Energy savings win!

Right said:
Based on your analysis of the data, I honestly think that you have to be retarded to come up with these conclusions.
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Truthfully, you didn't offer any data. You showed a comparison between your usage...and some 'average' home.. If you don't agree that the only true reflection of your actual savings comes via a comparison of your electric bills for the same periods from last year, then you aren't qualified to use the term 'retarded'....unless you're being introspective.


I was skeptical of the reflective shield myself, and you're right, it doesn't increase the R value. Of course that was never claimed. But then I realized that a similar material is used in spacecraft. I then noticed that architects in my area are specifying as a type of building wrap under siding, as well as in the configuration that I used it.

I suggest that you wait for at least ten year's worth of extremely precise data before making a decision to do this in your own home. You can never be too careful or analytical.
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I take you at your word when you said that you had '2 ft.' of insulation in your attic. If that's true, the foil clad bubble wrap won't hurt, but it's probably not worthwhile if you hadn't gotten a break on the price.

Re. your mention of other applications, I can see the merit. If you have a 2x4 framed house, and have no other options for bolstering your R factor, it's probably a lot better than the thin foam they use before installing siding.

Likewise, if you have R 19 in your attic, this product might be more cost effective than doubling/tripling the fiberglass.

I just don't see this product as being a contributing factor to your overall energy savings, given your R 76 in the attic already.


Yes..I will keep an eye on the product, and see if the application is anything I can use in the future.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
Why the LMAO?

The chest is about 34" wide x 22" deep x 22" high, with the top being another 6" in height.
The top consists of 10 pieces all angle cut to fit smoothly together.
The top took me as long to make, as the rest of the chest did.

I put a box shelf inside that has rope handles and when you set inside the chest, you can let go and watch it slowly go down as the air is pushed out along the edges of the box shelf.

I clear lacquered the entire thing and then added some brass corners, at the bottom edges, and made a name plate with her name on it and in the bottom corner is a "manufacturers" plate.

It's over 20 years old and is starting to show it's "age" and I may need to talk to a local blacksmith to see if he can make me some "binding straps" for it.
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I'd love to see pix of the actual box. Sounds nice.

Yes...wood is fun to work with, but even when you follow industry protocol....shit happens.

Depending on climate, you can either get shrinkage, or swelling...even after many years. Lacquer isn't the best finish, but it is quick...especially if you're spraying. Yellowing is always a bummer.


I was asking, because solar seemed like a substantial investment. I don't see a ROI for a very long time, given the relatively low usage for a home workshop.

Similar to the reason I don't drive a turbo diesel...I don't put on the mileage necessary to make the investment viable.
 
Right said:
Since energy is a political issue I put the thread here.

Last summer I was contacted by a private energy audit company about making my home more energy efficient. I've always been big into spending to save and have taken many steps over the years to save on my electric costs. Natural gas isn't available in my 'hood.

Several years ago I increased the insulation in my attic. There's about 2' of the stuff up there. It didn't make the big difference in savings that I expected. Three years ago I replaced my downstairs heat pump with a higher efficiency model, then the next year replaced the second floor unit. Again I achieved some savings but not as much as I expected.

With this energy audit, the representative inspected my home then recommended three things.

1. A reflective shield on top of the attic insulation. This is basically 1/8" bubble wrap with aluminum foil on both sides. It is perforated with small holes to release moisture. The theory is that it reflects heat from above in the summer and from below in the winter. It also keeps dust out of the insulation that decreases its efficiency over time.

2. A solar powered attic fan. I had a powered fan up there and was on the third motor. I had been looking at these but it was a roof renovation and I didn't want to spend the money to pay a contractor to install it.

3. LED lighting. It was very expensive at that time so he recommended that I change out 15 or so bulbs that we use the most, that I had not already replaced with CFLs.

He quoted me a price of about $6000. I told him that he needed to sharpen his pencil and after several rounds, I ended up paying about $4200. The rebate on my taxes was about $1800, so my net ended up to be about $2400.

Duke Energy just sent me a chart of my energy use over the past year, showing a huge dip after the install. I'm saving about 25%, or about $700/ year, so the payoff is about 4 years. :)
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Sucker
 
Right said:
I think the only way to make solar economical is:
1. Tax credits, and
2. Reverse metering.

Both require permits. Why not get one? You'll need a foundation that you can bolt that thing onto to prevent uplift.

The other benefit of permitting is that you can probably have it insured as part of your home policy.
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Then it isn't economical. And I have solar at my mountain retreat, but the hydro is much better. Of course not everyone can have hydro.

Solar is too unpredictable.

Without your subsidies, it wouldn't be doable. Not much difference between you and the welfare queens you bitch about in my book, but I am sure you can rationalize it
 
Right said:
Since energy is a political issue I put the thread here.

Last summer I was contacted by a private energy audit company about making my home more energy efficient. I've always been big into spending to save and have taken many steps over the years to save on my electric costs. Natural gas isn't available in my 'hood.

Several years ago I increased the insulation in my attic. There's about 2' of the stuff up there. It didn't make the big difference in savings that I expected. Three years ago I replaced my downstairs heat pump with a higher efficiency model, then the next year replaced the second floor unit. Again I achieved some savings but not as much as I expected.

With this energy audit, the representative inspected my home then recommended three things.

1. A reflective shield on top of the attic insulation. This is basically 1/8" bubble wrap with aluminum foil on both sides. It is perforated with small holes to release moisture. The theory is that it reflects heat from above in the summer and from below in the winter. It also keeps dust out of the insulation that decreases its efficiency over time.

2. A solar powered attic fan. I had a powered fan up there and was on the third motor. I had been looking at these but it was a roof renovation and I didn't want to spend the money to pay a contractor to install it.

