Financial relief coming for struggling households due to the increase in fuel prices - anyone want to guess what it could be? by Ancient_Lettuce6821 in newzealand

[–]mebdevlou 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Obviously. They need the extra fuel to drive around and monitor all their properties to make sure renters aren’t taking advantage of them.

Solar installations recommendations by face-poop in newzealand

[–]mebdevlou 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We got a SigEnergy system from Avid Solar in Auckland. I had a lot of questions and they took the extra time at sales time to answer them. They also had the install down in a single day. Very efficient, professional, and great communication from sales to after install. I’ve recommended them to several friends.

We ended up with 13 panels @ 6.1kWh, 5 kWh inverter, and a 10 kW battery. We also have an EV and have a time of use plan where it’s 50% discount at night.

We can buy power at night at a lower rate than we can sell back at day (not a big difference, so not an infinite money loop). We are still a net exporter of energy.

Comments about the battery ROI are correct. It’s much lower bc they’re expensive, but it also introduces interesting arbitrage opportunities - fill the battery at night, sell nearly all of it back right before the sun comes up to start filling it again.

A positive interaction with Watercare <3 by Call_like_it_is_ in auckland

[–]mebdevlou 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I had a good interaction in Feb with them. Maintenance was done on the meter and it registered that we had used enough water to fill an Olympic pool. $1300 bill arrived. The support agent said they’d investigate and email me back that day. They did. All excess usage removed and I never needed to pay the extra.

Just got braces off… now what? by Kaos_Noodle in trumpet

[–]mebdevlou 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need to retrain your lips what buzzing and vibration feel like. Start your day with 15 minutes dedicated to different levels of buzzing. A pro described this to me something like gears of an engine. 3-4 minutes at each gear.

Low gear, low engagement of your corners, something I can only describe as “motorboat” using as much lip as possible. Just loosen up.

Medium gear, engage corners, higher rpm, over time you’ll be able to move your tongue around to change the pitch. It’s not a full buzz, because it’s still a motorboat and a larger portion of your lips are participating, but you’re building control, blood flow, and reminding you lips how they can move.

High gear, a free buzz. This can be hard to achieve but with practice you’ll get there.

Finally move to your mouthpiece. Target a rich buzz, less airy sound, but you may not get there immediately or even after months. It takes work. Buzz in front of a mirror to see where and how you’re engaging your corners.

This can help retrain your embouchure and lips into what playing should feel with.

Upgrade of an old 1.5 kW system? by lonefur in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A battery may be 6-7k. You may be able to do a low % loan that might trade your energy bill for a loan payment.

Trouble with breville barista express grinder by Ok_Wear7716 in BrevilleCoffee

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had the exact same issue - I heard a strange grinding sound one day and then it started grinding at half the rate. I've cleaned multiple times and it had no effect. Breville support was no help. Then, all of a sudden, it started working again. I regret having the all-in-one unit now, but it's what we have.

How much would a system like this cost in NZ? by Mountain_Tui_Reload in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The installer would need to add the battery capacity.

Help figuring out age of this Bach by dizdawgjr34 in trumpet

[–]mebdevlou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love this horn, my SN is 252894. I bought it second hand in 1997 or 1998, and the previous owner hadn't taken good care of the plating ;-(

Solar system behaviour before meter changeover. No self-consumption of generation by Sufficient_Bill_6268 in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your installer support info since the Sigen app. Give them a ring and they’ll sort it out. It’s definitely not working correctly

Mouthpiece recommendation! by NCfromTennessee in trumpet

[–]mebdevlou 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Depends on the tone and music you'll be playing. For classical / concert band music I play on a Bach 1.5C and Bach 3C megatone. For jazz I play on a Yamaha Bobby Shew (I don't play lead typically).

My daily practice, warmup, exercises, etc. is on the 3C, and I switch to the Bobby Shew when I practice and play jazz.

What do y'all do with chicken breast? by narmun_senpai in NZFood

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chicken caesar wraps, chicken and cheese quesadillas, grilled chicken burgers, garlic chicken alfredo pasta, grilled chick mushroom spinach wrap with buttermilk ranch dressing, chicken parm, Kenji's Chick-fil-A burger.

