Building Reserve and Using KWH

[bcroe]

As they say the weather is changing and we have to change with it. Look at all those poor people in Texas without power during the worst cold snap most have ever seen in their lives.

Yes the subject of the power is worthy of mention in prayers these days. It
has been totally reliable here, and at least we are used to some -10F every
winter. If TX was mostly nuke, at least the power would be available, keeping
it distributed is another problem. Just how does a wind turbine freeze up,
too much blade ice?
Bruce (in cold, boring, but no disasters ILL) Roe

[SunEagle]

About 11 am Tues we got some temp considerably above zero, combined with
good sun. I went out and worked on solar panels, cleaned off the latest snow.
First got all the fluffy stuff off so the sun could get at them. Then made another
pass, started getting ice off. Then went back to the beginning, this time the sun
helped me get the last of the ice off. Running at maximum 15KW again, will need
the additional energy. Bruce Roe

As they say the weather is changing and we have to change with it. Look at all those poor people in Texas without power during the worst cold snap most have ever seen in their lives.

[bcroe]

about half an inch of ice was frozen onto half the panels

SOMEDAY we ought to get an adequate combination of sun and higher temps to
get rid of the rest of the ice, it still covers parts of enough panels to inhibit those 6
strings. Bruce Roe

About 11 am Tues we got some temp considerably above zero, combined with
good sun. I went out and worked on solar panels, cleaned off the latest snow.
First got all the fluffy stuff off so the sun could get at them. Then made another
pass, started getting ice off. Then went back to the beginning, this time the sun
helped me get the last of the ice off. Running at maximum 15KW again, will need
the additional energy. Bruce Roe

[bcroe]

We are now at the coldest part of winter, -12F has been seen, around 0F much
of the time. Gortex insulated mittens are a big improvement in the cold. Nearly
2 weeks ago we got a warm melting snow, but got hit with a hard freeze before
I went to clear it in the morning. As consequence about half an inch of ice was
frozen onto half the panels, the original install, unadjustable, lower angle ones.
Some snow has occurred more nights than not, keeping the later install half of
my panels clean has required very little attention. In this situation it may hit 4 to
8 KW output depending on clouds.

SOMEDAY we ought to get an adequate combination of sun and higher temps to
get rid of the rest of the ice, it still covers parts of enough panels to inhibit those 6
strings. I could use the energy, the heat pumps are keeping inside temps just fine
but eating away at the summer KWH reserve. That load can hit 8KW. Clearly I
will not be giving the PoCo a free 5000KWH surplus at this 1 April true up. That
was the original plan, use most of it up, staying in the black will depend on the
weather till then. I am down perhaps 500KWH because the new cable was late
July getting into operation.

I believe I have mastered using the snow blower to clear panels. Today inches of
fluffy stuff did stick to the 72 near vertical panels, I just directed the snow blower
to the top edge of the array, and all the snow immediately slid off. That 4WD
tractor with traction tires does so well, I have not been using chains. But it
can be hard to keep pointed in the right direction with the snow blower down,
I may try chains on the front wheels to help that.

Seeing the snow advantages of the adjustable panels, I am more inclined than
ever to rebuild most (or all) of the array to that standard. It will not be the rush
before winter of the last time, but now I have all the big tools and knowledge to
move it along over several years. The next adjustable array will be a 2 sided
version of the last one, more bang for my efforts.

Thank goodness everything is working now, here and other places. Bruce Roe

Feb21ice.JPG

[DanS26]

The Podcast was informative. they see California as a significant market because of the energy regulations. I was especially intrigued with how he described it as a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) making the grid more resilient.

Yes, heating water with excess electricity at the right time so that you do not have to heat that water at the wrong time.

I use the same concept with my two ETS (Electric Thermal Storage) systems only I am heating ceramic bricks rather than water.

[Ampster]

Last I heard was the Nyle Geyser for residential applications would be available Spring 2021, but their website just says "Coming Soon".
..........

The Podcast was informative. they see California as a significant market because of the energy regulations. I was especially intrigued with how he described it as a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) making the grid more resilient.

[DanS26]

Thanks, I heard that when they sent me a note. I was hoping they were announcing availability.

Last I heard was the Nyle Geyser for residential applications would be available Spring 2021, but their website just says "Coming Soon".

The older model I have has been running very well for 8 years. I've taken the cover off once just to see what was inside.....very well built, heavy duty relays, solid weld and solder joints, good insulation, etc. The compressor appears sturdy and runs with little vibration or noise.

[bcroe]

Here is an interview with Ryan Hamilton the President of Nyle Water Heating Systems.

I knew Ryan when he worked for Wood-Mizer here in Indiana earlier in his career.

Thanks, I heard that when they sent me a note. I was hoping they were announcing availability.

