PECO Customers Get Paid to Reduce Energy Bills

Turning off your air conditioner on the hottest days of the year may not sound too appealing but it is certainly a great way to significantly reduce your home energy bills. And if you’re a PECO customer then it’s actually a way to earn an annual bonus of more than one hundred dollars. What a great incentive to get out of the house during the dog days of summer!

PECO’s program is called the Smart A/C Saver and it is designed to encourage residents to stop using their air conditioners during the hottest times of the hottest days of the year. The resign for this is because when too many people have their AC on at the same time it creates stress on the transmission system. If some people are willing to shut the AC off during these high-demand times then the system remains intact.

PECO is willing to reward such customers with a $120 annual bonus for participating in the . The way it works is that PECO will install radio devices on home air conditioners that allow the utility to shut off the unit for up to fifteen minutes per half hour period during the peak demand times. So far more than 65,000 residents have signed up to participate in the program. These customers not only get the annual bonus for their participation but may also see reduced energy bills because of the reduced usage of their home AC.

Because the AC is only shut off for fifteen minutes at a time there should be no significant temperature increase in the home during these times so customer shouldn’t feel uncomfortable. However this actually brings up a great point that all people, PECO customers are not, may consider, which is that finding a way to reduce AC use during the hottest times of year is a great way to save money on monthly PECO electric bills. Get outside on those afternoons and hit up the local public pool or air-conditioned library to stay cool for free instead of paying to cool off your home!

Source: http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-15/business/29660767_1_philadelphia-utility-regional-grid-operator-peco-energy