"The contractor’s employees know, of course, the circulated air will not be cooled air; but regarding this, Duke Energy’s website claims, “Temperature changes during the cycling events are minimal.”" I'm confused are the air conditioning employees claiming it would be cooler with the fan off?
The person we spoke with said the air that would circulate during the time periods Power Manager turns off the air conditioning unit would not be cooled air and would therefore, of course, be warmer than cooled air.
The fact that it would be warmer air was an issue for the company's employees despite Duke's claim that temperature changes would be minimal when the air conditioning unit is turned off.
You asked, "Is Power Manager for heating next?" The answer is "no" because most heating is provided by natural gas. The demand for electricity during winter is low enough that Duke charges quite a bit less during the winter months (a plus for those with heat pumps).
The Power Manager system shouldn't do any damage to your air conditioner compressor unless the interruption is too short. Once the compressor is turned off, you need to wait about three minutes before turning it on again to let the pressures stabilize. After three minutes, it doesn't matter how long it's off before turning it back on. The question to ask is, "What is the shortest period that the compressor will be turned off>"
We have an older air conditioner and will probably add the Power Manager when we replace it. It's not about the money we receive; it's about reducing peak demand so that Duke doesn't have to build additional power plants which raise air pollution and cost us all money.
Relayman, the info about the 3 minutes needed for the compressor to be off is really helpful! Actually, your entire comment was most informative. Thank you.
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