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Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,832
7,086
borcester rhymes
hello friend of friends

woke up at 530, tried to sleep through my workout but couldn't, so I got 30m of Z2 which is better than 0 minutes of Z2.

Had an awesome conversation with my boss yesterday and I'm starting to think I might actually like my job. The work we are doing is super neat too. I find myself working later, vs. slacking, because I want to know more/do more/get things going. It's a good feeling.

I am interested in a ground source heat loop out here but I don't know enough about it. I also don't know if I want to invest beaucoup dollars in this house as I like to daydream about a place with a pool that isn't right next to the DPW. @Changleen is the ROI better on solar or ground loop?
 
Adventurous

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,851
9,891
Crawlorado
Sandwich said:
hello friend of friends

woke up at 530, tried to sleep through my workout but couldn't, so I got 30m of Z2 which is better than 0 minutes of Z2.

Had an awesome conversation with my boss yesterday and I'm starting to think I might actually like my job. The work we are doing is super neat too. I find myself working later, vs. slacking, because I want to know more/do more/get things going. It's a good feeling.

I am interested in a ground source heat loop out here but I don't know enough about it. I also don't know if I want to invest beaucoup dollars in this house as I like to daydream about a place with a pool that isn't right next to the DPW. @Changleen is the ROI better on solar or ground loop?
Click to expand...
I don't have numbers or anything, but our real estate agent told us that solar panels (unless owned) add minimal value to a house in the best case, but are a detractor to more people than they are attractive feature.
 
iRider

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,703
3,168
Adventurous said:
I don't have numbers or anything, but our real estate agent told us that solar panels (unless owned) add minimal value to a house in the best case, but are a detractor to more people than they are attractive feature.
Click to expand...
Only in America.... :s
 
maxyedor

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,141
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
iRider said:
Only in America.... :s
Click to expand...
Not sure if it’s totally an “America” problem with leased solar. People sign shit contracts because the panels are “free” but you have to buy your power from the solar company, at a shit rate. No clue if leasing is even a thing elsewhere, but it requires just the right balance of usage to make it work, and the contract is tied to the house. When house shopping I’d rather have no solar and pay to get it installed later than be stuck with a contract the previous owner signed that likely won’t save me anything and may actually cost a lot more than buying the panels outright.

Now, if I were king I’d use Federal money to offer super low interest financing on home solar systems with storage capacity and enough of a tax credit to entice everybody to install panels. Everyone gets cheap clean energy, I don’t have to invest in quite as many power plants, and we make a little money off the interest to fund other cool shit. Alas, I am not king, and this is not how our federal money will be spent.
 
Changleen

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,730
2,712
Pōneke
Solar is ‘different’ in this situation I would say. Heat pumps provide heat and cooling forever, whenever, for a very low electrical load compared to anything else (the power they use is to move already existing heat around so basically you use 1kW and get 3.8kW in return). Solar is an augmentation to this that allows you to generate that power yourself. In NZ as I’ve mentioned we have reliable electrical power and it is 70~80% green already so personal solar doesn’t make much sense. However I understand your electrical supply is neither of those things, (although having said that slowly your power is getting greener) so if I was in that situation solar plus batteries would be interesting. IMO it’s not just about ROI but about resilience and helping the planet, which has an unmeasurably great ROI. I understand leasing solar is popular but it seems to me that all this is doing is avoiding the ever-decreasing upfront cost. If you plan to live somewhere a long time or are doing a new build, or can otherwise add this cost to a mortgage it seems like a no brainer to me.
 
sunringlerider

sunringlerider

Wood fluffer
Oct 30, 2006
4,303
7,917
Corn Fields of Indiana
gonefirefightin said:
Fever for the last 12 hours, still cant taste or smell anything, mucus is like bearing grease, headaches are pretty much constant. Will be looking forward to this shit being over with.

nailed down dates for the islands, now surfing airbnb's
Click to expand...
Well with no taste you should be able to try that pee drinking thing pretty easily. Also I hear all the kids talking about eating somewhere towards the rear. You have to look for the positives. . .
 
iRider

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,703
3,168
stoney said:
If they are a lease or payment structure, then the new owner is picking up an adtl liability. It makes sense, but it's stupid.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that this even exists is stupid. This business model also exists in Europe, don't know what percentage of the market it has. Just from personal experience, everybody I know that has solar owns it.
 
