The Energy Thread

[Bo Diddley]

I have two coworkers that have had bills that reach as high as $1,000 a month for July/August/September, because they keep their house around 73 degrees.

I might be in that boat if I lived there. The missus hates the heat.

[BigPiney]

I have two coworkers that have had bills that reach as high as $1,000 a month for July/August/September, because they keep their house around 73 degrees.

Sheesh, not worth it.

My wife freaks when our power bill goes over $200. We use a swamp cooler up here in the desert, so that is way cheaper than AC. Of course the temps will often not drop below 80 in the house, but you get used to it.

[Uncle Ted]

I have two coworkers that have had bills that reach as high as $1,000 a month for July/August/September, because they keep their house around 73 degrees.

It seems a solar system there would pay for itself relatively quickly especially if you install it yourself. Labor costs for installing solar are too high, IMHO.

[The_Tick]

It seems a solar system there would pay for itself relatively quickly especially if you install it yourself. Labor costs for installing solar are too high, IMHO.

I have solar on my house. I did the PPA though through Vivint. I will keep my house right around 74 degrees and I will average around $180 a month for electricity between Vivint and PGE. Worth it for my needs.

[wuapinmon]

http://energy.sc.gov/node/3069
Per the Dept. of Energy, I pay an average of 12.34/KwH to my provider Duke Energy Progress. I keep my house at 68F in summer and 64F in winter. 2600 sq ft, brick ranch, with maximum efficiency windows and more the recommended amount of insulation in the attic, ridge vent, and not completely black shingles (I wanted white/reflective, but my wife said, "uhh, no!"). 3/4 the house is on a gas/electric furnace/AC, the other fourth is heatpump for both. We have gas logs in the office where my wife works, right in the middle of the house. They get used a lot.

We spend around $250/month keeping the house at 68F. In the winter months, our bill is well below average because we have a gas furnace (uncommon here because most people can't connect to a gas grid and have to have propane tanks).

I have too many trees to make solar viable here, and I'm down in a draw, so the wind up the hill coming across the coastal plains wouldn't be enough to generate power.

Our powerbill in New Orleans, to keep that 1921 house at 68F, with no f-ing insulation, was $450.

I only like to sweat inside for one reason.

[BigFatMeanie]

http://energy.sc.gov/node/3069
Per the Dept. of Energy, I pay an average of 12.34/KwH to my provider Duke Energy Progress. I keep my house at 68F in summer and 64F in winter. 2600 sq ft, brick ranch, with maximum efficiency windows and more the recommended amount of insulation in the attic, ridge vent, and not completely black shingles (I wanted white/reflective, but my wife said, "uhh, no!"). 3/4 the house is on a gas/electric furnace/AC, the other fourth is heatpump for both. We have gas logs in the office where my wife works, right in the middle of the house. They get used a lot.

We spend around $250/month keeping the house at 68F. In the winter months, our bill is well below average because we have a gas furnace (uncommon here because most people can't connect to a gas grid and have to have propane tanks).

I have too many trees to make solar viable here, and I'm down in a draw, so the wind up the hill coming across the coastal plains wouldn't be enough to generate power.

Our powerbill in New Orleans, to keep that 1921 house at 68F, with no f-ing insulation, was $450.

I only like to sweat inside for one reason.

I don't like sweating inside either, but 68 in summer is pretty low.

We keep it at 74 summer, maybe 72 for the upstairs AC every once in a while when I'm feeling too hot at night and can't sleep. Of course humidity is low, to say the least, in Utah. 68 winter.

[wuapinmon]

I don't like sweating inside either, but 68 in summer is pretty low.

We keep it at 74 summer, maybe 72 for the upstairs AC every once in a while when I'm feeling too hot at night and can't sleep. Of course humidity is low, to say the least, in Utah. 68 winter.

My kids in winter, "I'm cold." Me, "Go take the dog for a walk; it'll feel nice when you come back inside. Of course, it was 78F here today---in February--so who knows what cold is like anymore.

We also make use of our whole-house fan (attic fan in the South), quite a lot. It'll push all the air out of the house in about a minute, and make the curtains hang sideways in front of a window if there's only one open.

[Uncle Ted]

Yes, good ole nuke power is back on the table... The Harris Administration is finally getting real:

White House eyes subsidies for nuclear plants to help meet climate targets -sources

The White House has signaled privately to lawmakers and stakeholders in recent weeks that it supports taxpayer subsidies to keep existing nuclear facilities from closing, bending to the reality that it needs these plants to meet U.S. climate goals, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
[...]
The United States has more than 90 nuclear reactors, the most in the world, and the business is the country's top source of emissions-free power generation.

But these aging plants have been closing, some as recently as last month, due to rising security costs and competition from plentiful natural gas, wind and solar power, which are rapidly becoming less pricey. Losing more nuclear plants could make Biden's zero-emissions goal challenging, if not impossible, analysts have said.

"There's a deepening understanding within the administration that it needs nuclear to meet its zero-emission goals," said a source engaged in the talks and familiar with the White House thinking.

The White House had no comment.
[...]

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/whit...ources-2021-05

Time to spin up Yucca mountain! We can convince Nevada it's a good idea by shutting off their water.

[Katy Lied]

What about those companies who are purchasing shuttered power plants and spinning up the old coal fired, polluting generators. Nope, they are not retailing or distributing power-- they are using all of it on Bitcoin mining. Does the government only count the plants that provide energy to the public when they are calculating climate goal KPIs?

[Uncle Ted]

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Solarwinds and now this. Maybe the Harris Administration will finally take cyber security seriously... ah, the smell of money.

[Moliere]

The Columbia pipeline incident is interesting. There is enough gas in storage to satisfy needs through the weekend, supposedly, but panic buying is happening so gas stations are running out. It’s like the great toilet paper shortage of 2020.


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[Jeff Lebowski]

The cyber-attack is Biden's fault?

How dare he?

[beefytee]

Good thing Trump was focused on the current threats and not pie in the sky stuff.

[Uncle Ted]

The cyber-attack is Biden's fault?

How dare he?

The Harris Administration should have created a new branch of the military to stop this stuff... CyberForce!

[Uncle Ted]

The Columbia pipeline incident is interesting. There is enough gas in storage to satisfy needs through the weekend, supposedly, but panic buying is happening so gas stations are running out. It’s like the great toilet paper shortage of 2020.


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Only through the weekend!?! Oh crap its worse than I thought... I need to go fill up my gas tank:

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