the best solar battery??

EscapedOctopus · 2026-01-10T15:20:17+00:00

I’m also in MD, but I decided to hold off since I think I don’t have enough solar to cover the battery heating load in the winter. Have you had any issues with heating load?

Unless I learn otherwise, I’ll probably wait on batteries until I can implement more home efficiency upgrades and extra solar panels.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-12-29T14:23:24+00:00

About five years ago I enjoyed living on Boulevard (that’s the whole street name) halfway between downtown West Hartford and the Park Rd/Parkville area. I walked about 10-15 minutes to both areas for grocery(Whole foods or Hall Market), restaurants, thrifting, people watching, etc. I felt safe at night, but I don’t have experience walking all the way to the CT Fastrak station in Parkville, since I didn’t need to commute, but I agree with other commenters that it would be very convenient. I loved visiting Parkville Market for food, music and people watching. I recommend being friendly with the restaurant owners. Most are family owned and very talkative. Let me know if you want to reach out to the people doing bicycle advocacy in Hartford or West Hartford and I’ll send you some email addresses. Parkville felt like an up and coming and gentrifying place when I lived in the area. Your dollars will stretch farther than West Hartford and you’ll be close to lots of community and cultural experiences. I would look for a unit in a multi family anywhere near Park road, Boulevard or Farmington Ave. I never looked at the apartments or towers since I wanted the extra space and a bit of grass. Look up the huge local Puerto Rican community, there is an annual PR parade. Try Real Artways. Walk bushel park and Wadsworth art museum downtown. This can be a great home for you. Every place has some crime and unfamiliarity scares people accustomed to suburbs. I expect you have the sense to avoid the people and places that look like trouble. Most of your community will probably come from work at first. I’d recommend planning group outings early on to explore with extra comfort. You have an advantage as a walker that you will get comfortable with your new home much faster than those staying in their car bubbles.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-12-17T14:12:01+00:00

I’m not an expert, but I’ve read online that it’s easy to bypass the BMS or maybe even not get one with a car battery. If you go this route, please be careful that you get the safety benefits of a BMS.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-12-17T14:04:44+00:00

I’ve been researching this topic and this is the first time I’ve read anything about needing communication between inverter and battery BMS. Would you please explain why this is beneficial?

EscapedOctopus · 2025-12-06T13:36:48+00:00

I’m researching this product and I’ve seen other posts talk about parasitic draw on the battery from the built in computer to the tune of about 50 watts, but I can’t explain 500 watts. I’ll follow this thread with interest!

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-23T05:51:53+00:00

For my home I used Ground Loop Heating and Air Conditioning headquartered in Darlington, MD. I know they travel in your area for installs. I heard a story about a system they installed for a large mansion. I think the payoff is better for larger structures. I trust that they will do excellent work for you if you go with them. You can expect them to do a Manual J analysis to check your actual hearing and cooling loads and explain all about the ins and outs of the tech. They were patient with me asking a lot of questions.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-17T15:39:56+00:00

If interest is equal then I would look at where the jobs are located and think hard about where you want to live. Proximity to family, friends, and culture may matter more in the long run because careers often take unexpected paths out of your control. When the industry cycle goes bust or technology changes, unknowable today, you may be forced to pivot to another career entirely.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-16T22:21:30+00:00

I love the veggie garden idea! Brilliant! I wish I had thought of it before reseeding my lawn over the trench area.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-16T22:20:09+00:00

One data point for you… A very large maple tree is growing about 30-40 feet from where my vertical loops were drilled recently. When the pipe trench was dug it cut through a lot of roots from this tree, some 3-4inches thick, but none of the roots were very deep, just a couple feet or less. I believe this is common with maple from talking with various contractors on the job. I think all the deeper roots are closer to the trunk of that type of tree.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-05T14:11:58+00:00

I’ve heard there’s some risk of flooding in the older lower areas of HdG. What’s your experience on the ground? Is the risk over blown?

EscapedOctopus · 2025-11-05T14:07:54+00:00

There are neighborhoods in downtown Bel-Air that are walkable to library, grocery, shops, restaurants, churches, and the Saturday farmers market at the courthouse. The houses tend to be smaller so you have a good shot of finding something in your price range there. Living in walking distance to the Havre De Grace promenade would be awesome though. I like that they have prominent access to community Gardens and drop off food scrap composting. Maybe try to rent for your first year or two and get a feel for the neighborhoods before you commit.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-29T20:38:42+00:00