Adventurous

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,851
9,891
Crawlorado
maxyedor said:
Not sure if it’s totally an “America” problem with leased solar. People sign shit contracts because the panels are “free” but you have to buy your power from the solar company, at a shit rate. No clue if leasing is even a thing elsewhere, but it requires just the right balance of usage to make it work, and the contract is tied to the house. When house shopping I’d rather have no solar and pay to get it installed later than be stuck with a contract the previous owner signed that likely won’t save me anything and may actually cost a lot more than buying the panels outright.

Now, if I were king I’d use Federal money to offer super low interest financing on home solar systems with storage capacity and enough of a tax credit to entice everybody to install panels. Everyone gets cheap clean energy, I don’t have to invest in quite as many power plants, and we make a little money off the interest to fund other cool shit. Alas, I am not king, and this is not how our federal money will be spent.
Click to expand...
We put in an offer on a house that had a solar panel lease, and the numbers would never work out in our favor. By the time the system was paid off, the roof would be nearing replacement and the cost to uninstall->re-roof->reinstall didn't make sense.

Solar panels and energy efficient initiatives are a perfect opportunity for increased federal intervention, but I won't hold my breath on that.
 
eric strt6

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
24,382
15,154
directly above the center of the earth
We did blow in insulation for the attic in our current 1700 sq ft house R45 depth ran us $1000 and they did it in 3 hours. Knocked the AC bill down from $350/month to $80 and winter heating from $280 to $100. we recouped the cost in a matter of months
 
AngryMetalsmith

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
22,056
12,782
I have no idea where I am
CBJ said:
Two bird houses arrive today. Hopefully that will like them. Ideally I could have built them myself but I got so many jobs I need to do right now and some of the small bird had problems with predators so hopefully this will be better.
Click to expand...
I built a Peterson Nest Box for Blue Birds to give to my mom for Christmas. Built it from Birch Plywood and polyurethaned. Made pivots from nails that rotated on brass inserts in the door along with a brass clasp to keep it closed. Turned out pretty nice. Still need to install it.
 
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SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,831
14,168
In a van.... down by the river
eric strt6 said:
We did blow in insulation for the attic in our current 1700 sq ft house R45 depth ran us $1000 and they did it in 3 hours. Knocked the AC bill down from $350/month to $80 and winter heating from $280 to $100. we recouped the cost in a matter of months
Click to expand...
Man... they must not have really had any insulation in there when they built it, eh? Those "old" numbers are pretty huge...
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

Hero
Sep 27, 2001
36,809
18,380
Making moss sad in New Haven, Vermont
Adventurous said:
We put in an offer on a house that had a solar panel lease, and the numbers would never work out in our favor. By the time the system was paid off, the roof would be nearing replacement and the cost to uninstall->re-roof->reinstall didn't make sense.

Solar panels and energy efficient initiatives are a perfect opportunity for increased federal intervention, but I won't hold my breath on that.
Click to expand...
When we put in solar, I talked to a SunCommon sales representative. the company was utterly inflexible and the encounter was inane. I therefore just bought outright and it has been working OK.
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,758
8,757
I endorse insulation. And solar. And heat pumps.

My mountain utility paid $1k per installed ton for heat pumps over a certain SEER/COP, so roughly a 25% discount.

Anyway, skiing has been done.

0584CD8F-57A7-4847-817E-3A8E8FE7360A.jpeg
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,041
Sleazattle
I have a neighbor who in the summer spends an hour a day holding a '20 MPH is Plenty' sign and yelling at cars. He once yelled at me while I was going 15 MPH. We recently had a bunch of really ugly and useless traffic calming circles installed on the street, I can only assume it is because of his incessant complaints to the city. He has been parking his car illegally at the corner of an intersection for weeks. Think I will return his Karen energy and call parking enforcement.
 
sunringlerider

sunringlerider

Wood fluffer
Oct 30, 2006
4,303
7,917
Corn Fields of Indiana
Westy said:
I have a neighbor who in the summer spends an hour a day holding a '20 MPH is Plenty' sign and yelling at cars. He once yelled at me while I was going 15 MPH. We recently had a bunch of really ugly and useless traffic calming circles installed on the street, I can only assume it is because of his incessant complaints to the city. He has been parking his car illegally at the corner of an intersection for weeks. Think I will return his Karen energy and call parking enforcement.
Click to expand...
Very unfortunate that you don’t get down to single digits out there. A few dozen wet gummy worms applied to a windshield when it’s 5-10 freedom units, can really adjust someone’s attitude.
 
