Distribution Control Systems Inc. (DCSI; St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.; www.twacs.com), a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc., announces that its TWACS two-way access communication technology is supporting nonprofit cooperative Valley Electric Association (VEA; Pahrump, Nevada, U.S.) in its first domestic solar-powered water heater (DSWH) pilot program.

The yearlong pilot program that began in January 2007 will work in conjunction with energy-efficiency data collected from high-efficiency water heaters (HEWH), HEWH with timers and standard water heaters equipped with the TWACS system for comparisons. The VEA will then determine financial feasibility for VEA and its members in an effort to begin a full-scale program that may involve rebates or other incentives for installation of the water heaters. VEO CEO Tom Husted says, “Specific information needed to perform a proper analysis and business case was and is lacking from both the solar and utility industries. It is our opinion that most, if not all, utilities involved in such programs do so because of state commission mandates. As a result, no real cost-benefit analysis is done beforehand.”

Collecting the data that measures energy consumption for a yearlong pilot program can traditionally be expensive and difficult. However, Cornelius Morris, a meter-tech in VEA's Apparatus and Testing department had an idea. “I thought it made more sense to use the TWACS system we already have in place instead of spending an average of $600 per household to set up testing. It was so easy for us to install TWACS meters, which we already had in-house and then simply set up separate accounts in the TWACS TNS software to track the data.”

VEA entered into agreements with selected customer participants stipulating that the member would pay for half the cost of each DSWH system. The pilot program could prove that if more residents use solar power to supplement their power needs, it would effectively decrease the demand for conventionally produced power and may help stabilize rates for everyone.

“If enough DSWH systems were installed, it could enable the co-op to purchase less higher-cost market power. This is especially important during peak hours of energy use, for example when the sun is shining and energy costs are high,” says Joe McCauley, member services representative for VEA.

“VEA will now develop fact-based data instead of relying on information derived by rule of thumb to determine what incentive program should be offered to our members,” adds McCauley. “We're hopeful that after collecting data through the TWACS system in our pilot program, we will develop facts that will show the cooperative and our members what incentive programs and future energy conservation can look like.”