AutomatedOutlet
Senior Member
I wonder who the one sap was that was doing it with less than 200GB in that poll...
Holy Power Costs, batman!
- Thread starter IVB
- Start date
IVB
Senior Member
Well crap. Just heard from SageTV, they don't expect the next batch of extenders until May.
Not the end of the world, if the offchance I can actually get the serial server hooked up in the next 5 weeks and figger out the rest of the architecture, I could put the MVP back on the MBR SDTV, and use the HDExtender in the H/T room. Hell, that'll take me 3-4 weeks easy at my current rate, so I really only have to wait a week.
Not the end of the world, if the offchance I can actually get the serial server hooked up in the next 5 weeks and figger out the rest of the architecture, I could put the MVP back on the MBR SDTV, and use the HDExtender in the H/T room. Hell, that'll take me 3-4 weeks easy at my current rate, so I really only have to wait a week.
You don't want to use PV power to heat water, you use a solar water heating system. Solar cooling is available but I don't know how well it works.
http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/solar-air-conditioning/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/smallscale_sola.php
Solar water is MUCH more effecient than PV. A mix of both or use a tankless gas water heater for the hot water.
politics123
Active Member
In fact, it probably has the best return that exists in alternative energy.
I have some preliminary figures, too... I use a drainback 64 sq ft solar hot water system, retrofitted to an 80 gallon electric-heated tank. It costs me 200 watts to run my pumps, and I get about 1900 watts of hot water back (5GPM @ about 3-4 degrees heat rise) In my area ($.11/KW), that translates into about $0.19 cents earned/hr of operation, or roughly $350-420/year. Total cost around $5500, or $3850 after tax incentives. (none in Virginia, 30% federal). We're talking about a 9-11 year return.
Another way to look at this: if I borrowed $3850 @ 7%, it would cost me $270/yr in interest, but I'd save $350-$420/yr in electricity.
If you factor in better incentives in most states, peak energy costs (for tiered structures), and overall rising energy costs, this is the way to go. Note: for areas which aren't prone to freezing, you can get an integrated batch heater for much lower cost.
Hope the math helps others jump on the bandwagon
Now, if only there was such a think as solar driven micro-steam power!
Rupp
Senior Member
politics123:,
The problem in our area is that gas prices are SKY Rocketing. There are droves of people switching from gas hot water hearers to electric and from gas dryers/ovens to electric, because gas is getting so expensive. Talk about a turn around in that last few years. I would love to try a large solar installation but I would have to factor in tree removal as well. I wish I had someone local I could talk to but solar is a foreign word in these parts. The pain of the utility bill isn't high enough yet I guess.
The problem in our area is that gas prices are SKY Rocketing. There are droves of people switching from gas hot water hearers to electric and from gas dryers/ovens to electric, because gas is getting so expensive. Talk about a turn around in that last few years. I would love to try a large solar installation but I would have to factor in tree removal as well. I wish I had someone local I could talk to but solar is a foreign word in these parts. The pain of the utility bill isn't high enough yet I guess.
I've toyed with this idea ... but the factor I'm not convinced by is that for a good portion of the year the bulk of our hot water usage occurs when there is no sun to help -- in the evenings and mornings. Any hot water used in the evening will have to be made up with gas/electric, and likewise in the morning even if the sun is up it isn't at anything like full strength yet so gas/electric will likely kick in to bring it up to temperature. Then assuming that the hot water tank is well insulated and no significant usage occurs during the day the cycle will repeat itself that evening. Solar might cover the standby losses during the day, but insulation will help with those too -- and at a much lower cost!
Anyone have any actual figures to show usage patterns against solar energy gain?
Of course, being in the great white north the secondary concern is how to keep the darn snow off the panels until about May ...
I did not look that closely at this site but it might steer you toward info that is more relevant to your area.
http://www.canren.gc.ca/prod_serv/index.as...41&PgId=750
politics123
Active Member
Your hot water tank should be able to keep the hot-water "hot" for quite a while:
1) The water can become quite hot. Today was a 55-60 degree day, but we ended up creating 160 degree water (you will definitely need a tempering valve!). After about 5 hours of sun, the top of my tank is 160-ish degrees, the bottom is around 150.
2) Typically, I'll lose a few degrees overnight, but really not that much
Of course, when you use the hot water (say at night), cold water will enter the water heater. The real question becomes whether your backup source heats the cold water, or whether you disable it and let the sun work its magic the next day. I use an ELK 9100 to control my water heater... and some basic automation rules for when to power the heating elements and when to wait.
I wonder if using a tankless to replenish the tank instead of cold replenishing it would be worth it at night.
dkemme
Member
I'm wondering if a geothermal pump could help with cooling if you install radiant cooling in the ceiling?
Ranger Digital
Active Member
well call me stupid, but I STILL dont get the whole sagetv gig. Not even interested in it yet. They need to fire their webdesigner. Yup, it still sucks.
IVB
Senior Member
Heh, and your solution for centralized but distributed TV timeshifting is what?
... with as many tuners as you'd like (I have 6)?
... including HD (if OTA or via QAM)?
... allowing simultaneous viewing of anything (prerecorded, live, DVD) at any time on any tv? (I've had 5 TVs running at the same time playing all different pre-recorded and live materials, including HD)
... and for playing any DVD in your library on any TV without a changer?
... by running a single Cat 5 network wire to your TV location?
... that supports upscaling to HD 1080p? (or whatever your TV is... my 720ps look great too)
... without requiring numerous PCs - just by plugging in a (low power-draw) silent remote extender box and plugging into your TV? (requires 1 central server)
I could go on... but I agree, the website is not that great. There are also other functions - music, pictures, etc. but TV/DVDs are what 99% of it's users use it for.
Good point ... I hadn't thought about overheating the water during the day to utilize the solar energy while you have it.
I wonder how efficient you could get with a solar system feeding a storage tank and feeding through a tankless heater. Seems like you might get the best of both worlds if you can ensure the system is sized to work when you get that week long blizzard in winter.