Celebrating Earth Day with a Programmable Demand Control Thermostat

Honeywell UtilityPRO Touchscreen Programmable Demand Control Thermostat

We recently signed up for a great program that our power company (Horizon Utilities) offers called PeakSaver. The program is a win-win-win.

WE WIN because Horizon installs a brand-new, high-end thermostat (see right) in our home for free (yes we own it – I checked) with zero installation costs! In fact, for participating in the program, we even get a $25 credit on our bill, so they actually pay us!

THEY WIN (the utility company) because the new thermostat allows them to remotely control our heating/cooling system so that – during the warmest summer days when the power grid is overloaded – they can cycle our air conditioner off for short periods. We were told that we’ll hardly notice any change, and the power grid will be more stable as a result.

THE ENVIRONMENT WINS because by putting less strain on the power grid, the utility company can use less “dirty” power sources (such as coal) – which means a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and a positive effect on climate change issues.

Step 1: Removing the old thermostat

We booked an appointment with our utility company and just by accident, it turned out our install was scheduled for Earth Day, April 22, 2010! Matt showed up at the scheduled time to install our new thermostat. He works for Honeywell (the manufacturer of the thermostat) so we know it was correctly installed.

The Whole Thing Done in 40 Minutes

Step 1: Matt removed our old thermostat, which he recommended we keep close to the furnace just in case we ever need an emergency backup. The new thermostat needs power that he learned our existing wiring doesn’t have (only 4 wires, not 5). So…

Step 2: Matt had to install a small device in the furnace to use one of our four wires for power.

Step 2: Installing thermostat module in our furnace

Step 3: Applying Insulation Tape

Step 3: Matt pointed out that it is good to apply a piece of insulation tape over the hole the wires go into. Cold air can circulate in the walls, and if that cold air is coming out through the hole in the wall, your thermostat will think it is cooler than it really is and the furnace will be running when it doesn’t need to.

Step 4: Then he hooked up the wiring to the new thermostat, and attached it to the wall in our main floor hallway.

Matt then gave a quick tour of the features and functions of the thermostat and showed me how to program it. He left me with a Honeywell operating manual for our model – the Honeywell UtilityPRO Series touchscreen programmable demand control thermostat.

Step 4: Rewiring for the New Thermostat

Remote Access

Matt of Honeywell next to our new Peaksaver thermostat

And how 21st Century is this!!… Now that we have the Peaksaver thermostat set up in our home, we can turn our house thermostat on/off from anywhere via our computers, Blackberries, any computer (or we can phone our utility company to ask them to switch heat or cooling up/down, on/off for us when we are away from home.)

We now have a brand-new, high-end thermostat that didn’t cost us anything… how sweet is that!  Thanks to Matt (right) and his employer, Honeywell, and to our local power company, Horizon Utilities, for making this possible!

Have you signed up for the Peaksaver program yet? If so, what do you think of it? If not, what is holding you up?