Please, PLEASE for the sake of the lineman who is pulling double shifts attempting to restore your power, and doesn't deserve to be electrocuted just because his employer sucks:
Do not be tempted to run to Home Depot and cobble together a "dead man's plug". You might think that you will perform all steps (open main breaker, plug in cord, start genny) in the right order, but Murphy, and the fact that you will most likely be performing these steps in the snow, in darkness, means you, your spouse, or your child could be killed.
You can choose to go manual transfer or automatic. The difference will add around $3K to the total.
Pour a pad, and have a fixed installation generator installed. These will run on natural gas or propane.
If you must use propane, be aware that you will need a much larger than usual tank, because it must supply a sufficient quantity of vapor, not liquid, and at NE winter temperatures, that requires a lot of headspace in the tank.
Fixed-installation systems usually use an automatic transfer switch, and often include an "exerciser" function that will run the generator for 10-20 minutes every week or two.
There are a few "portable" generators that can also run on NG/Propane, but be aware that these are practically impossible to start with a pull cord, so require an electric starter and the battery to go with it. The logistics of supplying propane, and having adequate exhaust for a portable NG genny makes them fairly impractical.
Regardless of the generator:
Have a competent electrician install the transfer switch (auto or manual); At that time, make a survey of your electrical use, and have the electrician add a sub-panel. Move the circuits that are required for safety and comfort (furnace, refrigeration, well pump if applicable, some indoor and outdoor lighting, and a few outlets in convenient locations for things like recharging laptops/phones and watching TV) to the subpanel. These are all that should be fed by the genny. High-draw electric appliances (clothes dryers, electric stoves, water heaters) should be left out.
Size the generator based on the starting current of your fridge and your furnace combined (because Murphy will insist that they try to start at the same time, stalling the generator).
The Guardian article dropped a decimal place. According to the manufacturer's press release, it costs $0.03 (3 cents) per liter, or $0.35 (35 cents) per day.
The latent heat that must be removed when water vapor condenses to liquid is 540 calories per gram.
At a room/air temperature of 20 degrees C, 12 liters of water is 11,978 grams.
So, to condense that 12 liters of water would take 6,468,336 calories, or 27,063,518 joules,
which is equivalent to 7.52 kilowatt hours.
Now, a well made, typical Peltier cooler might have a coefficient of performance (ratio of heat removed to energy in) of 0.7, so it would require at least10.7 kWh. That would be best case, at 100% RH, where the dew point and the air temperature are equivalent.
The best Energy Star-rated dehumidifier with a comparable capacity (11.8 liters per day) has an energy factor (liters per kWh) of 1.3, so would consume about 9.2 kWh condensing that same 12 liters.
So, by my calculations, we're talking three 140 watt bulbs burning 24 hours a day to use the average, 10 kWh. And that's not accounting for the UV lamp (which could be very small, say 3 watts, for that volume).
I suppose in British Columbia, it might be possible to buy hydroelectric-generated electricity for the 3-4 cents per kWh that this thing MUST consume by the laws of thermodynamics.
..that interact with and measure the "real" world. As far as I'm concerned, I never stopped working with my hands, even though I'm writing soft/firmware. There's an o'scope on my desk, and a soldering iron on my workbench. If I had to work exclusively within the bounds of a PC, I'd find another line of work.
Adding in the increased demand due to its use as an automobile fuel, I'm willing to be it'd be more expensive than gasoline. Not to mention that we're running out of natural gas, too.
You can make methane from pig shit, and there's certainly no shortage of that...
[Gene]
You really have a severe case of ADD, if you can't get past my first line.
It takes 5.6 pounds of natural gas to provide the equivalent energy of 1 gallon of gasoline (GGE).
(1 gallon of gasoline weighs between 5 and 6 pounds, depending on temperature).
According to the Green Car Congress, a gasoline Honda Civic SE consumes 6.9 liters of gasoline for every 100 kilometers driven (34 mpg); the CNG Civic GX requires 7.4 liters gasoline equivalent (31.7 mpg), making it 7% less efficient. The GX carries 8.0 GGE, for a range of about 200 miles.
In Massachusetts, CNG is selling for $2.96 GGE, vs. $4.09 for gasoline, making it 28% less expensive.
There are approximately 120,000 CNG vehicles on the road in the US.
[Gene]
Fine, don't RTFA. And apparently, you didn't read the/. summary, either
The intention is to use wind power to free up supply of domestic natural gas for transport
(that's automobiles).
22% of US electric demand is supplied by natural gas fired power plants.
[Gene]
"Right, then! I do the best I can for you, the bloody best, to set up your sniveling, snotty-nosed kid you want, and all I get in return for fifteen years of poring research into the bloody boring composition of the bloody damn DNA molecule, is a pair of pathetic twits, who, when confronted with bloody stats start a pathetic wiffle-waffle. Right now, Mr. and Mrs. Stolwry, you have a perfect, beautiful walking specimen of a stocky, blond-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, quilted, male shrimp-head welder, with pods! Now, what more do you bloody want?! Frankly, it makes me sick! Why don't you go have your child naturally?" Eric Idle, Genetic Counselor Sketch, SNL 1976
[Gene]
I'll opt in the day my supplier offers to credit me at market rates,
i.e. they can pay me more for kWh I shed during peak times than it would cost
me to continue using those same kWh at the flat rate.
