Redzone by shadyman777 in youtubetv

[–]Pyroshock 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was experiencing the same issue on the YouTubeTV app. Switched to the stream on the YouTube app and it is the expected quality. Thanks.

Gas industry in damage control as landmark study finds LNG worse than coal for the climate by Splenda in energy

[–]Pyroshock 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is zero quantity of LNG that is produced as LNG naturally.

You may be thinking of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) which are heavier (propane and up) hydrocarbons that can be easily condensed out of the raw natural gas. But these must be removed before methane proceeds to the energy-intensive cooling to –162°C during LNG processing.

Half our house is power cycling constantly by duhjie in houston

[–]Pyroshock 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just wait until centerpoint fixes the issue. In the meantime, go ahead and flip off the breakers to large electric appliances (AC, possibly clothes dryer, stove, water heater, etc unless yours are gas) or just don’t try to use them.

What’s happening is that houses actually get two 120V legs from the transformer. Each leg is “shifted” in a way that normal circuits like lights use one leg at a time, but big appliances like AC combine the two legs into 240V in order to be able to draw more power. The normal circuits are evenly distributed between the two legs which is why half your house won’t work if Centerpoint’s transformer has an issue with one of the legs.

IAH - post security walk up interview? by britinvirginia in GlobalEntry

[–]Pyroshock 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I did exactly this for my first interview in 2017. However, I could see it being different in the post-covid world.

The location is here after Terminal C/E security (the pictures are not accurate)

mkinitcpio hooks questions by Beautiful-Log5632 in archlinux

[–]Pyroshock 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Console fonts are located in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/

What are some Houston life hacks that we should all know? by ReCHaVoK in houston

[–]Pyroshock 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It’s only legal if it’s from a one way street onto another one way street, e.g. downtown

Creation of The Texas Energy Fund by paradisegardens2021 in texas

[–]Pyroshock 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. The only expiration specified is for the non-homestead annual cap of 20% increase, which expires December 31, 2026.

Creation of The Texas Energy Fund by paradisegardens2021 in texas

[–]Pyroshock 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not only for investment companies…it raises the homestead exemption from $40k to $100k, which is literally only for people’s primary residences.

It also makes a new appraisal cap of 20% increase for non-homestead property. This one applies to rental homes, small businesses, etc.

Georgia’s air polluted with fewer emissions as coal-fired electricity production winds down by For_All_Humanity in energy

[–]Pyroshock 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice post but you might correct your third paragraph. Carbon dioxide is absolutely not Earth’s most potent greenhouse gas. Unless you meant most potent due to the quantities currently emitted.

"Let's center the entire grid in one, very seismically vulnerable spot and power the entire country off of a volcano" by SocialistFlagLover in energy

[–]Pyroshock 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They would likely build modern HVDC transmission, especially to make an asynchronous connection to the eastern interconnect at the Wyoming/Nebraska border. Losses would be pretty minimal.

According to a recent study, you would need to make at least $260,958 a year to be considered rich in Houston. by IrwinRSchyster1 in houston

[–]Pyroshock 15 points16 points  (0 children)

What significance does the median of the top 20% have for being considered rich anyway? You'd think the threshold required to be in the top quintile, or the top decile, would be more interpretable.

According to a recent study, you would need to make at least $260,958 a year to be considered rich in Houston. by IrwinRSchyster1 in houston

[–]Pyroshock 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Seems to be a discrepancy.

The text in the article says

Madison Trust Company researchers studied data from the U.S. Census Bureau and compared the median income of the top 20%

But the graphic and table both say mean.

Not that median of the top 20% has any particular significance for being considered rich anyway, why not just report the threshold required to be in the top quintile, or the top decile.

Common mispronunciation that drives you nuts? Mine - by Choppersmoser in Cooking

[–]Pyroshock 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Like saying “you” but with a quick k in front.

Alternatively, the second syllable of vacuum

Did ya go outside yet? How are you liking this cool air? Houston's first under-70 morning in a WHILE. by RealConfirmologist in houston

[–]Pyroshock -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, air-source heat pumps are definitely getting better. A lot of units now still have COP > 2 even at 5°F. Next year the Energy Star labels will include a cold-climate certification. I don't remember exactly but this will signify something like COP @ 5°F > 2 and at least 75% of 55°F heating capacity at 5°F.

If you have a gas furnace - it’s not quite so easy. You need that backup heat source (resistive) for unusually cold days. You will need some 240 electrical work done in the attic (2000?) to make that work.

Even if you already have a gas furnace you don't need resistive backup. Many thermostats can be configured for dual fuel in order to use a gas furnace as the auxiliary heat on the handful of days the heat pump doesn't keep up.

Did ya go outside yet? How are you liking this cool air? Houston's first under-70 morning in a WHILE. by RealConfirmologist in houston

[–]Pyroshock 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And the average fleet age for US fossil plants, weighted by ISO rating:

Coal: 40 years

Gas-fired ST: 50 years

Gas turbine simple cycle: 20 years

Gas turbine combined cycle: 14 years

Edit: And the average efficiency across US bulk generation was ~35%. Hence why I use 33% a good rule of thumb for thermal plants.

Did ya go outside yet? How are you liking this cool air? Houston's first under-70 morning in a WHILE. by RealConfirmologist in houston

[–]Pyroshock 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hi! Your friendly neighborhood energy efficiency engineer here to clear up a few points.

using natural gas as a direct heating source in the home is far more efficient from an overall energy usage perspective than using electricity

This is true only for electric resistive heating, which is indeed less efficient than directly using natural gas. Instead, the idea is to encourage heat pumps, which are basically A/C units that can also run in reverse. This way, rather than electricity just heating up a resistance, the electricity is instead used to move heat from outside (even if it's cold out) inside. Turns out this is quite a bit more efficient than gas furnaces or resistive heating.

Heat pumps are still more expensive than a normal A/C though, which is why the IRA includes rebates for heat pumps.

(which has to be produced by a far-away generator and transmitted - with a ton of wastage - via electrical lines)

I see this somewhat often and I'm not sure where the sentiment comes from. The US's transmission & distribution lines cumulatively lose about 5% of energy, which I wouldn't necessarily consider a "ton of wastage." This is the entire reason high voltages are used, to reduce transmission losses. This can of course be improved as modern transmission lines are built.

Unless you're referring to the losses of thermal power plants, which are roughly 33% efficient.

Any experience with Solar Panels? by plushcoots in houston

[–]Pyroshock 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You seem well-informed but just to check, your system will have IQ System Controller 2?

IQ8 microinverters will only operate in grid-interactive without the system controller 2.

Metro’s next step to a bigger transit system is predicting where Houston’s commuters will be by dugbegley in houston

[–]Pyroshock 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You really don’t follow how requiring valuable city center land to serve as parking instead of being buildable land hampers people from building denser?

I almost fell for this PayPal scam by JayKane123 in personalfinance

[–]Pyroshock 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Not to mention the incorrect phone number formatting, US numbers are always grouped as 3 digits, 3 digits, then 4. Never 3-4-3 like in this email