Entropy

Relax in southern comfort on the east bank of the Mississippi. You're just around the corner from Beale Street and Sun Records. Watch the ducks, throw back a few and tell us what's on your mind.
billshurv
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Re: Entropy

Post by billshurv »

A thermal store setup with solar and gas feed would probably be the optimal to cover all seasons in Texas. Solar water heating should work very well most of the year for you?
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

billshurv wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:39 am A thermal store setup with solar and gas feed would probably be the optimal to cover all seasons in Texas. Solar water heating should work very well most of the year for you?
We have a gabled A-frame type roof running east-west so I have one whole plane with a direct southern exposure.
IIRC the roof is 35 squares on a 5/12 pitch so I've probably got 1500 square feet of area facing directly south.
I can definitely heat water and run the house base electrical load.

Natural Gas is pretty cheap: The summer bills run about $40 and half that is the gas light. The other $20 is hot water and gas range.
From solar I'd rather have the power.
Full bore 100°F summer afternoon with A/C in continuous run and normal base loads are around 4.8 kW/h.
I could deliver almost all of that from the roof.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

mediatechnology wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 9:09 am
billshurv wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:39 am A thermal store setup with solar and gas feed would probably be the optimal to cover all seasons in Texas. Solar water heating should work very well most of the year for you?
We have a gabled A-frame type roof running east-west so I have one whole plane with a direct southern exposure.
IIRC the roof is 35 squares on a 5/12 pitch so I've probably got 1500 square feet of area facing directly south.
I can definitely heat water and run the house base electrical load.

Natural Gas is pretty cheap: The summer bills run about $40 and half that is the gas light. The other $20 is hot water and gas range.
From solar I'd rather have the power.
Full bore 100°F summer afternoon with A/C in continuous run and normal base loads are around 4.8 kW/h.
I could deliver almost all of that from the roof.
One unresolved issue about solar power is what to do with EOL disposal/recycling? They typically specify 25 year service life, and EU mandates recycling into original system cost. In the US we are pretty lax about that and without a federal mandate, many of these will end up in landfills as uneconomical to recycle/repurpose. At some pont maybe in another 10-20 years there will be enough of this to justify a cost effective recycling strategy, but unlikely in my lifetime, and not easy.

Maybe we can cobble all these retired solar panels up to retired EV batteries and create a back up energy source for after the zombie apocalypse. :lol:

I have still been kind of waiting for both solar panel and EV battery technology to get better. Industry has been big on promise slow on fulfillment.

JR

PS: The solar panels President Jimmy Carter put on the white house in 1979 are long gone
Cancel the "cancel culture", do not support mob hatred.
billshurv
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Re: Entropy

Post by billshurv »

Solar hot water is certainly less to wrong. In some parts of southern europe almost every house has a big hot water tank on the roof.

Solar grant farming has certainly caused some issues. For a start the inverters are generally made to last until a month after the warranty expires! But yes what to do with old panels is a big question esp if only one panel in a string has failed.

When I was at college they were still sure that, by now amorphous silicon technology would be advanced enough to be able to spray solar panels on a roof. Sadly was not to be !

I will say, I was not bred for Texas summer heat!
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

I'd like to capture rain water with a tank on grade.
Not sure our roofs are designed for the load of overhead hot water storage.

I have a neighbor with an outdoor shower on his west deck.
Stored hot water on the roof, gravity fed, mixed with cool water would be a nice addition to his setup.

I'm not crazy about solar PV either.
Joe Neil had it and loved it.

My maximum power bill last summer was only $262 for 2.79 MW.
A/C run time was about 18-20 hours/day. (Highs 100°+, Night time lows 90°.)
Average month for 2018 was $170.
House occupied 24/7/365.
Natural gas bill average was $110 but the first 4 months of 2018 were unusually cold.

I think LED lighting has made a huge difference.
Some of that is of course reduced operating current but I think the main improvement is the incredibly-reduced heat load.
You can't turn on lights in winter to warm up a room though.
billshurv
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Re: Entropy

Post by billshurv »

Compared to my friend in Denton county whose (soon to be ex) wife runs the AC so hard their summer electric bill runs around $1000 a month yes. Quite why one wants the interior so cold you need to wear a jumper inside is beyond me!
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

rain.jpg
mediatechnology wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 6:16 pm I'd like to capture rain water with a tank on grade.
My mother used to collect rain water to use in her iron because it was "cleaner" than tap water and wouldn't clog up her iron... :lol:
Not sure our roofs are designed for the load of overhead hot water storage.

I have a neighbor with an outdoor shower on his west deck.
Stored hot water on the roof, gravity fed, mixed with cool water would be a nice addition to his setup.
I was going to put a hot tub and greenhouse in in the attic of a house I was designing... never finished and both would have been water hazards, to lower floors.
I'm not crazy about solar PV either.
welcome to the club, I love passive solar when you have a blank sheet and good lot.
Joe Neil had it and loved it.

My maximum power bill last summer was only $262 for 2.79 MW.
A/C run time was about 18-20 hours/day. (Highs 100°+, Night time lows 90°.)
Average month for 2018 was $170.
House occupied 24/7/365.
Natural gas bill average was $110 but the first 4 months of 2018 were unusually cold.

I think LED lighting has made a huge difference.
Some of that is of course reduced operating current but I think the main improvement is the incredibly-reduced heat load.
You can't turn on lights in winter to warm up a room though.
I am really looking forward to see my energy savings this summer from light colored roof and more efficient heat pump.

JR

PS: In my ongoing war against tree rodents I have upped my game by setting up security cameras to keep an eye on my producing trees to see when the squirrels are feeding. I purchased an 8 input system with 4 cameras. It turns out the cameras are wide angle enough to watch two trees at a time with each camera. So my full 4 tree pecan crop is covered using only two cameras. I'll probably stick one camera out in my carport to watch the zombies, and help chase my neighbor's cats off my car (that I washed and waxed today).
Cancel the "cancel culture", do not support mob hatred.
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

@JR Recent picture?
Compared to my friend in Denton county whose (soon to be ex) wife runs the AC so hard their summer electric bill runs around $1000 a month yes. Quite why one wants the interior so cold you need to wear a jumper inside is beyond me!
@Bill Ouch! Sounds menopausal based on the $1000/month bill.
Sounds like time for a trade-in/upgrade.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

mediatechnology wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 6:53 pm @JR Recent picture?
nah... but here is one from just a few months ago...
DSCF0113.JPG
Completely covered the 3' front culvert.

I don't see much value in holding rain water (or a practical way... even my neighbors with ponds let them overflow into rain ditches), but since I hired a guy to put gutters on my house I expect it to stop raining.

JR
Compared to my friend in Denton county whose (soon to be ex) wife runs the AC so hard their summer electric bill runs around $1000 a month yes. Quite why one wants the interior so cold you need to wear a jumper inside is beyond me!
@Bill Ouch! Sounds menopausal based on the $1000/month bill.
Sounds like time for a trade-in/upgrade.
Cancel the "cancel culture", do not support mob hatred.
billshurv
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Re: Entropy

Post by billshurv »

They married when she was 40 and she's always kept the house at 77F pre, during and post menopause. He was earning so much that he really didn't care, but when this all fell apart and he started admitting how much money they were burning through each year is was scary. With bonus and options he earns about 20x what I do and spends the lot each year. I used to think I would like a career like his, but these days very happy to be home every evening to put the kids to bed!
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