3. LED lighting. It was very expensive at that time so he recommended that I change out 15 or so bulbs that we use the most, that I had not already replaced with CFLs.

He quoted me a price of about $6000. I told him that he needed to sharpen his pencil and after several rounds, I ended up paying about $4200. The rebate on my taxes was about $1800, so my net ended up to be about $2400.

Duke Energy just sent me a chart of my energy use over the past year, showing a huge dip after the install. I'm saving about 25%, or about $700/ year, so the payoff is about 4 years. :)
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I had 6 inchs of this new type blown in attic insulation that stays put, doesnt fluff and fly around. I had to replace my ac unit and put in high efficiency w/heatpump. I switched all my bulbs inside and out to fluorescent and led, my electric bill dropped average 85.00 a month but more importantly the comfort level went way up. The new AC regulates humidity much better so you always feel much cooler at higher AC temp settings.
 
Yoda said:
I had 6 inchs of this new type blown in attic insulation that stays put, doesnt fluff and fly around. I had to replace my ac unit and put in high efficiency w/heatpump. I switched all my bulbs inside and out to fluorescent and led, my electric bill dropped average 85.00 a month but more importantly the comfort level went way up. The new AC regulates humidity much better so you always feel much cooler at higher AC temp settings.
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Needs to be noted by our European pagans!
 
Teflon Don said:
Then it isn't economical. And I have solar at my mountain retreat, but the hydro is much better. Of course not everyone can have hydro.

Solar is too unpredictable.

Without your subsidies, it wouldn't be doable. Not much difference between you and the welfare queens you bitch about in my book, but I am sure you can rationalize it
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Hey if GovCo is dumb enough to throw money at me I'll get a bucket to put it in.
 
Right said:
How so?
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You rail against government spending and welfare but you line right up with your hand out for a gobblement check.

You are no different than the welfare queen. You of course will tell yourself that you are only getting back what you paid in but you know that is a lie. Cognitive dissonance is a great mind fuck

You aren't alone. There are very few people like me who get ZERO gubmint money. No socialist insecurity. No Medicare.
 
Teflon Don said:
You rail against government spending and welfare but you line right up with your hand out for a gobblement check.

You are no different than the welfare queen. You of course will tell yourself that you are only getting back what you paid in but you know that is a lie. Cognitive dissonance is a great mind fuck

You aren't alone. There are very few people like me who get ZERO gubmint money. No socialist insecurity. No Medicare.
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No, since it is a tax deduction. So I'd be reducing the money GovCo takes. LMAO
 
Teflon Don said:
It is welfare to drive certain behaviors. Keep suckling
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Your entire argument (though I applaud the effort) with Dam Yankee is total bullshit.

Why must solar power or any renewable be self standing when fossil fuels are not?

Take away all the subsidies (including tax breaks) which fossil fuels enjoy and renewables will not need any subsidies to compete.

Solar is already competitve with natural gas in some instances and that is the cheapest fossil fuel.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
I've been thinking about adding a 10x12 barn style shed, biggest I can go without permits, in the back yard and was thinking of adding solar panels, rather then running power to it.
Downstairs will be about 7' tall, don't want to hit my head, and then the upstairs full loft will be about 5' at the sidewalls.
Plan on making the entire thing about 16' high.
Going to put shelves upstairs, to store totes in, and leave the bottom more open, for larger items.
Plan on using a block and tackle to get stuff to the loft area.

Something similar to this:
Gambrel-Barn-Shed-Plans.png

Going to put it on a cement slap, instead of runners.
The floor, with a 12" foundation, should use about 2.5 cubic yds.
Foundation will be 4" above ground, 8" below ground, and about 12" wide.
Also plan on putting a ramp, in the front, just to make it easer to get heavy items in and out; plus it will protect the edge of the slab.

I figure the solar panel and storage batteries might give me enough power to run lights, a compressor, a table saw, and a few other items.
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Lights, yes. Large power tools, forget it. The usable gain from solar photovoltaic is approximately 200 watts per square meter at this time. Your roof is way too small to provide enough power for large tools and not even in the realm of being worthwhile for reverse metering. The phase aligner alone costs over $2000, never mind transfer switches, panels, inverters and electrician costs.

If you are going to bother, do as much of your house roof as possible. If your state has decent subsidies and you are a big consumer of electricity, payback could be very short, especially since the payoff of your investment will remain fixed but the cost of energy is is generally getting higher.
 
Rune said:
Your entire argument (though I applaud the effort) with Dam Yankee is total bullshit.

Why must solar power or any renewable be self standing when fossil fuels are not?

Take away all the subsidies (including tax breaks) which fossil fuels enjoy and renewables will not need any subsidies to compete.

Solar is already competitve with natural gas in some instances and that is the cheapest fossil fuel.
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How many times do I need to say that I oppose subsidies of any kind? What subsidies is coal getting?

Solar is a joke on a large scale. I have solar panels. Unreliable. My hydro provides much more reliable electricity at my mountain retreat. I am completely off grid
 
Teflon Don said:
How many times do I need to say that I oppose subsidies of any kind? What subsidies is coal getting?

Solar is a joke on a large scale. I have solar panels. Unreliable. My hydro provides much more reliable electricity at my mountain retreat. I am completely off grid
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Agreed Hydro is ultimate. Photovoltaics have their place though, but where solar really shines is in solar-thermal applications.

Simply qualify your statement that all subsidies are bad then, instead of only mentioning renewables with disdain.

Believe it or not, coal is subsidized when it is sprayed with diesel fuel before being blown into the boiler and there are plenty of others as well.
 
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