jstuhlman

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
17,342
14,179
Cackalacka du Nord
trimmed back a mile of trail that gains 1000' over the mile. lots of rhodos and mtn laurels entwined with goathead thorn vines encroaching. wore me the eff out. but there's now a singletrack descent again versus an almost no-track one before. shit is steep, ledgy, and awesome.

for nc monkeys who know, yellowbuck trail at wilsons.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,041
Sleazattle
sunringlerider said:
Very unfortunate that you don’t get down to single digits out there. A few dozen wet gummy worms applied to a windshield when it’s 5-10 freedom units, can really adjust someone’s attitude.
Click to expand...

I will have to remember that one. Wet newspaper applied to a windshield in the cold makes for a rather nice strong composite once it freezes.

A few years ago a couple of maybe 20 year old trustafarians parked a brand new ///M5 with a giant BRAZZERS sticker in front of a fire hydrant near my house. They sat there for a good ten minutes with shitty music blaring while they vaped up the place. When they walked away I tossed a few pennies in their tailpipe ($donation$). When they started the car back up it rattled like a Honda civic with a rotted out exhaust pipe.
 
Changleen

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,730
2,712
Pōneke
Not if he can swing you a deal. Realtors (Estate agents) are not entirely popular here in general atm though… Many definitely have a part to play in the wild house price increases of late. Not their fault entirely of course, but their tactics are not exactly helpful. More like coercive and self-serving.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,041
Sleazattle
Shipped my shock to a friend who has started rebuilding Fox stuff and considering starting a business. UPS gouged the shit out of me shipping something during the holidays. Then they added a bonkers weight adjustment saying it weighed 2 lbs instead of my claimed .5 lbs. But I claimed .5lbs. Thankfully my friend has the original shipping label with all the original 2lb shipping claim. Then UPS managed to charge me for the original shipment twice, again with the adjusted amount then a fourth time with the adjusted value. Fuck those fucking fuckers, Imma gonna RPG one of their trucks.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,815
27,030
media blackout
Westy said:
Shipped my shock to a friend who has started rebuilding Fox stuff and considering starting a business. UPS gouged the shit out of me shipping something during the holidays. Then they added a bonkers weight adjustment saying it weighed 2 lbs instead of my claimed .5 lbs. But I claimed .5lbs. Thankfully my friend has the original shipping label with all the original 2lb shipping claim. Then UPS managed to charge me for the original shipment twice, again with the adjusted amount then a fourth time with the adjusted value. Fuck those fucking fuckers, Imma gonna RPG one of their trucks.
Click to expand...
Pirate ship dot com. I used it to ship the pelican case to Nick for rmss and it was over half off.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,041
Sleazattle
Father sent to the hospital a few days ago with a kidney infection as the result from an improperly installed nephrostomy tube (treatment from his prostate cancer). Got home to find out he picked up a c. diff. infection from the hospital. Prostate cancer isn't going to kill him but the treatments probably will.
 
jdcamb

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
20,050
8,769
Nowhere Man!
sunringlerider said:
Very unfortunate that you don’t get down to single digits out there. A few dozen wet gummy worms applied to a windshield when it’s 5-10 freedom units, can really adjust someone’s attitude.
Click to expand...
We have a Karen or Ken that puts American Cheese on the hoods of cars for perceived infractions. Kind of Evil.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,005
22,041
Sleazattle
jdcamb said:
We have a Karen or Ken that puts American Cheese on the hoods of cars for perceived infractions. Kind of Evil.
Click to expand...
There was a group of middle school aged kids running all over the neighborhood this summer throwing cheese on cars. It is some dumb tiktok challenge. When I heard them coming my way I took my dog out for a walk on a very long leash. He was very interested in kids with cheese and can get a little out of control when he gets excited around strangers. Needless to say they moved on quickly. Picked a few slices of cheese off of a few cars as a treat for the pup.
 
Changleen

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,730
2,712
Pōneke
Westy said:
Father sent to the hospital a few days ago with a kidney infection as the result from an improperly installed nephrostomy tube (treatment from his prostate cancer). Got home to find out he picked up a c. diff. infection from the hospital. Prostate cancer isn't going to kill him but the treatments probably will.
Click to expand...
Oh shit. Poop transplant time?
 
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