Load controllers save money on your Arizona Public Service company bill. Combined Advantage Rate. Load controller, load controller, load collers, Pensar, Load Commander, APS, combined advantage rate, time advantage rate, demand, dencor, Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River Project, energy conservation
How does a load
controller work?
Quite
simply, a load controller is like a cruise control for your electric
system. You set the level of savings, you reap the
benefits. A load
controller constantly measures the usage of power in your home with sensors
(current transformers), on your main power line and directs power to a pre-set
priority which lowers your demand and thus your bill. As the demand level
rises towards your set point (demand limit), the load controller "sheds" (shuts
off), lower priority appliances to maintain a user pre-set demand level for
several minutes. Cutting demand by 50% is very typical and at $11.85/KW,
this adds up quickly in your favor!
Current
Transformers (seen in photo at left on main buss bars), measure your power usage
the same as your APS electric meter and gives the computer in the load
controller the information needed to make decsions on control strategy.
Does Arizona Public Service Co. Have Incentives For
Load Controllers?
Currently there are no credits or
incentives for this device. However, during the rapid growth of the
mid 80's, Arizona Public Service initiated a program where either a credit
was issued or a zero interest finance plan was available for the installation of
a load controller. Thousands of Valley residents found
themselves with lower bills after using a load controller. Once the
Palo Verde Nuclear Plant was completed there was sufficient energy to meet peak
demand so all incentive programs for load controllers were ended.
The best
rate to use a load controller with is the APS "Combined Advantage Rate (click
here for details)
The rates below from the APS web site
7/1/11:
Winter (November - April billing
cycles) Cents per kWh
On-peak kWh used (Mon. - Fri., noon - 7
p.m.) $0.05815
Off-peak kWh used (Mon. - Fri., 7 p.m.- noon and all day
Sat. & Sun., 6 holidays) $0.04273
Cost per kW Demand charge
$9.203
Summer ( May - October billing
cycles) Cents per kWh
On-peak kWh used (Mon. - Fri., noon - 7
p.m.) $0.08845
Off-peak kWh used (Mon. - Fri., 7 p.m.- noon and all day
Sat. & Sun., 6 holidays) $0.04363
Cost per kW Demand
charge $13.404
Call us for more information on how to
take advantage of these low rates.
Can a Load
Controller Help Me?
D.
Marrzella in Scottsdale has a four
bedroom ranch with a pool and has saved $16,000 in twelve years on her APS
bill! Although this figure is on the high end of most of our customers,
you can expect at least a 30% drop in your monthly bill with little or no
change in lifestyle, many save as much as 40%. Remember, you have control of the load controller, you set where you want it to be.
JW Flint in
Scottsdale writes:
"I purchased a home in Scottsdale over three years
ago; 3500 Sq ft with two 5-ton A/C units, two water heaters, pool,
etc. A beautiful home with an enormous electric bill. We were on the
APS Time Advantage rate plan (suggested by APS). We were paying $330/month
(every month on the APS equalizer plan even with programmable thermostats with
the actual peak summer bill exceeding $400.
Four years ago you
installed the load controller. On the averaging plan our monthly bill is
now $154 and our highest single monthly bill has been $225 over the the past two
years. A savings of $3700 in this time! The load controller has been
well worth the investment. I just wanted to thank you and let everyone
know the savings are real."
JW Flint.
Alex Johnson
of Moon Valley:
We had Thermal Control Membrane installed in our attic along
with a German attic fan and by pre-cooling our home to 72 degrees until noon, we
can turn off our heat pump and coast through the on peak hours on the
Combined Advantage Rate and have our Pensar System 1000 set at 2kw! Our
home is more comfortable and our consumption and demand are down over 40% before
having this package installed. I highly recommend this system, it works as
planned and we are very happy with results. My neighbors are amazed at how
low my APS bills are!
D. Kalt of Glendale:
We had a
Pensar System 1000 installed in March of 2009 by Horizon Energy Systems who also
installed TCM in the attic, wrapped and sealed our duct system. The
effects have been nothing short of amazing! Previously, on days over 105
degrees, our A/C units ran non stop and could not get the house below 81 degrees
and our APS equalizer payment was near $400. We also had an 18"
tubular skylight installed which just made my kitchen incredibly bright and
cheery, I LOVE my "new" kitchen! The granite counters look amazing with
the natural light. Below is a video of our savings after nine months with
this package. To say we are happy would be an understatement, "amazed"
would be more appropriate!
What does a Load
Controller look like?
Below is the Pensar System 1000 (outdoor display)

This unit is mounted next to your existing
electrical breaker box outside and houses the control module where you set the
demand levels. There are modes on the display which shows your demand set
point (where you set the maximum demand level), current demand (what the home is
currently using), past hourly average (this is what the APS meter measures
from), highest demand peak (what the highest peak reached was during last
billing cycle), time, date and alarm settings.
Typically you would
interface with this display to set the demand where it best fits your
lifestyle. It may take a full year to know just how low you can set
it as the seasons and demand levels change and we encourage our customers to
check it more often than not during the first year. Demand adjustments
should reflect the load on the home, for example: one setting to
accommodate the summer load, a lower setting for Fall and Spring, and one
setting to insure your home is warm during the winter. Key point to
remember: the lower you set the demand level, the lower your APS bill.
Ok, I'm Interested, What's The Next
Step?
Your first call is going to be to Arizona Public Service
Company: 602 371 7171 and ask for customer service. Assuming you have been
in your home for a year, request your consumption history for last year including demand levels. Having the
demand levels on this history is very important for our energy experts to
determine accurately how much we can save you. This is free to all APS
customers. Again: Last years
consumption history with demand
levels. You will be asked for your APS
account number, your address and the last for digits of your social security
number for security purposes.
Once you receive this document call us and
schedule an energy audit and we will come out to your home and show you how to
save. It's simple and understand this: If you are not
completely satisfied with the savings or how we accomplish this we will remove
the unit and give you a full refund. How can we be so sure you
will cut your APS bill? We have been doing this since 1982, longer than
any other company in the valley and have hundreds of satisfied, comfortable
customers.
DON'T
DELAY! The longer you wait, the more you will be needlessly paying high
electric bills.

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