[DanS26]

Here is an interview with Ryan Hamilton the President of Nyle Water Heating Systems. If you are interested in HP water systems this is very good information of where this technology is going..........

https://www.buzzsprout.com/939484/3534625-episode-5-nyle-heat-pump-water-heaters-with-ryan-hamilton

I knew Ryan when he worked for Wood-Mizer here in Indiana earlier in his career.

[Ampster]

The dryer was $1243 including tax and delivery, certainly not the cheapest. Thanks for the info,
I like the idea of a water heating HP being separate from the tank, and easily attached. Bruce Roe

That is expensive for a dryer but the payback has got to be pretty good. I think my existing dryer consumes 4kWh per load. For me the other advantage is I could run it off my Outback Skybox anytime.
I did not mention that my first heat pump water heater was actually one that was retrofitted to an existing electric water heater. That manufacturer was AirTap and has since gone out of business. I installed that one in 2011 and it is still going strong. .The other name was NYLE but they have gotten out of the residential market.

[bcroe]

Three years ago when I needed to purchase a dryer I tried to find a reasonably priced one and was not successful. I am glad the technology is progressing. I may be moving to a new place in the next six months and am encouraged to know that I may be able to find one at a reasonable price. It sure does offer flexibility in terms of venting.

As an aside on heat pump water heaters, my GeoSpring finally gave up the ghost. It ended up lasting just 6 years and it was the heat pump mechanism that failed. I understand why GE sold that part of their business. I could have nursed it along but I got a good deal on a Ruud which is the same as Rheem.and I have now installed 3 of those in the past four years in various properties and they are far superior to the GeoSpring.

The dryer was $1243 including tax and delivery, certainly not the cheapest. Thanks for the info,
I like the idea of a water heating HP being separate from the tank, and easily attached. Bruce Roe

[Ampster]

Thanks for the update ln the heat pump dryer. Three years ago when I needed to purchase a dryer I tried to find a reasonably priced one and was not successful. I am glad the technology is progressing. I may be moving to a new place in the next six months and am encouraged to know that I may be able to find one at a reasonable price. It sure does offer flexibility in terms of venting. I do have an energy saver mode on my existing electric dryer but that just means it takes twice as long to dry clothes. Sometimes I use that during the day because that energy saver kWh consumption is just under the production of my panels so it gives me net consumption. I already have several hundred dollars worth of NEM credits going into my February True Up so there is no reason for me to build reserve at this point.
As an aside on heat pump water heaters, my GeoSpring finally gave up the ghost. It ended up lasting just 6 years and it was the heat pump mechanism that failed. I understand why GE sold that part of their business. I could have nursed it along but I got a good deal on a Ruud which is the same as Rheem.and I have now installed 3 of those in the past four years in various properties and they are far superior to the GeoSpring.

[bcroe]

A few operational comments on the unvented 7 cu ft clothes dryer. Energy consumption is
about 1 KWH per run, a trivial amount from the solar array. The peak temp might be a bit
lower than the previous propane dryer, it runs are about twice as long. It does have a moisture
detector shutoff option, a moisture drain, and filters need to be cleaned more often. In winter
that heat all remains in the house, no blowing hot air outside. I needed to reverse the front
loading door, 26 screws.

When dried clothes get left in overnight, no cold damp air comes back in from an outside vent.
In this situation I set it to run again at Max Temp and Max Moisture Removal. In perhaps 5
minutes it warms up and the moisture detector run cutoff shuts it down, no more guessing
how long is enough.

Next to the dryer is the last regularly used propane device, a high efficiency water heater. The
efficiency is not so high in my view, the Vampire electric draw was too high (before modified), and
the blower could be seen running backwards as cold winter air would come in the vent. I am
on the waiting list for a Nyle heat pump water heater which may attached to take over most but
not all water heating. This unit would help de humidify the basement, partly taking over that
function from a dehumidifier. Farther in the future the Nyle should transfer to an electric water
heater.

Meanwhile it is very pleasant to visit the car shop and not need to get it heated up from ambient
for a job. The snow blower 4WD tractor is much happier to perform, and to melt clean afterwords.
This thanks to an 18,000 BTU heat pump which maintains an ideal 60s F temp most of the time,
still well above freezing in the most extreme lows. The propane backup furnaces here and in the
house have not been run in quite a while.

A comment about posting. I write some posts off line and then copy them into WRITE SOMETHING.
My PASTE function may not instantly work, but If a character is typed first, the PASTE command
then seems to be fine, I edit out the extra character. Bruce Roe

[DanS26]

Here I'm using the DROKs to monitor my EV circuit in my garage.......


EV Circuit Monitor-001.jpg
Today is my one year anniversary of EV ownership. My EV experience has exceeded my expectations in large measure.....it truly is the future of transportation.

[bcroe]

I think its important to balance the loads on my 10kW generator.

Agreed, balanced loads are best. My dryer I believe is the first product with these capabilities, and I expect
when a later version is developed, it will be more balanced. But I waited quite a while for this one, and am
not waiting any longer. Bruce Roe