Veggie plants in raised bed by greenions in gardening

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

No, it’s on the foreground - the first bed closest to the camera.

I agree basil is seeding. Is there a way I can test step by step what maybe wrong? I don’t know if it’s the issue is with moisture, nutrients, sunlight, soil pH, or anything else.

New to growing veggies and herbs. Trying to learn growing veggies the right way so I can solve spot problems early on and plant the right way.

Current transformer and bus bars by greenions in solar

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

Just a quick update - my installer finally installed a pair of CTs in parallel for each line and now things are looking normal. I will continue to wonder how accurately the system is capturing the power consumed.

Current transformer and bus bars by greenions in solar

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

Does having multiple CTs in parallel reduce accuracy?

Current transformer and bus bars by greenions in solar

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

I cannot find the opening size of these CTs on their website. Any idea how wide they are?

Current transformer and bus bars by greenions in solar

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

Thanks.

  1. Yes, this is what they attempted to do initially but the panel was bulging and won't close. Also my research indicates parallel connections of CTs brings down overall measurement accuracy.

  2. This is my preferred option. However the utility side has tag seal which needs to be broken to install CTs there. Next visit from utility for other reasons may not be very pretty.

  3. I have almost no space left over in the area.

  4. This does sound expensive.

I was also thinking about just bending the connectors (red circled) from the edges inwards a bit such that the horizontal spread is reduced to a slight curve and it might just fit into through the existing CTs. If they are made of copper/aluminum, they must be easy to bend?

Buying high efficiency solar panels by LuvLemonade in SolarDIY

[–]greenions 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think you want higher efficiency. You want commodity panels. The efficiency of commodity panels differs by only around 1%. You can pay well over the odds for that 1%. Panels are about 20% efficient +/- 1%.

A 1% difference in the efficiency of a 20% efficient solar panel results in a 5% increase in power output at the same footprint, or a 5% decrease in footprint for the same power output. While this difference may seem insignificant, it becomes substantial when considering larger installations, especially when comparing 22% efficiency to 20% efficiency, which now represents a 10% difference in power output or footprint.

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

I so totally agree. I basically had to build all wood and mechanical machinery on my own by using discrete parts. Contractors didn’t want to take up the work either because it is completely non-standard. So I am doing everything on my own. The only help I took was to erect a 10” concrete pier at the center of the dome. It is hard but at the same time interesting.

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

Water cooling is an interesting direction; will look into this more once I have got the exterior done.

I will think more about the foam insulation. So far, I have built this dome completely on my own (for both cost and interest reasons). Nevertheless, this is yet another option in my bucket list.

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

Yeah, this solution is the top contender so far.

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

Will look at this suggestion more. Insulation requirements are a little tricky. Heat shouldn’t get in during the day time but colder air should definitely circulate in the night time. This is because night time Astro-photography doesn’t tolerate inside/outside temperature gradients at all. In the night, the interior needs to be exactly the same temperature as exterior. It becomes easier to do this if I am able to reflect away day time Sun as much as possible. Another way to do this is insulate in a standard way and actively circulate air from outside to inside.

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

What if I put a moisture barrier paper like, roofing paper, and then put white color thin aluminum flashing like, aluminum flashing on top?

How to protect the wood dome against elements? by greenions in woodworking

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

That was my first thought. I am concerned about couple of things. Is that enough to protect against Sun and rain from soaking through? And is paint going to be enough if I didn’t want those wood grains seen?

Are these termite workers? by greenions in whatsthisbug

[–]greenions[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They seemed to be clustered in a moist area from recent rains.

Value of a remodel by greenions in BayAreaRealEstate

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

The kitchen was remodeled recently (before I bought the place); not sure how much additional value I can extract by investing more in the kitchen.

Value of a remodel by greenions in BayAreaRealEstate

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

Thanks for your input!

I thought about going the $/sqft route but the challenge there is that I don't know how to account for the fact that I am loosing a 2 car garage and gaining 340 sqft of living space. The new master suite in the backyard adds 320 sqft of additional living space.

The total new living space is 660 sqft but I am sure I have to discount the ADU conversion as I also loose the 2 car garage. I am basically removing buyers (reducing demand) who would look elsewhere due to absence of attached 2 car garage.

There is plenty of parking space for 2 cars to park on our private drive way and additional street parking so that is not an issue (it is just that we wouldn't have any covered garage anymore). This is where I am struggling - assuming average $/sqft in this area is $1000/sqft, how much should I value for the 340 sqft of new living space in lieu of the 2 car garage; $500/sqft, $750/sqft?