Batten down the hatches - Page 2

u3b3rg33k · 09-05-18, 11:35 PM

a 300W blower motor that contributes its waste heat as strip heat shouldn't hurt COP much. either way those must be some really poor heat pumps. I know people much further north than TX that are in areas not served by natural gas who live on heat pumps. all of them save tons of money by coming up with strategies to avoid strip heat, not use it!

jeff5may · 09-05-18, 11:48 PM

Heat pumps don't blast out the toasty hot air like gas furnaces and electric heat strips. The fan runs longer too. For many people, the house never seems quite warm enough. I don't know what to tell you, I'm saving loads of cash running my heat pump.

At the house I'm in now, the HVAC guy had rigged up the defrost control wrong. The first winter electric bill told me something was awry. I quickly figured out the outdoor thermistor was plugged in backwards. The outdoor unit thought it was minus a hundred degrees always, so the unit was running a full defrost cycle every time it could. I have been saving money heating the house ever since.

It's nothing fancy. Good man contractor grade system that was installed when the house was built.

NiHaoMike · 09-08-18, 12:24 PM

Why not use infrared heat lamps for secondary heat? Pretty much instant response, very easily throttled with an ordinary light dimmer, and are very good at delivering the heat where it's needed.

In a cold climate without cheap heating fuel, I would get some used servers and dual mine earnhoney and Monero on them to get "subsidized" electric heat. At current difficulty, such a setup can easily end up cheaper to run than a heat pump or even generate a profit if the CPUs are new enough.

zorander6 · 10-10-18, 09:23 AM

During the winters the Ex liked the house at 75 F. I'm more comfortable at 67 F but am slowly building tolerance to get down to 65 F and using a space heater when I'm cold. As for the AC until I get some debt paid down and get my finances a little more in order I won't have the money to replace the condenser and furnace (want to do it all at once and go high E if at all possible.) I also can't easily get equipment into the back yard to install a ground source heat pump because the houses are too close together unless I can either bribe or get to know the neighbors behind me, take the fence out and hope whatever equipment clears the power lines.

I've gotten my average daily usage (with the window units off) down to less than 15 Kwh/day most days. Need to set the dryer to blow the heat back into the house for winter though. I have so much time now that I'm not doing all that laundry I almost don't know what to do with myself. :P

zorander6 · 10-16-18, 08:36 AM

Finally programmed the thermostat to set the house to 60 while I'm at work and 67 when I get home. Drops to 63 overnight and warms up a bit when I get up in the morning. Might set the overnight to 60 as well but still debating it. Furnace isn't running much but it's gotten chilly early here. Of course this is swimming weather for people from Minnesota but still.

zorander6 · 01-21-19, 03:38 PM

So after a particularly nasty snow storm (for my region) I lost power for about 13-16 hours (not sure exactly when it went out.) Over that time the temperature only dropped about 1 degree per hour which considering some of the leakage around the sliding glass door and a couple of the windows I thought was pretty decent.

Thankfully no damage done to the house but definitely need to start getting some of the loose ends taken care of like the sliding door. Maybe if I get a tax refund this year that will be the first thing I do after I drop some money into my truck (yes I know it's not fuel efficient, no I am not buying a more efficient car at this time.)

Daox · 01-24-19, 04:29 PM

I drop my temperature to 50F at night and while nobody is in the house. An extra set of covers on the bed and I don't notice a thing. As long as it warms up before I get up (and it does), I'm more than happy.

I am very glad that you were able to last out the power outtage! Those can be an un-fun time in the cold.

zorander6 · 01-25-19, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

I drop my temperature to 50F at night and while nobody is in the house. An extra set of covers on the bed and I don't notice a thing. As long as it warms up before I get up (and it does), I'm more than happy.

I am very glad that you were able to last out the power outtage! Those can be an un-fun time in the cold.

Definitely not fun but did make me feel a little better about not tearing the walls out and re-insulating. That's about the only thing they did right when they remodeled the house before I bought it. I'm just hoping that we have more than one weekend of spring this year so I can do some of the wall work I want to do. (IE replacing a few windows and the door.)

zorander6 · 02-04-19, 10:14 AM

Got the front door mostly re-sealed, not seeing light around it except for right around one of the hinges (ran out of the seal and didn't bother cutting more yet.) Door is a little harder to close than I'd like but that will break in over time. Not a 100% seal but definitely better than before. Probably need to replace the bottom seal as well.

zorander6 · 02-11-19, 09:40 AM

Goodbye allergies..............kind of. For years I wanted to get rid of the carpet in the house and the ex refused to let me do so (we couldn't afford new flooring but still.) Got bored this weekend and pulled the carpet up in one of the rooms and discovered a nice wood floor that needs some TLC.

