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#541 | ||||
Supreme EcoRenovator
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
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![]() Quote:
I bought a Sparkfun Log-o-Matic that I used for a DIY data logger. It does analog or digital reading, but not both. Then somebody named Kwan wrote a new firmware for it, and I believe that it will allow both. I've downloaded the Kwan firmware but haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I like it that I can use analog (which is good enough) or 1-wire which would give me extra sensors. Quote:
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Thanks, James for all the good ideas and links! Best Regards, -AC_Hacker
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I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 11-11-11 at 11:01 AM.. |
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#542 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 6
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![]() I tough a bit after reading a bit all pages of this thread.
You could easily add a big tank of water to get some storage so when it's really cold you're not using any back-up heater. There could be better savings with a big tank here as there's some bi-energy discount (electric heat when temp is more than 5f,fuel heat when below 5f) ie you're paying around half price for electricity when it's more than 5f outside but you're paying 4x when it's below that. So someone could heat a massive tank say 1000gal when it's more than 5f and shut down the pump when it's too cold to get more savings...Maybe I'll try something like that when I'll buy a house this year.... A big question for you, I really like the way your condenser is set-up, would there be a lot of losses by running glycol in a radiator outside instead of having real condenser outside? Last edited by morphector; 02-01-11 at 09:01 PM.. |
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#543 | |
Supreme EcoRenovator
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
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![]() "Insulate, insulate, insulate"
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I've been thinking about something similar myself... being able to switch from a ground loop HX to a air-radiator HX... depending on if the air is warmer than the ground. If you had the same water-glycol mix in both loops, it would pretty much just be a plumbing issue. I think the energy to drive a fan would be greater than the energy to drive a pump, by how much I don't know. I think the 1000 gallon tank idea is a good one. You'd need to figure how many pounds of water you'd have, and figure how much heat you'd put into it (@ 120F max), and how much heat you'd take out (@ 34F min) and calculate the BTUs you'd get out, and then knowing the heat loss/hour of your house that you'd likely suffer during a cold snap, you could calculate how much good the tank would do you. You really need to know the heat load of your house to make any informed decisions about tank sizing, though. It is a very important piece of information. And don't forget, "Insulate, insulate, insulate". -AC_Hacker
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I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 02-04-11 at 12:53 AM.. |
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#544 |
Super Moderator
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 964
Thanks: 189
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![]() My car's radiator fan is something like 180-200 watts. Our small desktop fan is 35-45 watts. It all depends on how much air you need to move...
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Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog. |
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#545 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: St. Louis, MO - USA
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![]() Hey all,
Just wanted to drop a link in for those of you who are in the "doing stage" of things. I have been glued to this guys' website this morning, and really like what I see. I posted his link yesterday in the Radian Heat section, but it seems it may be appropriate here as well. This person seems to have a heart and willingness for the questions/concerns of the DIY'er and claims to offer his experience to anyone with a DIY challenge: "Please feel free to contact me regarding anything to do with radiant panel heating, snowmelt, Solar thermal, Geothermal and PEX based plumbing systems." ~ Tom Tesmar That said, he may be a great resource for some of you to reach out to. Disclaimer: This is not a plug for his business, I do not know this person whatsoever. I just really liked some of the info he gives on his website and the appearance of his willingness to help the DIY guy. Here is the link Radiant Heat |
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The Following User Says Thank You to Jay-Cee For This Useful Post: | AC_Hacker (02-02-11) |
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#546 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 6
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![]() Stopped by my local pick-a-part yard and scored 8 hi and lo side sensors off late-model car AC units. I was in luck as the dealer was just starting to crush about 1000 cars and told me I could have what I wanted, as far as sensors go.
My shop air-compressor will do up to 250 PSIg so soon as I can make a jig to fit the sensors, I'll start testing. As a side note, all of the cars were using 135a. Looking at my Water-Furnace, sitting in the middle of the control board is a Pic-Micro. I don't see why you could not use an AVR. As far as the multiple sensor "branches" you want to run. There is a HUGE amount of 1-wire source for the AVR. Multiple branches could easily be handled by a single AVR acting as Master. I plan on implementing either a AtTiny13 or an MSP430 as a combo Pressure and Temperature 1-wire slave; as an initial trial. This is assuming the sensors I picked up today show to be of practical use. In closing, I was wondering if you had thought of the start-up and shutdown procedures for your GSHP. For instance, you have ~200 feet of loop containing ~190 gallons (3/4" pipe) of water/solution (~8.3 lb/gal) traveling at 3 ft/sec. I could be way off here, but if M*V=I then (190*8.3) * 3 = 4731ft/lb. again I could be way out. If you were to instantly shut off the pump, would this not cause undue wear on the pump? In addition if you shut off the pump at the same time you shut off the compressor, do you not also have heat that would go "unused". My unit both gradually reduces the speed of the loop (over ~30 seconds) and has a "cool down" period (~2 min.). Best wishes, James |
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#547 | ||||
Supreme EcoRenovator
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
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Great work. There may be a problem with sensors built for R-134a, but we won't know until we try. Can you spost some photos of the sensors? Where in the car are they located? Did they just come off with a wrench? Quote:
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You can use it with the Arduino environment or WinAVR. Quote:
I hadn't thought so much about having a soft stop. I may be wrong, but I think that centrifugal pumps don't have a problem with hard stops, because the fluid can continue to push on through after the pump stops. And how would you create a soft stop? I'll be around intil tomorrow evening, then I will be out of touch for a week and a half, retreating to a sunnier clime. I should return and be back online by Feb 15 or 16. Thanks for your work. Be well, -AC_Hacker * * *
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I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... |
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#548 | ||||
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 6
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Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
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![]() Quote:
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One thing I forgot to mention, several models had TXOs. Hummmm, wonder if we could re-purpose these... Quote:
Regardless of the family of chip you choose to work with (AVR, MSP430, Blackfin, Atom, Geo, etc.); your starting point should be a list of what you expect the chip to accomplish with regard to your solution/project. Then take a hard look at the Data and Errata sheets for each chip you would like to use. If you check-off each item in your list and there is still functionality left in your chip you have a winner. PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) driver for the circulation pump(s). PWM would give you the ability to implement both "soft-stops" and "soft-starts". IMHO mechanical things HATE sudden change. Mass likes to start moving slowly then accelerate through a smooth curve, logarithmically. The converse is also true. On start-up we increase the "duty-cycle" until we reach the operating voltage of the loop pump. On shut-down, we walk the "duty-cycle" down until we reach 0. Most controllers implement PWM so most of the hard work has already been done. I use this for fan speed, augar, and loop pump control on my outside wood furnace. Quote:
Best regards, James Last edited by Jazzoo; 02-04-11 at 06:09 AM.. Reason: Missed it deu. |
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#549 |
Lurking Renovator
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: winnipeg
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![]() this is very cool. last up date was some time ago, where you at now a days with this?
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#550 |
Journeyman EcoRenovator
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Seattle
Posts: 326
Thanks: 109
Thanked 23 Times in 18 Posts
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![]() Three posts up.......... Incognito..........
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Tags |
air conditioner, diy, gshp, heat pump, homemade |
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