[ale] [OT] Load Control Switch

[Scott Denlinger]

I allowed Georgia Power to install one of these on my heat pump several years
ago. At that time, the incentive was $20, so it's obviously gone up. I don't
think the unit has actually "tripped" since then. Of course, I live in
Statesboro--i.e., nowhere near a major metropolitan area like Atlanta. I
personally don't care whether my heat pump shuts off for half an hour--it
doesn't seem like that's enough time to make the internal temperature in my
house go up significantly. As I understand it, it's only the condensor which
shuts off. The fan will continue to circulate air in the house, it just won't
blow across heat exchangers which have been cooled via the outdoor condensor.

The installation work on my install looks very professional, and certainly meets
code for exterior electrical work. But again, I suspect they contracted with a
local installer. I don't know whether this will shorten the life of my unit. It
starts and stops during the course of normal use anyway, so I can't imagine that
one of these will shorten the life.

But I'm not an HVAC technician, so you should probably talk with a local heating
and cooling expert. Who knows--it's likely that they have a contract to do the
installing.

Scott Denlinger


On Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 08:45:11AM -0400, Michael Potter wrote:

[. . .]
> 
> My questions are:
> a) Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the quality of install?
> b) Will this switch turn off a running unit, or just prevent a stopped
> unit from starting?
> c) If it abruptly stops a running unit, will that shorten the life?
>