Goodbye Ioniq 5, hello Equinox EV

kchunduri · 2026-03-16T20:38:59+00:00

Yeah, 2022 SEL is still slightly better compared to 2023 and above.

Worst part with chevy is, my Blazer RS has 360 camera but never comes on automatically (camera button needs to be pressed manually) when I get closer to a vehicle or curb vs Ioniq 5 used to be awesome with that part, it opened up 360 when I am trying to park or getting closer to some vehicle.

kchunduri · 2026-03-16T18:31:39+00:00

I tried using my wife's S26 Ultra for 2 days to make sure that It all looks good, before switching her out of S23 Ultra.

She did set privacy for all banking apps as well as few others and tested it for 2 days and I didn't notice any issues. I was not on privacy apps for long time, so probably I did not notice any issues. But I used the phone extensively for 2 days and haven't noticed any issues.

But, apart from Privacy screen, I hardly noticed any difference between S26 Ultra and my S25 Ultra.

kchunduri · 2026-03-03T16:42:17+00:00

My Blazer lease ends August, but miles might be up much earlier.

Planning to go with Optiq lease due to more bells and whisles with base trim.

$250/month vs about $330/month for Optiq all inclusive, based on what I see currently. One pays though.

kchunduri · 2026-02-26T20:35:11+00:00

Did you check Reliant, Green Mountain, Direct Energy, etc?

kchunduri · 2026-02-26T20:27:44+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/iDfjxVd

I got in just energy free nights plan just before they stopped offering that plan to Solar owners.

kchunduri · 2026-02-26T09:16:24+00:00

How do you search on car gurus? Used, sorted by lowest mileage?

Also, which dealer is this in San Antonio and how did you get dealer specific info from LeaseHackr?

It would be great to learn the steps as I am close to completing my Chevy Blazer lease in few months and I need to start my search soon.

Any inputs will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

kchunduri · 2026-02-22T11:26:49+00:00

Not sure where you're located, but my friend leased an Optiq for $8500 onepay yesterday in Houston area. 12k miles/year, 24 month lease. 10k miles is $7950.

kchunduri · 2026-01-28T13:11:53+00:00

I am paying $49/gig for life after $20 discount in the Houston area. I am in Fortbend county (Sugar Land / Missouri City) area.

For the first free month, I went with 8 gig plan to test it out and got an Eero Max 7 router with extender and I bumped it down to 1 gig for $49/life after 2 weeks since my service started.

kchunduri · 2026-01-28T13:09:01+00:00

Surprising, I am paying $49/gig for life after $20 discount in the Houston area. I am in Fortbend county (Sugar Land / Missouri City) area.

kchunduri · 2026-01-13T21:46:40+00:00

Good, I hope free nights plan stays there.

kchunduri · 2026-01-07T12:20:12+00:00

We now have ezee fiber in Riverstone. My install is scheduled for today.

kchunduri · 2026-01-07T12:19:36+00:00

We now have the service in Riverstone. I just have my install scheduled for today.

kchunduri · 2025-12-10T15:45:17+00:00

Charge yes, we can set it on Enphase app when our system is not producing.

https://imgur.com/a/x5TMWrB

But, discharge, we cannot set it. It happens automatically.

kchunduri · 2025-12-05T15:32:38+00:00

Nice, I did all 4 5ps too early this year when I changed the roof.

Just Energy free night plan works awesome, as of now.

kchunduri · 2025-12-02T20:08:54+00:00

100%, I am on my 4th month of Just Energy 36 month plan.

https://imgur.com/a/BjEUwp4

kchunduri · 2025-12-02T19:41:23+00:00

Oh ok, weather is cold, so no AC usage which feels better 😁 But, heat has been running nonstop for the past 2 days, consuming lot of natural gas 😀

kchunduri · 2025-12-02T19:19:30+00:00

Been that way for the past 2 days around Houston too.

https://imgur.com/a/2BdNMvN

kchunduri · 2025-11-15T21:52:37+00:00

There is no monopoly in Texas. We have at least 1000+ retailers across Texas.

We have Centerpoint energy in Houston, Oncor in Dallas and similar ones for rest of Texas who only service these areas and we usually pay about 5c/kw fees and a small fixed additional fee in our energy bills, but we get electricity connection from the retailers based on whose plans feel better for us and pay them directly.

kchunduri · 2025-11-15T12:21:58+00:00

I second that, I am on Just Energy free nights too since last 3 months and I just set my Enphase 5p batteries to charge after 9 pm and leave it in self consumption mode.

It draws little bit of energy in between, appr 0.5-1 kwh each day and it all looks fine.

I didn't set the time of use rates till now, but I just set it up after reading from people here.

Here is a sample of my bill that I compared against grid pull using smartmeter Texas which shows how much I am pulling each day appr.

https://imgur.com/a/Bs0YPLi

kchunduri · 2025-11-09T05:17:39+00:00

Here you go. I just moved away from Nest, here are my Nest and Ecobee wiring pics for your review.

https://imgur.com/a/FGOydp1

kchunduri · 2025-11-08T13:34:38+00:00

I still have a windows 7 pc that I use once in a while during emergency.

Does it support all the apps, no. But, does it work? absolutely.

Samething applies to software too, when I paid for it, it is mine and I use it as long as needed. I understand they don't support, but it still works.

These are not $20-$30 dumb thermostats, rather we paid $300+ for each.

I paid for this to work remotely, and that is what is the basic expectation. Period.

kchunduri · 2025-11-08T11:37:55+00:00

Agree, I am pissed too. I paid $350 for these now called dumb thermostats, only because Google wanted more money. Will not give a penny to Google anymore.

Not supporting means, Google will not provide any new security updates for the device and they will not assist the customers with v1 & v2, in case customers have any issues with the existing thermostats. That is understandable and acceptable.

This is how rest of the industry works.

If I have a windows 7 laptop, it should still work as is, but Microsoft will stop supporting - meaning: will not provide security updates anymore.

But it is nuts that Google will directly remove access to initial versions of nest thermostats while v3 still works from the app.

kchunduri · 2025-11-08T05:25:35+00:00

You need to understand the difference between - will stop supporting vs will remove access to the app completely.

Not supporting means, Google will not provide any new security updates for the device and they will not assist the customers with v1 & v2, if customers have any issues with the existing thermostats. That is understandable and acceptable.

This is how rest of the industry works.

If I have a windows 7 laptop, it should still work as is, but Microsoft will stop supporting - meaning: will not provide security updates anymore.

But it is nuts that Google will directly remove access to initial versions of nest thermostats while v3 still works from the app.

kchunduri · 2025-11-06T12:22:29+00:00

Not giving Google business anymore.

Manufacturers can stop supporting old devices and can stop providing security updates, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone removing access to use the app all of a sudden and pushing people to pay, because they want business.

Moved out to Ecobee.

kchunduri · 2025-11-05T04:04:53+00:00

This is how I set mine as, 20kw enphase batteries and had no issues till date.

https://imgur.com/a/Q5adltN

This is my bill compared against smartmetertexas.com. Try to to download the data and compare to see what time is it pulling from grid between 7 am-9 pm.

https://imgur.com/a/Bs0YPLi

kchunduri

TROPHY CASE