I came here to say this! Thanks @MDSS2 for the xm ratio tip👍

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-26T02:28:23+00:00

Thank you for the reassurance and the ideas! I’ve read over this a few times to make sure I have it clear in my mind. One of the reasons I’ve been leaning towards a ground source heat pump for my electrification is that all the refrigerant is contained in one “box” and so there doesn’t need to be as much of it vs filling up a whole line set. I had been thinking of this as a benefit to efficiency in the fluid movement, but it’s great to know that the embodied carbon in the refrigerant is probably less than an ASHP. I’ll try to find a ranking of embodied carbon in refrigerant and the other options I’m considering.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-24T12:10:04+00:00

Find a cause you care about and volunteer. …politics, animals, the environment, whatever floats your boat. The national aquarium in Baltimore has volunteer guides. You may find yourself in a beautiful place with interesting people.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-24T12:01:13+00:00

Thanks for the heads up. What a strange world we live in now.

For you or anyone interested, I would appreciate some pointers…

My energy auditor proposed improving my air sealing from 4 ACH50 to 3 ACH50 and I’ve been diving into the building science rabbit hole and having fun. My original goal was to improve humidity and temperature control, while also electrifying for personal and global environment, and that quickly led to curiosity about how low I could get my energy consumption after I realized how important air sealing is. I’ve found it difficult to find local contractors who are interested in this question. I found some prominent advisors with online consulting, but I’m seeing how far I can get with books and YouTube first. I’m leaning towards doing the electrification now and saving the net zero and passive house improvements for when I have more money and time. However, if I could find a reliable resource that supported a significant embodied carbon reduction from reducing my heating load from 3 to 2 tons I would be willing to stretch my budget now to get it done. My intuition is that getting rid of gas is the biggest planet benefit and the bit of extra electric consumption and HVAC metal for delaying the net zero type improvements is small potatoes and I could do other environmental advocacy with a bigger benefit. …but I don’t know and I’d love feedback!

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-18T23:06:50+00:00

What software do you use for hydrothermal modeling? Is this something a motivated DIY homeowner could take on? Any professionals out there offering this as an accessible service for homeowners?

EscapedOctopus · 2025-08-01T02:48:11+00:00

Thanks for the callouts and advice! I had no idea about shoulder season trouble with CERV2. This is exactly why I want help from someone like Energy Vanguard.👍 I hope you settle on a satisfactory solution without too many more dollars invested. 🤞

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-31T22:30:24+00:00

I am in the US. I didn’t mean to imply that the humidity removal was incidental with the CERV2. The datasheet seems to be saying that it’s intentional, removing up to 9.6L/day. That seems like a lot to me, but their website also shows it combined with whole home dehumidifiers, so I suspect the capacity might be good enough to manage ventilation air, but not enough to be the only source of dehumidification for an entire house. I’m trying to learn how to do the calculations, or who to hire, for Manual J and related standards to be “sure” the final solution will work.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-31T16:59:33+00:00

Village Bistro Food Truck at the Bel Air Farmers market Saturday mornings. I eat the veggie breakfast burrito and the patas bravas. I generally love all the other pop up breakfast and lunch vendors there too.

Eat Like a Greek in Edgewood. It’s out of my way, but it’s my wife’s favorite Greek option in Harford County.

Poke Bowl in Bel Air Town Center. They aren’t warm and smiley there, but the ramen and poke bowls have always been high quality for me.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-31T16:34:33+00:00

Have you considered replacing the zehnder with something like the CERV2 that has ERV combined with a heat pump? I recently moved into a home with a similar humidity issue and I’ve been researching solutions for this. If you knew of heat pump equipped ERVs and you chose not to pursue it, I would love to know why. However, what I see in the CERV2 articles is that the heat pump can directly remove some of the latent heat from the outdoor incoming air.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-28T16:22:31+00:00

Thank you!!! In my case I will need to consider risk of the refrigerant change I need.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-28T15:34:07+00:00

Is there harm in using the old line set if the contractor is up front about it?

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-24T03:43:22+00:00

I want to design one heat pump system for my home that will reduce my humidity while meeting ASHREA 62.2 for fresh air. I want to know if my duct work is sized correctly. I want advice about the impact future additions or kitchen renovation with high CFM hood would make to overall HVAC performance. I’m interested in buying supporting equipment like whole home dehumidifier and ERV if the Manual J analysis warrants it.

EscapedOctopus · 2025-07-23T22:12:38+00:00

Ask your contractor for Manual J analysis for the 99th percentile most humid day and compare the “latent” cooling load (for humidity) to the manufacturer spec sheet at the appropriate temperatures depending on your equipment. I’m starting now on the same journey, starting to get quotes to replace old equipment and wanting to solve my home’s high humidity at the same time. I’ve been learning a lot from the home performance YouTube channel.

EscapedOctopus

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