BERWICK ELECTRIC COMMISSION RESIDENTIAL TIME OF USE RATE AVAILABILITY
The rate is available to residential customers who install electric thermal storage devices, including time controls, to shift significant portions of their space and water heating load to off-peak hours. All installations must be in accordance with the Electrical Inspection Act and the Canadian Electric Code. Heat storage equipment, controls and timers, and settings must be approved by an Inspector of the Berwick Electric Commission (BEC). While BEC Inspectors must approve an installation to provide the rate, we do not design installations or accept any responsibility for performance or outcomes. Where hydronic or electric in-floor heat is used as a storage medium, we recommend that consideration to be given to superinsulating the slab and to increasing thickness to add mass. Hydronic slab heat can be driven by instantaneous heaters, domestic water heaters, or storage equipment. Electric resistance cables are available for placement directly into concrete. With instantaneous boilers or embedded resistance cables, the concrete mass is the sole heat storage medium. Many users report success with this sort of installation.
When selecting timing controls contractors should look for devices that can switch 240-Volt loads. Some instantaneous heaters can be controlled by a contact closure; water heaters require full load switching capability or the use of a suitable relay. Some timers cannot be programmed for holidays, but customers can override the timing controls on those days. The Steffes equipment described below typically is installed with a controlled sub-panel. This does not allow for a shoulder period recharge of the domestic hot water.
For customers considering conversions of baseboard electric heat, Steffes room heaters are available through this utility be arrangements with Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, which is stocking units. BEC customers can order through the Superintendent’s office and we will resell to our customers with no mark-up. Brochures and pricing are available on request.
Other Steffes heat storage equipment, suitable for furnace replacements and heat pump back-up, is available through plumbing and heating contractors. While we are not agents or marketers for Steffes, we do have information available on their products and they are approved. We are presently not aware of any other manufacturers selling heat storage equipment in Nova Scotia, but will certainly consider for approval any equipment put forward.
RATE STRUCTURE
The rate structure is as follows:
1. During the months of December, January, and February:
· The on-peak rate applies from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays.
· The shoulder rate applies from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays.
· The off-peak rate applies at all other times. Nights, weekends, and holidays are at the off-peak rate.
2. During the months of March through November:
· The shoulder rate applies from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays.
· The off-peak rate applies at all other times.
The peak rate is in effect for less than 10% of the hours in a year. In 2005, for example, it will be in effect for 768 hours out of 8,760. The number varies a little depending on when weekends and holidays occur. These peak hours are when your Utility can set its annual demand peak, which is an important driver of what we pay to Nova Scotia Power for electricity.
Our goals in making this rate available are to offer our customers an economical and comfortable option for heating space and water and to lower the utility’s costs by shifting load to hours when demand is lower. Customers taking this rate are expected to shift space and water heating loads into hours when the Utility is unlikely to set its peak demand. The rate may be withdrawn if, in the judgment of BEC Inspectors, insufficient load is shifted or if peak loads are imposed on the Utility.