The large size of the water heaters, their high temperature, and the ability of the system to identify and respond to households’ use patterns help ensure that households have hot water when they need it. “We focus on satisfying each individual household's needs for hot water,” emphasized Husted. “We certainly don’t want members to drop off and reduce the program’s value. To advance Beneficial Electrification, we’ve got to keep the customer first.”
In order for a program like this to function, there has to be a communications backbone available for the GETS to function, as the device is connected to the member’s internet via an ethernet connection. It also has to be cost effective for both the co-op and the participating members, given that there are installation and operating costs associated with the technology. The benefits need to exceed the costs. Finally, a challenge that Lake Region has seen in the pilot program so far is that it is more difficult to promote a program for members fed by a single substation than it is to promote programs that can be marketed across the member base.
