'Fat peaks' send megawatts soaring

01 Dec 2008

A number of successive, high daytime and overnight temperatures last week have produced what could be termed 'fat peaks' as people sought refuge from the heat and a good night's sleep by leaving their air conditioners on longer and set lower.

Power and Water's General Manager Retail, Jim Bamber said, "Typically, electricity peaks are for short periods and have a distinct profile. For example, 'thin peaks' or short sharp peaks, might be associated with large industry gearing up in the morning and shutting down in the afternoon or a domestic peak going up in the morning, down during the day and up again in the evening.

"However, last week we recorded long daytime and overnight electricity peaks requiring an increase of nearly 20 megawatts of generation in comparison to same time last year or about 7-8% more."

He went on to say " We have no problem generating to meet this kind of demand but people need to be aware that air conditioners are one of the major contributors to not only demand but a rise in household running costs."

Power and Water advise customers that fans are the best choice for cooling because they are relatively cheap to run and produce less greenhouse gas. If you use your air conditioner, set it to between 24°C and 27°C and circulate the air using a fan.

A slightly higher, meaning warmer, temperature setting will actually take the humidity out of the air and make you feel more comfortable. For every degree lower (or cooler), you increase energy consumption by about 10%.

Customers only need to make small changes to their day-to-day lifestyle to make big differences to their energy use. Consider contacting COOLmob for a residential energy audit or find more tips on the Power and Water website at powerwater.com.au

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