July 2015 | Volume 77 | Issue 7
Keep your cool with a co-op room air conditioner rebate
Sometimes it’s the house, sometimes it’s the people, but nonetheless, at times, there’s a room or two, perhaps upstairs or on the South or West side of the house, that just won’t cool down. It could be lack of insulation, no shade or just that heat rises and the upstairs stays warmer.
No need to crank the AC down to 50o for the entire house to get the one room or area down to 750 or so, sometimes known as the “thermostat wars” among families.
Using the concept of zone heating and cooling will save on energy costs.
There are systems that can be installed, for those remodeling or building a new home, that will help with specific areas and not affect the rest of the home. For those individuals who are building or remodeling, talk to your heating and cooling professional keeping in mind personal preferences and the home’s orientation.
For the rest of us with finished rooms, it could be time to look into a room air conditioner for the summer.
Look for the Energy Star rating on window units. Look for a high EER rating on portables, which do not qualify for a rebate.
First, find the size of the room by measuring the length and width and multiplying to get the square footage. Armed with that information, it’s time to go shopping.
Some of the features to consider include the size and weight of the unit, how noisy it is, if it comes with a remote control, if it measures the temperature of the room away from the unit, if it has 24-hour scheduling, if it has several fan settings, if there are options on directing the flow of cool air, if the remote is easy to use, if there’s a sleep mode and any energy-savings features.
Casement windows or no windows may make a case for a portable unit. Although they tend to be expensive, the units are easy to move around and the cooling is adequate, although not great compared to a window unit. Look for an EER, Energy Efficiency Rating of 9 or higher. At present, the portables aren’t Energy Star rated and will not qualify for a Platte-Clay rebate.
Reviewers caution about ordering an air conditioner online for home delivery, as compressors are sensitive and break easily during shipping.
And before making that purchase, remember that Platte-Clay offers a $50 rebate for energy efficient air conditioners, so make sure the unit is an Energy Star rated room air conditioner.
Download the rebate form at pcec.coop in the Products – Energy Product Rebates section.
Peak of summer, peak of demand
Mike Torres
From the CEO
It’s the time of the year when everyone’s air conditioner and fans are humming and we can anticipate higher than normal electric bills. And that’s right in line with the Farmer’s Almanac, which says that July will be warm to hot—but that doesn’t surprise us.
If there is a string of hot days and nights, we can expect to see a post on your co-op’s Facebook page and in the local news about “peak” demand—when we’re using about all of the energy that regional power producers can deliver.
We can expect summer peak demand from about 5 p.m. to about 8 p.m., when families come home from work, turn the air conditioner to a cooler temperature and start the evening meal and other activities.
Fortunately for co-op members, Platte-Clay’s power producer has planned for growing demand as it has integrated new wind power into its mix and a “peaking” gas power plant—available when there’s extraordinary demand from co-op members.
The good planning, combined with Take Control & Save, the program that encourages members to buy Energy Star-rated appliances and to simply switch to compact fluorescent lights and LEDs, have reduced overall demand.
We believe that saving energy is always good and using energy wisely is even better.
Enjoy your summer.
As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Member Viewpoint is an opportunity for co-op members to share their thoughts on a variety of topics. To submit a Member Viewpoint, go to pcec.coop click on News – top tab and enter your Member Viewpoint.
Other Member Viewpoints appear on your co-op web site.
Member Viewpoint is for Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative members. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to share your comments and thoughts on issues that are important to you with your friends and neighbors.
Associated Electric Cooperative adds Oklahoma wind to energy portfolio
One of the newest wind farms in Oklahoma will be providing energy to rural electric cooperatives served by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), including Platte-Clay.
Associated signed a power purchase agreement for wind energy from the Osage County wind farm in 2011 to lock in long-term fixed energy costs.
The wind farm, with 84 GE turbines, is located on 8,500 acres in Osage County, Okla. The 150 MW wind farm brings to 750 MW in wind available to co-op members.
Associated began verifying data as the first turbines came on line.
“The data has to be right,” said Keith Tyndall, who works in energy management systems at Associated. “This information affects our load numbers and the way we control our system, so this testing period allows us to fine-tune things.”
Some of the reporting includes megawatts, average wind speed and direction, average temperature and number of turbines producing energy or available to produce energy.
Power plant upgrades
AECI is installing more emissions monitoring technology at its coal-fired power plants to ensure compliance with the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, MATS, before the April 2016 deadline.
Other improvements include upgrading electrostatic precipitators, which capture fly ash particles in the flue gas and installing activated carbon injection systems.
AECI’s costs are lower than many other utilities’ because of member investments in environmental controls and low-sulfur coal, according to the power producer’s environmental services group manager.
Programmable thermostats help save energy
The middle of summer, like the middle of winter, is the time of the year when our energy costs spike for cooling now and heating in the throes of winter.