Think of it this way: the utility is buying generating capacity from me;
I should get something similar to what they would pay to purchase peak power from
any another supplier.
...and because if one LED or the wire between two LEDs becomes damaged, the entire string of lights will go out.
What makes you think that a string of LEDs is wired in series? That went out with xmas lights in the 50's...
The breakthrough with the lightbulb wasn't knowing how to make a lightbulb -- everyone in the field had the basic idea already -- it was findng a filament that didn't burn out after ten seconds. Edison's team tried THOUSANDS of filaments before they found one that worked.
No, the breakthrough was the invention (not by Edison) of a decent vacuum pump that allowed practically anything to be used as a filament. Before he could achieve a better vacuum, everything he tried vaporized.
--Gene
How about noise? Maybe you want to run the dishwater when you're out of the house so that it doesn't bother you when you're trying to relax at home? That feature in itself would be worth it for some.
If that feature is worth it to you, you probably should have bought the better insulated, quiet dishwasher to begin with.
Of course, the "smart" dishwashers will be the better insulated, quiet dishwashers, not the low end crap installed by soon-to-be bankrupt homebuilders.
--Gene
There may be a prism on the dark side of the moon that produces rainbows... or so an ungodly amount of acid apparently led Pink Floyd to believe.
No, if you turn the album cover over, you'll see where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover, where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover, where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover,where ******************
! stack overflow at 0xc030407b90 !
Album terminated with error 0x000C.
******************
I still have my TI-57, zipper case, and quick reference card.
I'm pretty sure it still works, although the battery pack is dead and I'm not sure where my charger is.
I think the "7" key was getting bouncy.
Well, I prefer the term "frugal".
The reasons I use the IBM monitors:
1. They still work and look good at 15 years old.
2. By definition, they ARE the standard.
3. I would have to pay $20 to legally dispose of them in my state.
Besides, it's not like I'm asking for Hercules monochrome mode support.
I've tried to install various Ubuntorum on old PCs.
The graphical installers ALWAYS try to use an ergonomic refresh rate
that drive my old Genuine IBM VGA monitors bananas.
The installer should be written for 640x480, 60 Hz, PERIOD.
And authors of said installers should test them at 640x480.
There's nothing that makes me want to microwave an Ubuntu CD faster
than a dialog box with the buttons off the bottom of the screen.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging for health care is a great example of cross-licensing.
None of the major manufacturers (GE, Siemens, Phillips, Toshiba, Hitachi) would have
viable products in today's market without extensively cross-licensing each other's IP.
--Gene
The driest place in many homes is the refrigerator.
Shake out the excess water, then place on a middle rack.
There will be practically no water remaining after 24 hours...
That was from Tooter Turtle, a cartoon from 1960, that had a "Mr. Wizard" character.
After seeing how life was as something or somewhere else, Tooter would invariably cry out
"Help me, Mr. Wizard!" to return him to normal.
Wikipedia has a nice concise entry on it.
Slashdot Mirror
Do not be tempted to run to Home Depot and cobble together a "dead man's plug". You might think that you will perform all steps (open main breaker, plug in cord, start genny) in the right order, but Murphy, and the fact that you will most likely be performing these steps in the snow, in darkness, means you, your spouse, or your child could be killed.
You can choose to go manual transfer or automatic. The difference will add around $3K to the total. Pour a pad, and have a fixed installation generator installed. These will run on natural gas or propane.
If you must use propane, be aware that you will need a much larger than usual tank, because it must supply a sufficient quantity of vapor, not liquid, and at NE winter temperatures, that requires a lot of headspace in the tank.
Fixed-installation systems usually use an automatic transfer switch, and often include an "exerciser" function that will run the generator for 10-20 minutes every week or two.
There are a few "portable" generators that can also run on NG/Propane, but be aware that these are practically impossible to start with a pull cord, so require an electric starter and the battery to go with it. The logistics of supplying propane, and having adequate exhaust for a portable NG genny makes them fairly impractical.
Regardless of the generator:
Have a competent electrician install the transfer switch (auto or manual); At that time, make a survey of your electrical use, and have the electrician add a sub-panel. Move the circuits that are required for safety and comfort (furnace, refrigeration, well pump if applicable, some indoor and outdoor lighting, and a few outlets in convenient locations for things like recharging laptops/phones and watching TV) to the subpanel. These are all that should be fed by the genny. High-draw electric appliances (clothes dryers, electric stoves, water heaters) should be left out.
Size the generator based on the starting current of your fridge and your furnace combined (because Murphy will insist that they try to start at the same time, stalling the generator).
--Gene
The Guardian article dropped a decimal place. According to the manufacturer's press release, it costs $0.03 (3 cents) per liter, or $0.35 (35 cents) per day.
The latent heat that must be removed when water vapor condenses to liquid is 540 calories per gram.
At a room/air temperature of 20 degrees C, 12 liters of water is 11,978 grams.
