Jump to content
A Merry Christmas from Surly Horns to You. ×

Blastfurnace 2023

Storm the Field

By Storm the Field
in Daily Texan

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 4.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Okie State
Okie State

All of it is extremely depressing to me. I used to have this naive belief that in the face of a real, global crisis, humanity would come together and solve the problem. That grown ups would take charg

Storm the Field
Storm the Field

Bingo. It's an artifact of youth. You don't care if it's 100 degrees when you're 12 years old and your only concern for 3 straight months is where you are swimming that day and which friend you're spe

Humpy
Humpy

I was going to spray weeds today but it started raining, will have to wait until tomorrow. Low of 55 tonight so open up the windows it is.

Posted Images

Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4795

Posted
Posted
For real, I have my AC at 74, a box fan running, one light on in the whole house, the TV, the fridge, and a few vampire power appliances going.  Meanwhile, every business in town isn't doing shit and every HEB is blasting their coolers and freezers.  I don't think I'm the problem.

To this point we’d be better off if government and large enterprises shut down to work from home if possible. Go back to having court on zoom. Shit down all these “hybrid” operations. If they can work from home on Monday and Friday then do it the rest of the week.
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dahobbs

Dahobbs 18398

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

So you guys with solar are selling it back to the grid for $x,xxx?

Yes for me, but for others it'll depend upon their the energy contract. Keep in mind, the thousand dollar prices are for mWh, not kWh. So you have to divide by 1,000. So far this month my system as exported about $200 worth of energy at an average price of $.80 per kWh. My two best days were the 10th and yesterday, which each generated about $50. 

N.B. This is with utilizing batteries to better time my export period to peak demand/prices. 

Edited by Dahobbs
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
gsoda3

gsoda3 3362

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Yes for me, but for others it'll depend upon their the energy contract. Keep in mind, the thousand dollar prices are for mWh, not kWh. So you have to divide by 1,000. So far this month my system as exported about $200 worth of energy at an average price of $.80 per kWh. My two best days were the 10th and yesterday, which each generated about $50. 

N.B. This is with utilizing batteries to better time my export period to peak demand/prices. 

you can time when to export?  is it a hassle to do that?  i assume it's automated and you're not sitting by your computer screen spamming f5 and then hitting ENTER when it reaches a certain price?  can you export only the net amount of your usage minus kwh generated?  or are you exporting ALL of your generated kwh and that credit goes against the total amount you've used?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dahobbs

Dahobbs 18398

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, gsoda3 said:

you can time when to export?  is it a hassle to do that?  i assume it's automated and you're not sitting by your computer screen spamming f5 and then hitting ENTER when it reaches a certain price?  can you export only the net amount of your usage minus kwh generated?  or are you exporting ALL of your generated kwh and that credit goes against the total amount you've used?

I can sort of time it, and yes it is automated. Basically the Tesla Powerwall has a time of use function wherein I can identify periods and prices by "seasons" (any grouping of months that I want). Tesla has an algorithm that takes that information and decides when to discharge the battery or pull from the grid. For the summer months I've identified 4pm-8pm as the peak price period, with an average price significantly above my energy cost (last year that period averaged $.17 per kWh in comparison to $.115 per for my cost of use). The system then balances what it pulls from the grid vs powers by the panels so that the battery is fully charged by 4:00 pm. In practice this means that starting around noon the system directs all solar energy to the batteries rather than the house and pulls energy from the grid to the house. Then, starting at 4:00 pm the system will use the battery to power the house and export all energy from the solar panels to the grid.  

Outside of June, July, and August, my time of use settings should minimize export to the extent possibly since the average real time price of energy, even during peak times, is less than how much I'm charged. To the extent it has to export, it'll try and time it so that it is during the peak periods. 

My plan gives me a credit on my bill and then after the 12 month plan period, I have the option to cash out any credit on the account. 

If I were part of a Virtual Power Plant or in another area where it is allowed, the battery could actually fully discharge directly to the grid rather than just powering the house. But I don't have that option in Houston. It would be cool if I had a button on the app I could use to export energy from the battery whenever prices made it reasonable to do so, but alas I don't have that much control. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
gofuckyourself

gofuckyourself 9094

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

I am starting to think the thermostats are wildly different. If I set mine to 75 I am cold. We live at 79-80 day and 77 at night. 70, I am wearing a jacket.

We live in a brand new home, energy efficient, radiant blah blah and all that.

I bought thermometers to measure room temps because everyone is unhappy with it. One person is always hot and the other always cold. We're the damn three bears from Goldilocks. 

The temps range +- 5 degrees. Master bedroom is 5 degrees warmer due to a "jutted out" location which has fewer adjoining walls than interior rooms. Thermostat is even just outside the main bedroom. Doesn't matter.

