles run longer whenever you either have to recool or reheat the entire house and all the contents again. I encourage more of you to read the website fully before you decide and before SMECO comes out with their website. Since as the site indicated, Sentry will also be assisting their users (the utility companies) on promoting, marketing, and selling consumers on this produce/service.

 

[SamSpade]

So far, everything I've been able to find makes it more than acceptable to me.

For one thing, in the past I've accepted their load balancing program. This is an instance where every once in a while, your power just goes off - and then comes back on a very short time later. For this you'd get a credit of about 5 bucks a month for something that in reality is a very minor inconvenience.

The really good selling point to me is the free programmable thermostat with free installation. I've had their energy audit before, and they provide credits for things like compact flourescents, insulation etc. which I've taken advantage of, but skipped the programmable thermostat because of at least two things. To my knowledge, they're somewhat different for heat pumps and you need to get one designed for heat pumps. The other is, I know the thermostat in my house is very old and I dread pulling it apart only to find out something like there's a missing wire or ground, or find that I'm unable to install it myself correctly.

A third item might be that we actually have two separate heat pumps when one was added to the addition over the garage. I can guess the juggling act that might ensue if one heat pump turns up or down and the other is affected by the difference.

Now - knowing this - it may yet happen that some technician from SMECO will come out to my house, rip my thermostat apart and say "sir, you need to have a third wire run through your house and I'm not authorized to do that for free" but if they can do it, it will save me significant change. My electric bill every month has always been absurdly high.

 

[sparkyaclown]

The really good selling point to me is the free programmable thermostat with free installation. I've had their energy audit before, and they provide credits for things like compact flourescents, insulation etc. which I've taken advantage of, but skipped the programmable thermostat because of at least two things. To my knowledge, they're somewhat different for heat pumps and you need to get one designed for heat pumps. The other is, I know the thermostat in my house is very old and I dread pulling it apart only to find out something like there's a missing wire or ground, or find that I'm unable to install it myself correctly.

The programmables for heat pump setups are readily available and easily installed. Unless you have two separate thermostats for heating and cooling (which I can't imagine why you would especially with a heat pump) then all the wires you'll need are right there. I picked up one at Home Depot last year and installed it in about 15 minutes. All you need to do is pay attention to what terminals on your old thermostat each wire is hooked to. It should be color coded but I have seen some oddball hookups. I'd rather set my own temperature/cycle then let SMECO determine it but thats just my personal choice.

 

[SamSpade]

I got on their web site a few weeks ago - got a notice saying they were swamped, but they would email me a notice to set up an appointment.

So far nothing.

Has anyone pursued this? I've seen the billboard - but I don't know of a single person they've done this for.

 

[bohman]

I got on their web site a few weeks ago - got a notice saying they were swamped, but they would email me a notice to set up an appointment.

So far nothing.

Has anyone pursued this? I've seen the billboard - but I don't know of a single person they've done this for.

I haven't. I considered it - We've been on the load management system since we moved into our house in 2004, and it never caused us any problems. But I already installed a programmable thermostat a few years ago and I've been very happy with it, and I really don't want SMECO to come in and fix something that ain't broke.

I'm already saving $ with the thermostat, new A/C, and extra insulation that we've installed over the years. The few dollars a month this would save me just isn't worth risking messing up a good thing.

 

[SamSpade]

I haven't. I considered it - We've been on the load management system since we moved into our house in 2004, and it never caused us any problems. But I already installed a programmable thermostat a few years ago and I've been very happy with it, and I really don't want SMECO to come in and fix something that ain't broke.

I'm already saving $ with the thermostat, new A/C, and extra insulation that we've installed over the years. The few dollars a month this would save me just isn't worth risking messing up a good thing.

I kind of got the impression that one of the reasons they were offering Cool Sentry was *because* they plan to get rid of the load management program. The idea was that they'd just cut your air conditioning for a short time instead of cutting all power, and you'd reap the same benefits -- ~ 5 bucks a month.

The second part is getting a free programmable thermostat with free installation. Not that I can't do it myself, but it's nice that they're willing to put it in for free as well.

We have TWO heat pumps, and right now I just don't have the cash to buy two of those things. My gut feeling is that one of the thermostats is so old that it won't hook up right - or so a friend told me. I'm also worried that I'll buy one that doesn't really work well with heat pumps - you know, one that ramps up rather than clicks on.

 

[bohman]

I kind of got the impression that one of the reasons they were offering Cool Sentry was *because* they plan to get rid of the load management program. The idea was that they'd just cut your air conditioning for a short time instead of cutting all power, and you'd reap the same benefits -- ~ 5 bucks a month.

I had always thought that the load management system operated in much the same way that the thermostats would work - just the compressor would be turned off for a short time, while the blower still ran. In hindsight, I really don't know how a device on the main power line into the HVAC unit would do that. So in that respect, I guess the thermostat is better, and for most people it's probably a good idea.

For me personally, I don't want it because I already did so much to reduce heating/cooling costs that $5/month just isn't going to convince me to make a change. If they weren't phasing out load management, I'd like them to keep using it on my water heater, but oh well.