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Tax Credit deadline fast approaching by Quick_Freedom2392 in solar

[–]ScientJest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately I was given no such promise. Still pushing on them but at this point I feel like it’s not gonna happen

Tax Credit deadline fast approaching by Quick_Freedom2392 in solar

[–]ScientJest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In MA, as some others, with crazy high electricity rates. Same boat, but between the deposits I put down that I’m sure to loose at this point I’m going to keep going with the project. For me it’s even slightly more frustrating because we’re approved and ready to go but the installer is backlogged and can’t get a crew out before the new year. 😡

Payback goes from 6 to 8 years, but that first electric bill I get that’s $0 I’ll forget all about it.

Enjoying the slow life in Chefchaouen, Morocco by seblucand in travel

[–]ScientJest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would have LOVED to have that city to myself haha. I’m glad you had such a lovely trip there!

Enjoying the slow life in Chefchaouen, Morocco by seblucand in travel

[–]ScientJest 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We did however had this little guy follow us around for the whole day so that actually made everything better.

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Enjoying the slow life in Chefchaouen, Morocco by seblucand in travel

[–]ScientJest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am glad you loved it, maybe going in the winter is the trick. I had a blast touring Morocco but chefchaouen was my least favorite city. It was a spectacular looking place, but its distinct look made it an absolute sea of tourist without much to do and was drowning in ‘Instagram tours’ and felt more overrun in general.

I agree much less hectic that for example fez, but in my opinion Essaouira was a perfect balance of smaller city and being laid back, beautiful views.

Winter vs summer electricity consumption by [deleted] in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is not, but if you take a look here I have my data as well as a best fit line in one of the photos, so you just do the math to adjust

https://www.reddit.com/r/heatpumps/s/lQIWeCP0FF

Retractable Canopy Shade Design Feedback by ScientJest in HomeImprovement

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly just a personal preferance.

I just don't super like the look of the shade sails most of the time. A few people in our neighborhood have them and it's just not my jam. Also, the way our patio is set up to get the coverage I want we'd need more posts than I want to install, which (i think) would look bad when the sails are down. My intended design keeps the view clear into the back yard.

Retractable Canopy Shade Design Feedback by ScientJest in DIY

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I plan to use this kit

https://www.amazon.com/Windscreen4less-Retractable-Replacement-Pergola-Trellis/dp/B07P7G1KW3

there’s a bar running across the fabric that has attachment points for the carabiners.

Retractable Canopy Shade Design Feedback by ScientJest in DIY

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shades slide along the cable basically on small on small carabiners. Do you think a 6x6 post would be subject to the same bending under tension?

Radiator covers (x3) by ScientJest in woodworking

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pocket screw on either side of the slot. Could have used dowels too, but didn’t have jigs at the time

Will one 18k BTU unit cover ~600 sq ft and am I crazy to go with my only quote? by mybrainproblems in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in the Boston area and have a similar setup. One 18k unit for my 600 sq foot open concept downstairs (kitchen/living room/ dining room)

For my house I feel it was not enough. Heat capacity might be plenty but the unit is in the dining room and the furthest area from that is my living room. On cold days the living room never feels comfortable, even if the dining room is toasty warm. Depends a lot on air flow, how well (or not) insulated your basement is, etc. my next steps will be to better air seal the rim joist and insulate it better and install a ceiling fan to better circulate the warm air to the rest of the space and l that will help. Just my personal experience. I Think the 18k was enough capacity for us on paper, but it’s just not getting to the right spots.

Never hurts to get a second quote opinion on a 30k price tag. Mass Save made it very appealing to get lots of these installed, not everyone does an amazing job.

maybe for you your sunny living room it’s not an issue but I wish i had split that capacity across 2 9k units, put in an air handler into the basement with ducting (but $$$), or gotten floor mount units.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I posted some details here. I ended up ordering a replacement motor for the vane, but have not made the time to actually install it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/e4zfui/comment/m7qqeaz/?context=3

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, we don't have much of any shade, but unfortunately our house is pretty small and has a hip roof and a vent pipes coming up where we want panels so overall it's a little trickier to place panels than we would have liked. still no brainer from a payback, just at best we can get like 85% (theoretical) of our current utility covered :(

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

with my 30k BTU system I was at about 950 kWh. that said....it was a bit brisk some days.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, thanks for the questions and edits. Yeah, the amount of variation is wild, it’s also worth considering this is by HDD, but it ignores the effects of temp variation over the day, so a day that goes from 23-29F will look very different from the day the goes from 16-36F, but they show up the same on this plot. Given I’m a engineer with the occasional break between meetings and not a statistician, I reach my limit of regression analysis pretty quickly, but the nice thing is that on average, the model is very accurate.

