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Electric Thermal Storage
What is Electric Thermal Storage (ETS)? ETS heat is quiet, odorless, extremely comfortable and very affordable. ETS is a concept of heating that developed in Europe. In an ETS system, a heating medium (usually very dense ceramic bricks) is combined with electric heating elements running through this medium. The elements are turned on during off-peak hours when we can charge a lower rate. The bricks heat up and then store the heat for hours inside the insulated cabinet. During on peak hours, we cut off the heating elements and you heat your home by operating a small fan that circulates air over the bricks, heating it and your home. By shifting the energy use to off peak hours, we help keep overall rates to our Members low and help the environment by reducing the amount of energy consumed during peak times when demand for energy is highest.
Our ETS control hours are as follows:
September 15 – May 15
7:00 – 11:00 AM & 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Please note: Control is carried out Monday - Thursday at the times noted above and Friday in the morning only. We do not control on weekends.
May 16 – September 14
Noon – 7:00 PM
Control periods are in effect Monday - Friday.
All our ETS installations use two electric meters (see a common example below). One of the two meters is the regular house service (house meter) and the other meter just measures the electricity being used by the ETS heating unit (s). This arrangement allows us to control just the ETS units thereby leaving the rest of your electric service undisturbed. See the following diagram for a typical installation:
Our equipment indicates when the control period is in progress (see examples of our two most common meter styles below). Looking at the ETS meter, the lights are either on the bottom or on the top. There will be a red light illuminated when we are controlling power.
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The picture below show a standalone ETS unit with its panel removed so you can see the heating elements, bricks, fan and insulation.
ETS units are available in room units as shown above, as a central furnace, as a heat pump booster and as hydronic units where they heat water that is circulated through floors and baseboard units. The Steffes Corporation has provided us with a short three minute video that gives a very nice overview of how an ETS system works. Click in the gray box below to run the movie!
Which ETS system is right for your home?
Your cooperative offers ETS products from one of the best ETS companies in the world, Steffes Corporation, the provider of the movie above. Which is the best solution for your heating needs? If you have either a baseboard hot water or a centrally ducted heating system, a central furnace is the proper solution. If you have baseboard electric or simply want room-by-room control, the individual room units are the way to go.
Once we know what type of system is right for your needs, we must size it correctly. In order to properly size the ETS system, we need to calculate the heat loss for your home or area to be heated. The heat loss calculation looks at the construction of your home (type and number of windows and doors, insulation levels and so forth), determines how much heat it losses because of the construction then generates a recommendation for the size of the system needed to cover both the heat loss and provide a specific level of heat. Our process for sizing an ETS system is as follows:
Calculate an initial heat loss. We work with you to obtain the information needed for the preliminary heat loss calculation. We usually do this over the phone, through e-mail or via regular mail. If you want to get a head start, use this form to fill in your data. Come as close as you can but don't spend an inordinate amount of time. We will fine tune it later.
Develop a ballpark installed cost. This estimate is intended to provide you with an approximate installed cost so you can make a decision on proceeding further.
If the estimate looks fine, we will then schedule appointments to visit you home and take detailed measurements to provide a firm price for the job.
Give us a call today at 1.973.875.5101 for more information or e-mail us at: info@sussexrec.com
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