https://www.zerohedge.com/tech...rado-during-heatwave

Around 22,000 households in Colorado lost the ability to control their thermostats after the power company seized control of them during a heatwave.

After temperatures soared past 90 degrees, residents were left confused when they tried to adjust their air conditioning and found locked controls displaying a message that said “energy emergency.”

Xcel confirmed to local news station Denver7 that “22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday.”

“I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told the news station. “It was hot.”

Talarico said he is normally able to override the “energy emergency” message, but not on this occasion.

“So, our thermostat was locked in at 78 or 79,” he said.



Completely losing control over the temperature of your own home is presumably one of the many benefits of the green energy ‘Great Reset’ Americans will be forced to endure.

This story is yet another example of how smart meters will pave the way for energy rationing.

No doubt Americans who have them installed will increasingly find their thermostats remote controlled at the behest of energy companies whenever a dubious ‘crisis’ can be declared.

And if that sounds bad, just imagine what will happen if net zero green energy ‘climate lockdowns’ become normalized.

People in major European countries are already having their thermostats regulated in response to the energy crisis.

In Spain, at the height of summer, authorities have controversially banned air conditioning from dropping below 27°C (80.6°F) in all non-residential buildings, including shops, cinemas and cafes.

Onerous fines for those who flout the rules run all the way up to €600,000 euros for “serious violations.”

Similar rules have also been announced in Germany, Italy and France.

Maybe an HVAC expert could chime in but last winter our thermostat went south on us on a Friday night. I pulled the thermostat off the wall and hooked up a toggle switch to get us by until Monday. Worked like a charm. Can you do that with these fancy new internet thermostats?

They didn’t “seize control”. People voluntarily gave them control. Many power companies have programs where you give the power company control of a thermostat or allow them to temporarily cut power to hot water heaters or other appliances under periods of high demand, in return for a discount on their electric bill. It’s voluntary, and you have to deliberately opt in to this program. People sign up for these programs and enjoy getting cheaper bills every month, but start crying when it actually gets implemented.

I'll keep my house dumb as long as possible.

Déjà vu.

Here's an actual picture of my thermostat in my home. Has served me well since I moved in in 2005.



ETA: And yeah, that's the temperature currently in my place. But I'm at 7,000 ft in a dry heat. Never needed air conditioning.

I can't even fathom someone signing up for a program like that. Good grief.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwill104:
They didn’t “seize control”. People voluntarily gave them control. Many power companies have programs where you give the power company control of a thermostat or allow them to temporarily cut power to hot water heaters or other appliances under periods of high demand, in return for a discount on their electric bill. It’s voluntary, and you have to deliberately opt in to this program. People sign up for these programs and enjoy getting cheaper bills every month, but start crying when it actually gets implemented.

That's the way I understand it. No shits given. Here in PA we can shop for our power supplier. When it first started several years ago some people signed up for the variable rate plans, because they were cheaper. When Winter came & their electric rates shot up they wanted to bawl about it, because many signed contracts with early withdrawal penalties.

A good taste of what's to come if we go completely digital.

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
A good taste of what's to come if we go completely digital.

A that includes cash, most especially.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
A good taste of what's to come if we go completely digital.

A that includes cash, most especially.

Exactly!! Probably a good idea to have real money in your possession too.

I have an Ecobee thermostat. You have to sign up for that program. The thermostat works well otherwise

My thermostat is dumb, me too.

The problem is the power companies around here have installed smart meters on all our houses. They don’t have to grab my thermostat, they can cut/limit power coming into our house through the meter. The meters were installed so they can be read by a power company rep driving by in the street. No matter how dumb you keep the thermostat, they will be able to control your usage. Electricity is a commodity, limited by how much we can create, store and transport over a grid that is overloaded right now.

quote:

Originally posted by dking271:
The problem is the power companies around here have installed smart meters on all our houses. They don’t have to grab my thermostat, they can cut/limit power coming into our house through the meter. The meters were installed so they can be read by a power company rep driving by in the street. No matter how dumb you keep the thermostat, they will be able to control your usage. Electricity is a commodity, limited by how much we can create, store and transport over a grid that is overloaded right now.

They could use those to turn electricity on abd off assuming the capability is built into those meters, but that's all they can do and doing that could lead to massive lawsuits depending upon what's running in the house.

Imagine if you will, someone breathing from a concentrator and the power company turns it off. Millions of bucks to pay that one off.

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
A good taste of what's to come if we go completely digital.

A that includes cash, most especially.

Exactly!! Probably a good idea to have real money in your possession too.

More troubling than thermostats for sure.

I know that personal liberty is the highest value we have in the USA. But, is there a corresponding value in personal sacrifice? If we think back to WW2, in that unbelievable era, the nation was subjected to rationing on nearly every necessary object. Food, meat, gasoline, etc were all at risk, and were rationed. Even the use of lights at night were restricted. If legends are to be believed, the general sense of the citizenry was to sacrifice personally for the greater good.

Extending the desirable value of personal sacrifice, is the power grid, in its fragile state, not a public good? If it fails, misery will befall thousands and thousands, as we have seen in some weather emergencies. If restrictions on electricity prevent a catastrophe, do we not want this?

I surely don’t want personal liberty eliminated, and I am very skeptical that any government wants to protect my liberties. I expect that the ongoing changes to our systems is to create a dependent populace that can be controlled, and I believe these changes are misguided and morally malevolent.

If you sign up for a program like this thinking you're doing your part for the "environment" you deserve to get it good and hard.

4MUL8R, Our Nation’s sacrifice in WW2 was to defeat tyranny. Sacrificing now supports it, especially if it involves surrendering your liberty. That is the difference.

I would like to see a picture of a Smart Meter that can interrupt a 200 amp service under load . If any of you have such a device on your home I would like to see it .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
I would like to see a picture of a Smart Meter that can interrupt a 200 amp service under load . If any of you have such a device on your home I would like to see it .

I want a video of the voltage arc that would immediately happen.