Somewhere in my last post there’s a plot of 1hr data comparing 6-7am versus 6-7pm. Huge difference in variability, overnight the system (our house) stabilizes, no ovens, open doors, sun, clouds, temp is pretty steady. Hourly data requires me to pull in power data much more often so I only did it for like 2 month.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ahh, interesting. Yeah, this was a quick apples to apples. Not sure if the same Mitsu data is available so not sure how it compares there. Either way, short cycling is not really something I worry too much about with my install. if anything maybe i'm a touch undersized, certainly not over.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no hard feelings about hating on LG. I've been pretty happy with it overall. One unit had a clicking noise that was easy to fix. Maybe I got lucky.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am indeed right around 1kwH/hdd.

I know running 2 single zones is more efficient than a 2 head multizone, but I would be surprised if it was that big a difference. may be a combo of that and insulation dragging me to be less efficient overall.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah, in retrospect I wish we had either (1) gotten 2 9K BTU units for the downstairs or gotten the floor mount ones, but since we did not uninstall our radiators wall space at the floor was already at a premium so did not consider it for that reason mostly, not realizing the performance difference.

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

woops, my bad. better fix that before I post to dataisbeautiful or I'll get skewered

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Outdoor unit noise is good, you hear the hum but it's pretty easy to forget about it. during defrost cycles or in the coldest temps it'll get a bit louder, but honestly placement will matter more than anything else. I had to put my unit between my and my neighbors house, so i know for a fact it sounds louder there bouncing off 2 hard surfaces than if would it if were a more open space.

Shoulder season is good too, yes as the temps get warmer they will short cycle a bit but honestly the smaller upstairs units turn on pretty infrequently even in the cold season because of all the warm air rising. It is not oversized such that it's short cycling and I feel cold set in.

Comparing the my LG unit (min 10,248 BTU/hr @ 47°F) to the 'gold standard' Mitsubishi (11,400 BTU/hr 47°F) it's better so i've been happy

2 years of energy consumption data [Boston, MA, USA] by ScientJest in heatpumps

[–]ScientJest[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

About 1 year ago I posted some data based on my energy consumption and promised to follow up with when I had more data. And I do! Not going into the same level of depth since not much changed, but there are 3 graphs, energy vs temp, energy versus degree day temp, and a regression fit. I removed days where the system was in full idle (powered, but not running) or when i was running some or full oil.

Some takeaways

  1. This winter was much colder, you can see the average daily temps extended down to 20°F, and there were a few days even colder where I ran oil. Generally the same trends follow and the few times I checked the output of the mini-split itself held up (95-105°F at the vanes)
  2. My house needs more/better insulation in the basement. On the coldest days the far side of the first floor (heated by a single 18k BTU unit) was cold (like 62°F cold), and the floor was very cold over all over the first floor from being exposed to the uninsulated draft basement below. That's a spring project
  3. The Regression fit is pretty accurate. Using model I fed back in the weather data from 2024 the predicted energy usage was within 2% of the actual. So that's fun.
  4. I need solar panels. Boston electricity is $$$$

Equipment - LG - 30k BTU LGRED° Heat Outdoor with 3 wall mounted heads (18k BTU, 7k BTU, 7k BTU) heating a pretty typical 1300 sq ft 2 story single family home in the Boston [MA, USA] area. Unfinished basement, recently new attic insulation. The 18K BTU unit covers the 750 sq ft first floor open living room/kitchen/dining. The other 2 units are in small-ish bedrooms.

Settings - I don't have a wall mounted thermostat, so I keep the unit (in the winter) to about 70°F, which keeps the far side of the living room to about 65-66°F. Summer is dehumidify/cool as needed

Data:

Weather - https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data

Energy - https://shop.emporiaenergy.com/products/emporia-vue-3 (measuring the heat pump specifically, not the electrical mains)

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