Timers Reduce Demand
Reducing the demand that a household puts on the electric system helps all of the membership by reducing the bill that the cooperative pays to the power suppliers. SREC is offering water heater timers FREE to the members who have electric water heaters as one way of accomplishing demand reduction.
The timers are programmed to shut the electric water heater off during the two peak usage times during the day. The two peak times are from 6-8 in the morning and 5-9 in the evening.
The first reaction to this idea may be that there will be no hot water during these times. But, most modern water heaters are insulated enough that the tanks will maintain the water temperature during the duration of these time blocks so that hot water is still available. Also, the timers are equipped with an override button that allows the member to activate the water heater in situations where usage is expected to be higher than normal.
Members who have signed up for the SmartHub app can also access usage information to check their individual household peak. If it is found that the individual demand peak is different from these two pre-programmed time blocks, a third time block can be programmed to match the household peak.
Contact the SREC office at 406-467-2526 (ask for Ross) to obtain a FREE water heater timer.