Texas Grid is on the Edge Again!

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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
14,569
12,679
146
Yeah, those things are dangerous as shit. I am pretty sure they are banned in the cities I've lived in in Oklahoma, but my mom had one in Ft. Smith and just about have herself Carbon Monoxide poisoning once.

If you read the manual you're supposed to open a window when you use the ventless inserts.
So they want you to vent it eh? Lol
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,611
5,306
136
Yeah, those things are dangerous as shit. I am pretty sure they are banned in the cities I've lived in in Oklahoma, but my mom had one in Ft. Smith and just about have herself Carbon Monoxide poisoning once.

If you read the manual you're supposed to open a window when you use the ventless inserts.
I would rather that just didn't put the stupid thing in at all. Of course being the south, they also had to put the wiring for the tv over the fireplace because there isn't a stupider place for it.
 

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
5,830
2,086
136
My wife and I wouldn't even look at any houses where the only logical TV location was over the fireplace, stupidest design ever.

Wife wanted TV over the fireplace. I put my foot down and said NO.

We have a real wood fireplace in the living room. Nice lighting a fire in the winter. Kids can make smores. Sometimes we throw a few sweet potatoes in the embers to cook. Nothing like some hot tea and some freshly roasted sweet potatoes in a snowy winter's night.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,611
5,306
136
My wife and I wouldn't even look at any houses where the only logical TV location was over the fireplace, stupidest design ever.
I solved the Issue by hanging a painting over the fireplace and building a 13' foot entertainment center along another wall. It worked out well.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,822
20,168
136
Living in Southern CA and in San Diego Gas & Electric service area. A 2-year old with crayons can make a case for a effective ROI. I was having $800+/month electric bills before I installed solar. Now I am looking at around $200 for a entire year. Even with a system for $110k Solar+Storage. My ROI is less than 8-years and that is even before you consider I no longer worry about running the AC. I now have 2 Electric cars and almost completely changed out everything in my home to be electric so I no longer use Propane. Which was also costing me $4-5 gallon.
You are turning into a green hippie liberal Brovane - solar energy gives you cancer and windmills give you AIDS!
 

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
14,818
10,226
136
Wife wanted TV over the fireplace. I put my foot down and said NO.

We have a real wood fireplace in the living room. Nice lighting a fire in the winter. Kids can make smores. Sometimes we throw a few sweet potatoes in the embers to cook. Nothing like some hot tea and some freshly roasted sweet potatoes in a snowy winter's night.
Yeah, I love wood burners, but almost no puts them in new homes around here.
 

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
5,830
2,086
136
Yeah, I love wood burners, but almost no puts them in new homes around here.

I'm up in the northeast USA, and in the suburbs, so lots of older homes with wood fireplaces.

In a great area, with a solid 8 school ranking on a scale of 1-10, 15 minutes from a major airport (though we head up to JFK in New York for international flights), open space for the kids to play in. The wife loves her plants. The perks of moving out of the city. The one thing I don't like is having to cut the grass every week. And the real estate taxes suck.
 

HomerJS

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
36,268
28,127
136
The right wing nuts running this state love it when people blame ERCOT. When in reality ERCOT is forced to employ the rules set by the Texas Public Utility Commission, which is staffed entirely of direct appointments by Greg Abbott, famous for killing Mexicans with floating buoys and underwater razor wire in the Rio Grande, as well as our previous crook of a governor Rick Perry.
Somehow it will be Biden’s fault that Fox will run 24x7
 

Brovane

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2001
5,472
1,667
136
You are turning into a green hippie liberal Brovane - solar energy gives you cancer and windmills give you AIDS!

I like saving money and controlling my energy costs. I also don't like being jerked around by Big Energy. If it helps the environment that is a bonus.
That is the part I don't understand with some people. You can save money and be green at the same time.

 

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
35,566
29,243
136
I like saving money and controlling my energy costs. I also don't like being jerked around by Big Energy. If it helps the environment that is a bonus.
That is the part I don't understand with some people. You can save money and be green at the same time.

View attachment 101853
It doesn't save money, but even if it did (it doesn't!) it turns the frogs gay. Next thing you know you'll be doing a marijuana with *those* people.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
25,203
3,616
126
Install costs are high, electric rates are pretty reasonable, and we don't use a lot of electricity. Our five year average monthly electric bill is $87 and $107 for the past year, which was an exceptionally hot year. Of that, $28/month is a flat fee for being connected to the utility so the energy costs were $59 and $79 respectively. The fee would remain even if the net grid electric power usage were zero or below. Payback period is roughly eighteen years for us.
Those numbers are pretty similar to what I had: similar monthly electric bill (About $100/month) and similar monthly forced fee to be connected (just over $30/month). I installed solar last year with a 13 year payback*. One key to the payback calculation is most people increase their electricity usage after installing solar. Be prepared to add in 10% to 20% more electricity usage in your math since now you won't care about the cost of using a bit more energy. So far, most bills are ~$20 total, which means they pay me $10 but I still have the $30 forced fee to be connected.

The keys to a shorter payback: (1) local and federal tax credits, (2) shopping around for solar installers. The cost of the panels is almost nothing, but the cost of the electricians were outrageous here. The estimates for the same installation ranged from $12k to $25k--for the exact same specs. I found that at least here, the electricians that went into solar were about $12k and the solar companies that outsource electricians were all in the $20k to $25k range.


* I am not including any valuation change on the house, since that is hard to estimate. Zillow says solar increases the house value by 4%, but I didn't include that in the payback since it would make the payback almost instantaneous.
 
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