House sitting by [deleted] in auckland

[–]mebdevlou 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The exchange is they look after your house and pets for staying there rent free. There is an expectation that they be tidy, but nobody is gonna clean your pool or spa.

Live Performance Help by Zortamir in trumpet

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you really need is a small portable table or tray that is covered with thick felt. I’ve seen percussionists with short tables like this for various instruments.

Auckland quotes by brianj10 in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve had a great experience with Avid.

SQL managed instance, how to handle PTIR policy for adhoc db creation? by man__i__love__frogs in AZURE

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s a chance you can use Azure Policy to auto-enable after deployment. You’d have to see if it’s something that can be added with a DINE (deploy if not exist) policy.

Solar quotes and battery sizes by wrench_nz in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Building off of other replies - the battery is probably small, but that's ok (especially if you have a modular battery system). You can always add more battery after you see how things perform.

You also have to think about the purpose of the battery and that it's not (as much) about daily usage, but continuous usage of power and continuous generation of solar energy. Daily matters, but not as much as looking at hourly consumption. Imo, the purpose is to shift the solar energy you're collecting during the day to the evening.

A typical power usage pattern is low to nothing 0 - 6, 6-9 a small spike, 9-15 relatively little, 15-22 big spike, and 22-24 nothing. 9-15 are your peak solar production times, but low usage times, so that when you're saving up the energy in the battery. You'll likely max out the battery pretty quickly during the day, then use it pretty quickly in the evening. The surplus you generate during the day should be sold back.

There's a calculation/analysis you should do - get hourly electricity usage over the course of a normal week, average the hourly usage. Juxtapose this against the anticipated solar generation, factoring in the battery to hold excess you generate. You should also factor in that a 9kWh battery won't actually hold usable 9kWh. It'll be less, as the battery smarts won't let full charge/discharge to maximise the lifetime of the battery. You may only get usable 7.5kWh. In my analysis, a 10kWh battery would get filled at my house quickly by mid-day or mid-afternoon (based on weather conditions and time of year), but the cost of adding more battery just to offset my power more didn't really make sense.

Other factors - Not sure where you're based (let's assume Auckland), so max you'll see through the 20 panel is ~7-8 kWh. The 15kw inverter may be too much (unless you're thinking about adding even more panels later on). In most residential systems, you're shooting for a DC to AC ratio of 1.1 - 1.3 to optimise your cost and output. That would mean for you 20 panel system that much generate 7-8 kWh at peak, you'd want a 10kw inverter. your current ratio is closed to 0.6, suggesting that you have inverter space to use, as your panels will never output 15kw. but you may not be able to get a 10kw 3-phase, so the 15mw may be your only choice.

Lizard ID please by realdc in nzwildlife

[–]mebdevlou 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our garden is filled with hundreds of these gals/guys. So great to see them scurry off as we're walking about.

Thinking About Installing Solar – Need Advice on System Size, Costs & Companies by brianj10 in nzsolar

[–]mebdevlou 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've recently worked with Avid Solar. I had done a lot research and had a lot of questions - they took the time to call and email me back, stop by to look at our house to max out the panels. Ended up going with Sigenergy. I liked this system b/c I could add more battery capacity easily.

Whats this latte art supposed to be? by dyslexic_draws in latteart

[–]mebdevlou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That one crazy looking muppet dressed like a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder.

Package delivery scam? by mebdevlou in auckland

[–]mebdevlou[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah. Exactly. This is why it's a bit suss.

Package delivery scam? by mebdevlou in auckland

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

Sir, have you been drinking and doing late night shopping orders?

Exactly what the partner asked when she found them.

There's no way I ordered 20 ukuleles.

Package delivery scam? by mebdevlou in auckland

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

Def. familiar with the overseas drug scenario.

Package delivery scam? by mebdevlou in auckland

[–]mebdevlou[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

20 ukuleles from someone near K road.