David Meiland

I don't see why you couldn't just call it solid surface...

Chad, are you thinking there were heat relays?

3 cents is roughly the wholesale cost from BPA. At 4 cents the utility should be able to maintain the grid.

Chad, don't feel bad about the tax credits etc., just make sure to take into account ALL of the market-distorting political and economic realities we live with. Big picture makes the small picture fit nicely. On a practical level, we are better off building panels than plants so IMO you done good.

Details? How many watts, what did it cost, what tariff structure, DIY? etc. Considering doing the same here...

I've seen situations where a commercial contractor or tradesman built a house and used stuff almost never used in residential but commonly used on his commercial jobs. That may be the situation there.

I agree about the Flir deal--in most cases a 320 camera will produce an image that's equal or better. If there is nothing with sharp edges in the image it can be a little soft, but part of the skill of using the thing is knowing what you're looking at and what it means. No doubt the Flir technology is a response to users who complained about difficulty focusing and interpreting their images, and/or showing them to the unwashed masses. One of the Testo cameras has a routine where it takes two thermal images in very quick succession and somehow combines them for a sharper image. Samples I've seen have looked great.

I'm biased, used to be a semi-pro photographer with a lot of Hasselblad and large format gear. If it's not hi-res, I won't touch it. I could do IR with a 160 camera, but it would be more work, less fun, harder to focus.

You can do interiors with a standard lens if need be, but it's a whole lot easier with a wide angle, and the images you output for clients make a lot more sense to them. I don't know if there are cameras with less than 320x240 that have the wide angle lens option. You get much smoother .jpgs from a 320 camera. My Fluke is 4+ years old now and has always worked perfectly, and I've used it a lot, so it's paid for itself. I won't buy another until I have to, but it will be another 320 model, and it will cost a lot less than last time. I've seen some remarkable images of wet EIFS but I think they're very hard to get and probably wouldn't rely on IR as a primary moisture detection tool. The one guy I know who does a lot of that has a Tramex meter for it.

I don't know if this is common elsewhere, but many newer heat pump installs here have an outdoor sensor and a "heat strip lockout" feature that prevents the heat strips from coming on if the outdoor temp is above 35 degrees, unless you specifically select emergency heat on the stat (which requires going to a secondary screen). Virtually all older systems run the heat strips if you raise the set point. I've checked out many high bill complaints from folks who goose the stat whenever they feel cold, then turn it back down when they're warm... all day long. If I want to run a heat pump, I usually just leave the front door open for a short period until the stat gets cold.

Whoever did the wiring in the photos did a few odd things, or at least things I wouldn't expect to see here. The ground wires are cut too short, and each is connected individually to the screws in the back of the box. The screw on the left appears to have two wires wrapped part way around it, one in each direction. I would expect to see two of the wires about 6" long, and the third about 12" long. There would be a green wire nut connecting all three grounds together, with the 12" wire coming out the end of the nut and going to the screw (where it would be wrapped all the way around). I don't think I've ever seen a metal box with two ground screws in it. The third romex in the box is likely a feeder to another switch somewhere (Marc called them both "hot"), but I wouldn't expect to see it connected to the switch. It would be pigtailed with the hot and a 6" wire that went to the switch. Maybe the guy who did it didn't have any wire nuts. Or, is this typical elsewhere?

Bill, great link. There are a couple of poured concrete houses in a state park here, from the 1930s I think. They make for some unusual IR. They had huge amounts of cordwood stacked outside. Click to Enlarge 35.63 KB Click to Enlarge 33.78 KB

You can probably determine if it's sorta working or not, but most of the problems I hear about with ground source are that it's nowhere near as efficient as was claimed when the contractor sold it. Problems with ground loop size, problems with lots of electricity used for pumping, etc. I've seen a few here with whopping electric bills to go with them. If I were buying a building with a ground source system I would want to see a bill history.

Was there a trap for the standpipe somewhere out of the photo?

What's with the black outline around the ridge vent? Is that cor-a-vent exposed because the ridge caps are too small? That's a couple days of work to repair--a long day with a helper, two if alone. Assuming nothing else was wrong (like the ridge vent or the skylights) I would strip both sides of each valley one shingle wide, possible a little wider depending on what's found underneath, and then re-install it either as a cut or metal valley. It is really painstaking to tuck new shingles under existing and get them fastened. It's around a couple thousand dollars, and if it goes to hell.... more. If there are only five years left, there's a strong argument for a new roof.

The real issue is air leakage through the ceiling into the attic. They might be able to solve the condensation by air-sealing the attic floor, and that might pay for itself in improved comfort and reduced heat loss. A sure approach is to remove the metal, install a solid deck, then re-install the metal over felt with new screws. I would not spend the money to foam 25-year-old metal.

I would call that more of a tool than a toy. Would you have physically climbed up to that chimney cap? What are the still images like?

Is there a direct vent wall terminal inside that brick structure, and if so, was any provision made for it to get outside air? Maybe there's a roof terminal... hopefully so.

There is an intake duct from outdoors, piped to a return, with a motorized damper. The lo-vo wire exiting the bottom of the timer goes into the furnace cabinet, the wire from the damper is not the same one. The electronic air cleaner is plugged into the outlet that is just above and in contact with the clock. I assume the flex going into the clock is its power. I often see timers for running the air handler, and most have the outside air duct also. Many do not have a damper on the outside air. Maybe the air cleaner is "slaved" to the air handler somehow, except that it's power switch is off.

OK, mystery solved. I went back and looked at this again, and realized that there are slots for thin metal filters in frames, and that they were not installed. They are a sort of coarse, swirly mesh that you can see through, and would only get the big stuff. That being the case, do these things work well if turned on, and why might a clock timer be connected? I rarely see these, most folks here use the 3-for-$10 pleated paper filters from Ace.

American Standard 90% propane furnace, and from what I can see there is no paper filter, just this electronic air cleaner that's (a) not turned on and (b) connected to a clock timer for some reason. I'm confused. What gets the big stuff if there's no paper filter? And, why put the electro on a timer? Click to Enlarge 42.11 KB Click to Enlarge 85.58 KB

You're saying there are heaters *inside* the plywood box? Or, is this just for distributing heat from the woodstove?

John, $20k per year for one person, or your whole family?

Annual increases of 10-15% over the past several years, one of them because I graduated out of the 40-49 bracket, no real impact from ACA that I can see. I have heard stories all over the map, probably more good than bad.

The space for the HRV is above the bathroom in a drop ceiling...? Which rooms can the HRV ducts access from there, and are you going to have to go in/out through the roof for the intake/exhaust?