One of the ways to help manage our energy costs is to use a programmable thermostat so our house will be cool when we want it to be cool, and we can coast through the night as the outside temperature drops or when we’re away.
Research shows that a large number of homeowners with a programmable thermostat don’t program the unit, and as a result, lose out on the opportunity to save energy costs.
Enter technology.
Above left – the Nest smart thermostat will send information to your phone and e-mail. Above Right, the Alarm.com Smart Thermostat integrates with the PCEC interactive security system and also will send information and alerts to phones and e-mail accounts.
Above, the Ecobee unit gets top marks from “PC Magazine” editors.
There are a number of programmable thermostats on the market, ranging from simple to the need to borrow a local teenager.
And there are a few other considerations too.
For someone with a fairly set schedule, a basic model that allows programming for weekdays and a different schedule for weekends is adequate.
Other families may have more complicated schedules, but that doesn’t rule out the opportunity to save energy. It just means that the programming may get a little more complicated using the seven-day model, which allows for a different schedule for every day of the week.
Some of the features that make using one thermostat more attractive than another include:
Auto changeover switch. This feature is particularly handy during spring and fall, when the days are warm and the nights cold. Auto changeover switches the unit between heating and air conditioning.
Saving data—in the event of a power outage so all of the programming remains.
Touch screen or on screen messages and controls. Backlit screens provide an always-on nightlight and shows the settings.
Expert picks
The techy types at C/Net, an online technical and gadget magazine, like the Nest Learning Thermostat, a “smart” thermostat that in addition to looking great in its sleek, stainless steel case, will keep our homes cool now and warm next winter.
The gadget learns our schedule so we don’t have to program it—solving the problem that most programmable thermostats haven’t been programmed–and better yet, it will send us energy reports to help us establish the most energy efficient heating and cooling routines.
At around $250, it’s easy to install and when connected to our home Wi-Fi network, will let us monitor our energy use via a dashboard.
Automatic software updates keep improving the Nest, and it’s possible to change settings using an app on an iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets.
For more information, visit nest.com
Award winning Smart Thermostat from PCEC Security
The Alarm.com Smart Thermostat is an add-on feature with PCEC Security’s interactive security system. For members with the security system, the smart thermostat is $125.
Members who wish to add the thermostat or to install an interactive alarm and thermostat system may call 628-3121 for service.
For convenience, an integrated app combines alarm system and thermostat functions on mobile devices.
The personalized thermostat will learn schedules with multiple sensors helping save energy.
The Smart Thermostat allows custom scheduling along with temperature presets, home, away and sleep, for added convenience.
Temperature change alerts notify customers and the Smart Thermostat will automatically adjust for extreme temperature swings.
Using data from multiple sensors inside and outside of the home, it will automatically respond to activity, occupancy and weather.
PC Magazine
The Editor’s Choice of PC Magazine, Ecobee3, has a generous number of features, including remote sensors that allow homeowners to control the temperature of several rooms in the house using an Android, iOS or web browser.
Other features the tech magazine editors liked include ease of installation and programming, the number of reminders and alerts and a Home IQ system that tracks heating and cooling use. The thermostat will sense if the home is occupied or not, and adjust the temperature accordingly.
The Ecobee3 is compatible with most 1- and 2-stage HVAC systems and will control compatible dehumidifiers, humidifiers and ventilation equipment with terminal connections.
Comfort settings on the main menu make it easy to set the schedule and notifications can be sent to smartphones and e-mail. The editors selected this unit as their top pick for ease in changing schedules, for those who want to track energy usage and ease of installation.
Ecobee has announced that an Apple HomeKit to control the thermostat using Siri on an Apple device will be available this summer.
If the energy bills have been creeping up along with the temperature this summer, a programmable thermostat could help manage energy consumption.
The units are available at area home stores, from online shopping sites and PCEC Security.
Platte-Clay Calendar Photo Contest
Entries through July 15
Member judging July 16- Aug. 30
Contest info, upload photos at pcec.coop
Kearney students produce winning energy efficiency public service videos
Kearney Middle School students took third place in the video public service announcement (PSA) contest. Above, left to right: Ulrike Hayes, teacher; Abby Couch; Tess Martin; McKenna Jones and Platte-Clay Heartland Utilities for Energy Efficiency (HUEE) representative, Linda Richardson. Their video was “Saving Energy with Connie and Wendy.”
The Kearney Junior High School won first place in the video public service announcement (PSA) contest. Above, left to right: Platte-Clay Heartland Utilities for Energy Efficiency (HUEE) representative Linda Richardson, students Maddie McDonald, Sydney Lentz, Addie Hampton, Serra Hannahan, Kassidy Pfeiffer, Sophie Ivy, and Hailey Howard, teacher. The name of their video was “Family Feud.”
The Northland Connection is published monthly by Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO 64060. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Northland Connection, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060 or mail@pcec.coop.
Platte-Clay is an equal opportunity employer.