My apartment was recently outfitted with an Aquanta networked water heater controller which monitors which times of day hot water is used, and attempts to schedule heating during off-peak hours and during normal use hours, while limiting heating during peak hours and durings times of day when hot water isn't used.
I sent an email to the utility asking for more data, or access to the data through the app, and received this response:
Quote:
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My name is Nathan, I am a Multifamily Water Heater Demand Response Specialist, and I would be happy to help you with your question. The smart device installed on your water heater is connected with PGE’s Multi Family Water Heater program. The device creates savings for PGE by allowing for water to be heated at specifically determined times, which helps PGE prioritize the use of lower cost and greener energy sources, and in doing so helps them to avoid building new power plants, which should in turn help customers by keeping rates low. However, this device isn’t expected to provide significant energy savings for individual customers such as yourself, as it won’t reduce your hot water usage. As such, the device does not connect to a smartphone app for customers to control.
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I'm wondering if it saves any energy at all, considering off-peak is when we don't need hot water.
PGE doesn't have tiered rates, so it seems unlikely that this would save any money. Seems a waste really.