Tore the hallway out where the cats marked and also the dining room. Now just need to do the living room, library, and take the laminate flooring out of the master bedroom (why you would put cheap laminate over a good wood floor boggles the mind.)

09-08-18, 12:24 PM	#13
NiHaoMike Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,154 Thanks: 14 Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts	Why not use infrared heat lamps for secondary heat? Pretty much instant response, very easily throttled with an ordinary light dimmer, and are very good at delivering the heat where it's needed. In a cold climate without cheap heating fuel, I would get some used servers and dual mine earnhoney and Monero on them to get "subsidized" electric heat. At current difficulty, such a setup can easily end up cheaper to run than a heat pump or even generate a profit if the CPUs are new enough. __________________ To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...

01-24-19, 04:29 PM	#17
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I drop my temperature to 50F at night and while nobody is in the house. An extra set of covers on the bed and I don't notice a thing. As long as it warms up before I get up (and it does), I'm more than happy. I am very glad that you were able to last out the power outtage! Those can be an un-fun time in the cold. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

09-05-18, 11:35 PM	#11
u3b3rg33k Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Rustbelt, USA Posts: 114 Thanks: 5 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	a 300W blower motor that contributes its waste heat as strip heat shouldn't hurt COP much. either way those must be some really poor heat pumps. I know people much further north than TX that are in areas not served by natural gas who live on heat pumps. all of them save tons of money by coming up with strategies to avoid strip heat, not use it!

09-05-18, 11:48 PM	#12
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Heat pumps don't blast out the toasty hot air like gas furnaces and electric heat strips. The fan runs longer too. For many people, the house never seems quite warm enough. I don't know what to tell you, I'm saving loads of cash running my heat pump. At the house I'm in now, the HVAC guy had rigged up the defrost control wrong. The first winter electric bill told me something was awry. I quickly figured out the outdoor thermistor was plugged in backwards. The outdoor unit thought it was minus a hundred degrees always, so the unit was running a full defrost cycle every time it could. I have been saving money heating the house ever since. It's nothing fancy. Good man contractor grade system that was installed when the house was built.

10-10-18, 09:23 AM	#14
zorander6 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	During the winters the Ex liked the house at 75 F. I'm more comfortable at 67 F but am slowly building tolerance to get down to 65 F and using a space heater when I'm cold. As for the AC until I get some debt paid down and get my finances a little more in order I won't have the money to replace the condenser and furnace (want to do it all at once and go high E if at all possible.) I also can't easily get equipment into the back yard to install a ground source heat pump because the houses are too close together unless I can either bribe or get to know the neighbors behind me, take the fence out and hope whatever equipment clears the power lines. I've gotten my average daily usage (with the window units off) down to less than 15 Kwh/day most days. Need to set the dryer to blow the heat back into the house for winter though. I have so much time now that I'm not doing all that laundry I almost don't know what to do with myself. :P

10-16-18, 08:36 AM	#15
zorander6 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Finally programmed the thermostat to set the house to 60 while I'm at work and 67 when I get home. Drops to 63 overnight and warms up a bit when I get up in the morning. Might set the overnight to 60 as well but still debating it. Furnace isn't running much but it's gotten chilly early here. Of course this is swimming weather for people from Minnesota but still.

01-21-19, 03:38 PM	#16
zorander6 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	So after a particularly nasty snow storm (for my region) I lost power for about 13-16 hours (not sure exactly when it went out.) Over that time the temperature only dropped about 1 degree per hour which considering some of the leakage around the sliding glass door and a couple of the windows I thought was pretty decent. Thankfully no damage done to the house but definitely need to start getting some of the loose ends taken care of like the sliding door. Maybe if I get a tax refund this year that will be the first thing I do after I drop some money into my truck (yes I know it's not fuel efficient, no I am not buying a more efficient car at this time.)

02-04-19, 10:14 AM	#19
zorander6 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Got the front door mostly re-sealed, not seeing light around it except for right around one of the hinges (ran out of the seal and didn't bother cutting more yet.) Door is a little harder to close than I'd like but that will break in over time. Not a 100% seal but definitely better than before. Probably need to replace the bottom seal as well.

02-11-19, 09:40 AM	#20
zorander6 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Goodbye allergies..............kind of. For years I wanted to get rid of the carpet in the house and the ex refused to let me do so (we couldn't afford new flooring but still.) Got bored this weekend and pulled the carpet up in one of the rooms and discovered a nice wood floor that needs some TLC. Tore the hallway out where the cats marked and also the dining room. Now just need to do the living room, library, and take the laminate flooring out of the master bedroom (why you would put cheap laminate over a good wood floor boggles the mind.)