Without the special metering, you may not get reduced rates for using electricity during off-peak hours (the nights and weekends), but if you do your laundry, dishwashing, and whatever electrical cooking you can during those hours, it can reduce the possibility of brownouts or blackouts. This reduces the amount of power-generating equipment the utility companies need to deploy and cuts back on damage-control expenses, which are passed along to the customers.

Good article.

From what I remember before the referendum, it did not cost a huge amount to add A/C, since the ventilation system had to be upgraded anyway. It would be nice to know how much the A/C added, compared to the whole project.

Just a saw a piece on this on TV (somewhere, can't remember though) but they use this same system to cool buildings in downtown Chicago...interesting.

Just in time for winter? No AC when you were in school? Okay, here's a response for you two:

Every year I was in Craig that I had a class in the 300 hall, at the start of the school year classrooms there could hit 100*F. So the AC will be more than welcomed for the teachers and students there. For the person who had no AC when he was in school, did you ever have your classroom hit the 90s~100*F for a week or two weeks at a time? You don't even have to move in those classrooms to spend the whole hour soaking in your own liquids.
-
I feel greatful for the teachers and students who will benefit from this!

symbajan, thanks! I had no idea Alliant actually had such a program in place; they certainly don't advertise it. It looks like I'll have to call to find the actual rates, but it sounds very much worth looking into. It's nice to know if I do end up getting a plug-in vehicle someday.

For residential customers, Alliant Energy offers time of day billing. These customers do get a cheaper rate on their electric for usage at night and on weekends, but they do have a higher rate for usage during the day.

But, the line in the article is incorrect- running your washer at night only saves you money if you are on time of day billing.

ktaustin, smart metering is the term you want to look for. Alliant or any other utility could implement it under state law but it requires equipment retrofits not only in the grid but at consumer end-points.
.
Smart metering can also be net metering, which is where someone generates or returns stored power to the grid. Both are already possible and in place in many US/Canadian/European utilities.

Boo hoo we had no AC when I was in Highschool

"...cool, dry air in fall 2009."

Just in time for winter.

Still, I have to say I feel sorry for this year's seniors. Some of those classrooms can get so ungodly hot during the hot and humid months (think: inside classrooms of the 300 hall). But still, really neat plan they have. I've seen this kind of setup before, and it always looked pretty cool...

Phoenix Arizona does the exact same thing - only on a much larger scale. They have cooling centers that make ice and cool chiller water for multiple high rise buildings and the Diamond Back stadium.

The city and local power company worked together to come up with this plan to reduce the number of power plants needed to support a metropolis in the middle of a desert.

Very cool idea. Pun very much intended.

I think the metering systems for residential homes is different than industrial or commercial businesses. There is no way to tell when you used the electricity on a standard home meter... however, they have more sophisticated units for larger power users.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't get higher tech meters on our houses and reap the benefits. The power company has no incentives to provide us with cheaper power at night. The closest available offers are for the power company to come and place a remote switch on your air conditioner unit so they can shut it off during excessively high usage days in exchange for a discounted rate on your bill.

I, for one, would like to see Aliant Energy take a proactive step and allow residential users to save on evening power costs. Given that we will be seeing many more "Plug-In" electric or hybrid vehicles. They can be programed to charge in the evening to save on power - but only if you have a power company that gives you the option.

either that or it's what they're leading us to believe... if I'm not mistaken, the only thing run at night is the schools' security system, the pool heating/filtration system, and maybe the heat during winter months... that's not counting games, plays, music concerts as far as lighting and sound... industrial, depends on the company and number of shifts for that differential...

"The new cooling systems will use lower-cost electricity at night to make ice..."

"Note to consumers: Running your dish- or clothes-washing machines at night has the same effect."

How is it that residential customers still cannot take advantage of cheaper electric rates at night? It would seem like a no-brainer decades ago to phase in electric-rate meters that have a built-in clock, and that integrate day vs. night kWh totals. Then once a month or so, when the electric company checks the meter, they can split the bill between day and night. Charge less for the night kWh which will motivate more people to shift some electrical usage to the night and even the load. I would assume this is how industrial and school buildings are monitored for electrical usage and are thus able to save money on night power.