Step one is not the hardware
Your Energy Sentry system reduces demand charges. If you are on a flat rate plan with no demand component, there is no demand charge to reduce and the equipment saves you nothing.
Switching to the demand-based rate plan is the customer's responsibility. Your installer cannot do it for you. Call your utility, confirm the plan change, and confirm the effective date.
SRP customers typically move to a Manage Demand style plan. APS customers move to a demand rate. Ask your utility which of their current plans includes a demand charge measured in kW.
Know your averaging window
Your utility measures demand as an average over a fixed window, not as an instant reading.
The longer window is more forgiving. A brief spike gets diluted across 60 minutes of APS averaging far more than it does across 30 minutes of SRP averaging. Your installer already locked the correct averaging period into your unit when it was commissioned, so you do not need to set anything. It is worth knowing because it explains why a short burst of load sometimes barely moves your average demand.
Use your meter read date
Find the meter read date on your bill. It marks the boundary of your billing period, and it is a free lever.
- Exiting peak season: lower your Demand Limit before the read date, so the new lower peak lands in the new billing period.
- Entering peak season: raise your Demand Limit after the read date, so the higher limit does not set a peak in the period you are about to close out.
Do not change your limit mid-period without checking where you are relative to the read date. A peak set on day 3 charges you for the whole month.
Pre-cool. Do not set back.
This is the part that surprises people.
Set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature, generally 70 to 72°F, and leave it there. Your floors, walls, and furniture absorb that cool and hold it. When the system holds the AC back during a peak, the house coasts on stored cool energy instead of heating up immediately.
Do not park the house at 78 to 80°F to "save energy." A warm house has nothing stored. The first time the AC is held back, the temperature climbs right away, and you feel every minute of it.
Thermal mass is the strategy. The demand controller manages the peak, and the building holds the comfort in between.
Questions about your own setup? Call toll free (888) 461-9336, direct (970) 461-9600, or email help@energysentry.com. Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Arizona time.
Not sure your rate plan is the right one?
Call support and we will walk through your bill with you.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Arizona time · help@energysentry.com
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