TLDR; Extreme weather temps suck ass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Storm the Field

Storm the Field 5367

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Jesus, just checked the most current forecast and am now depressed.

Latest models all have that gulf system heading towards Corpus

gfs-deterministic-tx-total_precip_inch-2

We ain't getting shit for relief. Forecast for next week, apart from maybe some slightly lower highs Monday-Wednesday, is just hot as shit again Thursday through next Sunday. Nothing to get excited about through September 1st.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kevwun

kevwun 16449

Posted
Posted

You should also check your thermostats to make sure their temp is calibrated correctly.  We stayed in an airbnb once where we couldn't figure out why the ac sucked so bad.  Finally I dug in to the settings and with a thermapen we had along I figured out the thermostat was like 10 degrees off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, gofuckyourself said:

The temps range +- 5 degrees. Master bedroom is 5 degrees warmer due to a "jutted out" location which has fewer adjoining walls than interior rooms. Thermostat is even just outside the main bedroom. Doesn't matter.

Dude... I never even thought of that. Our master bedroom has a window that juts out like that... sort of like a seating area/bench. That factors into it?

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
gofuckyourself

gofuckyourself 9094

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Dude... I never even thought of that. Our master bedroom has a window that juts out like that... sort of like a seating area/bench. That factors into it?

Could be.

Ours definitely does. 75% of the room juts out from the rest of the house, and is on the west side to add insult to injury.

So by the evening that room is baking with only that one other interior side.

Our thermostats are accurate because the thermometer read correctly when placed next to them.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jiggy-Z

Jiggy-Z 3509

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

Jesus, just checked the most current forecast and am now depressed.

Latest models all have that gulf system heading towards Corpus

gfs-deterministic-tx-total_precip_inch-2

We ain't getting shit for relief. Forecast for next week, apart from maybe some slightly lower highs Monday-Wednesday, is just hot as shit again Thursday through next Sunday. Nothing to get excited about through September 1st.

User name does not check out.

  • Haha 1
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
InkaUtexas

InkaUtexas 26959

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Dude... I never even thought of that. Our master bedroom has a window that juts out like that... sort of like a seating area/bench. That factors into it?

Put up a shade cloth outside if that bad. Long term plant a tree. Had something like that in the Middle East. Was the hottest part of the house. Of course, my ex wanted to put my beer fridge there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Put up a shade cloth outside if that bad. Long term plant a tree. Had something like that in the Middle East. Was the hottest part of the house. Of course, my ex wanted to put my beer fridge there. 

We have shade over that section... a little less shade due to the ice storm but still plenty

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen 8749

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, texasdago said:

We have shade over that section... a little less shade due to the ice storm but still plenty

 

We have 5 or 6 large mature oaks that used to shade our entire house. Icemageddon took down so many limbs that we get full sun blast most of the day now. This fucking timeline can suck a fat cock.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 46202

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:


To this point we’d be better off if government and large enterprises shut down to work from home if possible. Go back to having court on zoom. Shit down all these “hybrid” operations. If they can work from home on Monday and Friday then do it the rest of the week.

Well, you see, we can't do that because dumbfuck corporations have commercial leases on huge buildings!  And the economy!  Or something.

Reality:  CORPORATE CONTROL OF THE PEASANTS

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Black out curtains help some.  I'm looking to get one of those heating/chilling pads for the bed with dual zones for two sleepers.  I could set mine much colder and my wife can warm up her side without taxing the AC as much.  

Yeah, my wife needs to close those curtains during the day.  We have big ass windows in the main living room... over two stories.  We're working on some kind of a shade solution.  I have ideas.  My wife and I are not totally on the same page.  That's another story.  

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, gofuckyourself said:

We live in a brand new home, energy efficient, radiant blah blah and all that.

I bought thermometers to measure room temps because everyone is unhappy with it. One person is always hot and the other always cold. We're the damn three bears from Goldilocks. 

The temps range +- 5 degrees. Master bedroom is 5 degrees warmer due to a "jutted out" location which has fewer adjoining walls than interior rooms. Thermostat is even just outside the main bedroom. Doesn't matter.

TLDR; Extreme weather temps suck ass.

No offense, but you couldn't tell a 5-degree difference just by walking into a room? 

Our bedroom has the same thing, but it's a 2-3 degree difference. Closets in all the bedrooms stay closed and when you do walk into them, it's a solid 5-7 degree difference since they don't get conditioned air.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Foosters

Foosters 18287

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Yeah, my wife needs to close those curtains during the day.  We have big ass windows in the main living room... over two stories.  We're working on some kind of a shade solution.  I have ideas.  My wife and I are not totally on the same page.  That's another story.  