So, to condense that 12 liters of water would take 6,468,336 calories, or 27,063,518 joules,
which is equivalent to 7.52 kilowatt hours.
Now, a well made, typical Peltier cooler might have a coefficient of performance (ratio of heat removed to energy in) of 0.7, so it would require at least 10.7 kWh. That would be best case, at 100% RH, where the dew point and the air temperature are equivalent. The best Energy Star-rated dehumidifier with a comparable capacity (11.8 liters per day) has an energy factor (liters per kWh) of 1.3, so would consume about 9.2 kWh condensing that same 12 liters.
So, by my calculations, we're talking three 140 watt bulbs burning 24 hours a day to use the average, 10 kWh. And that's not accounting for the UV lamp (which could be very small, say 3 watts, for that volume).
I suppose in British Columbia, it might be possible to buy hydroelectric-generated electricity for the 3-4 cents per kWh that this thing MUST consume by the laws of thermodynamics.
"Catastrophic Error-Program Lost-Sorry"
..at least it apologized...
Gene
You can make methane from pig shit, and there's certainly no shortage of that...
[Gene]
You really have a severe case of ADD, if you can't get past my first line.
It takes 5.6 pounds of natural gas to provide the equivalent energy of 1 gallon of gasoline (GGE).
(1 gallon of gasoline weighs between 5 and 6 pounds, depending on temperature).
According to the Green Car Congress, a gasoline Honda Civic SE consumes 6.9 liters of gasoline for every 100 kilometers driven (34 mpg); the CNG Civic GX requires 7.4 liters gasoline equivalent (31.7 mpg), making it 7% less efficient. The GX carries 8.0 GGE, for a range of about 200 miles.
In Massachusetts, CNG is selling for $2.96 GGE, vs. $4.09 for gasoline, making it 28% less expensive.
There are approximately 120,000 CNG vehicles on the road in the US. [Gene]
Fine, don't RTFA. And apparently, you didn't read the /. summary, either
The intention is to use wind power to free up supply of domestic natural gas for transport (that's automobiles).
22% of US electric demand is supplied by natural gas fired power plants.
[Gene]
See? That guy in SF did invent it, just like Scotty said.
[Gene]
i.e. they can pay me more for kWh I shed during peak times than it would cost
me to continue using those same kWh at the flat rate.
Think of it this way: the utility is buying generating capacity from me;
I should get something similar to what they would pay to purchase peak power from
any another supplier.
[Gene]
What makes you think that a string of LEDs is wired in series? That went out with xmas lights in the 50's...
[Gene]
..and spending twice as long in a windowless tube is twice the fun?
--Gene
..who had this as a significant plot element in his novel, The Shockwave Rider
--Gene
..will clarify why most interfaces suck, and what you can do to avoid sucking also.
--Gene
No, the breakthrough was the invention (not by Edison) of a decent vacuum pump that allowed practically anything to be used as a filament. Before he could achieve a better vacuum, everything he tried vaporized.
--Gene
If that feature is worth it to you, you probably should have bought the better insulated, quiet dishwasher to begin with.
Of course, the "smart" dishwashers will be the better insulated, quiet dishwashers, not the low end crap installed by soon-to-be bankrupt homebuilders.
--Gene
No, if you turn the album cover over, you'll see where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover, where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover, where the rainbow is mixed down to a coherent white ray, which travels to the front cover, where it diverges into a rainbow that travels to the back cover,where
******************
! stack overflow at 0xc030407b90 !
Album terminated with error 0x000C.
******************
I still have my TI-57, zipper case, and quick reference card.
I'm pretty sure it still works, although the battery pack is dead and I'm not sure where my charger is.
I think the "7" key was getting bouncy.
Here's a picture of it.
--Gene
--Gene
The reasons I use the IBM monitors:
1. They still work and look good at 15 years old.
2. By definition, they ARE the standard.
3. I would have to pay $20 to legally dispose of them in my state.
Besides, it's not like I'm asking for Hercules monochrome mode support.
--Gene
The graphical installers ALWAYS try to use an ergonomic refresh rate
that drive my old Genuine IBM VGA monitors bananas.
The installer should be written for 640x480, 60 Hz, PERIOD.
And authors of said installers should test them at 640x480.
There's nothing that makes me want to microwave an Ubuntu CD faster
than a dialog box with the buttons off the bottom of the screen.
--Gene
...bone loss, extended radiation exposure, and catastrophic micrometeorite punctures?
That would be a reality show worth watching...
--Gene
Magnetic Resonance Imaging for health care is a great example of cross-licensing.
None of the major manufacturers (GE, Siemens, Phillips, Toshiba, Hitachi) would have
viable products in today's market without extensively cross-licensing each other's IP.
--Gene
The driest place in many homes is the refrigerator.
Shake out the excess water, then place on a middle rack.
There will be practically no water remaining after 24 hours...
--Gene
That was from Tooter Turtle, a cartoon from 1960, that had a "Mr. Wizard" character. After seeing how life was as something or somewhere else, Tooter would invariably cry out "Help me, Mr. Wizard!" to return him to normal. Wikipedia has a nice concise entry on it.