I just got a quote on having every East and South facing window tinted with this stuff. 

https://aswf.com/product/daydream/

Strongly considering it

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
txduck87

txduck87 1021

Posted
Posted
Black out curtains help some.  I'm looking to get one of those heating/chilling pads for the bed with dual zones for two sleepers.  I could set mine much colder and my wife can warm up her side without taxing the AC as much.  

Blackout curtains make a huge difference in our house . #noracist
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nueces River Rat

Nueces River Rat 5799

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Storm the Field said:

Jesus, just checked the most current forecast and am now depressed.

Latest models all have that gulf system heading towards Corpus

gfs-deterministic-tx-total_precip_inch-2

We ain't getting shit for relief. Forecast for next week, apart from maybe some slightly lower highs Monday-Wednesday, is just hot as shit again Thursday through next Sunday. Nothing to get excited about through September 1st.

It will hit Houston.  Trust me as a resident in the Corpus area for now 30 years.   These models week out show us getting rain or direct hits from a coastal system and they almost always shift north.   If the models would've been correct a week out.   We should've been a direct hit by Ike in 2008 and Rita in 2005.      I fully expect nothing next week down here.   I'd gladly run around naked in the my back yard in the wind driven  rain if I'm wrong.  

Edited by Nueces River Rat
Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Foosters said:

I just got a quote on having every East and South facing window tinted with this stuff. 

https://aswf.com/product/daydream/

Strongly considering it

 

Cost?

So... tinted windows, shade, blackout curtains... all literally go out the door when my family can't F'ing close a door and all the glorious air cooled goodness flows outside.  

  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, 4th&Five said:

Over 100 before 11am. Fuck this. 

...and the A/C is not on in our house since we're sitting relatively comfortably right now which is why I get pissed off about the doors being left open.  If we can keep from turning it on yet, let's not.  

I'm going to get some shades for the back patio to roll down because I think that will help with some of the "later in the day" western sun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Post Oak

Post Oak 20583

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, Hpara759 said:

spent a lot of money "dark tinting" all the windows in my house (except for windows covered by front and back porch...had those medium tinted), I honestly believe it has paid for itself in 5 years.

Looking into this.  We have 2 large windows that face west.  Was this ceramic tint?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Foosters

Foosters 18287

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Cost?

So... tinted windows, shade, blackout curtains... all literally go out the door when my family can't F'ing close a door and all the glorious air cooled goodness flows outside.  

For 10+ windows (three of which are huge) total cost, including tax, labor, etc., Was around $750. 

But, I'm also considering ordering this

https://suntekfilms.com/na/en/architectural-window-film/

And doing the install myself.

Still in the early stages of research though 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
texasdago

texasdago 7772

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Foosters said:

For 10+ windows (three of which are huge) total cost, including tax, labor, etc., Was around $750. 

But, I'm also considering ordering this

https://suntekfilms.com/na/en/architectural-window-film/

And doing the install myself.

Still in the early stages of research though 

That's not bad, honestly.  That company local to ATX?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Foosters

Foosters 18287

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, texasdago said:

That's not bad, honestly.  That company local to ATX?

No, in California. 

I've been trying to solve this issue for awhile. Our house was built in 1902 and has over 20 original Box sash windows. They were in such bad shape that you could stand next to them on a windy day and feel drafts leaking through the cracks. Last year, I paid a small fortune to have them all restored which helped seal them up, but there's still a shit load of single pane glass staring at the sun all day. Hoping the tint/film solution will help.

I'd note that I have read some negative thing about AWSF's quality over time. My understanding is that the ceramic tint from 3M is the gold standard, but that's going to cost you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

That tint would mess with me. We had some in an office and in the middle of summer some days, I'd think -- wow, it looks dark out there, are we going to get rain? No, the tint just makes it have that dark look. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Born to Run

Born to Run 6601

Posted
Posted
That tint would mess with me. We had some in an office and in the middle of summer some days, I'd think -- wow, it looks dark out there, are we going to get rain? No, the tint just makes it have that dark look. 
My office faces west and gets absolutely blasted. Tint didn't do much at all. Blackout shades made a significant difference.

Spray foam insulation in your attic is very much worth the investment unless you have a gas furnace and water heater.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MissingInAction

MissingInAction 25597

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Foosters said:

For 10+ windows (three of which are huge) total cost, including tax, labor, etc., Was around $750. 

But, I'm also considering ordering this

https://suntekfilms.com/na/en/architectural-window-film/

And doing the install myself.

Still in the early stages of research though 

As a former commercial tint installer I recommend against this. 1/4 of my jobs were strip and re-tint because the facility maintenance crew tried to do it themselves.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hate

Hate 20259

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Wind and rain for 48 hours.  Not fun

I had a blast during Harvey when it rained 41 inches at my house in 3.5 days. You just have to make sure you make a trip to your local dispensaries and liquor store before the storm hits. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...