Ahh, Heat in the shop.

[Jack Frederick]

I installed my last Rinnai direct vent wall furnace the other day. I put another in my daughters home in the garage turned play room for the kids a couple weeks ago. I say last as Ihey were the only ones left over after almost 30 yrs representing Rinnai. I kinda accumulated them. Beginning in ‘91 when the old Gold Medallion all electric homes were being converted to gas I sold close to 250,000 units in the six New England States. I have used them in my homes, basements, garages, shop and this one now in the new home. The EX22 pictured will modulate from 8200- 21,500 btu in seven stages. 2 3/4” hole for the vent. Today the market has turned with the Inverter Mini-splits as it should given their performance. I also represented Fujitsu from ‘98-‘11 and it was great fun introducing that technology. Nice to be warm in the shop.IMG_5133.jpgIMG_5134.jpgIMG_5133.jpgIMG_5134.jpg

[Zachary Hoyt]

Heat in the shop is great. Mine is a wood stove, about 10 years old but I just got it last year. We're supposed to hit 4 tonight.

[Rod Sheridan]

Heat in the shop is great indeed.

We’re looking at going with a heat pump next year to go off natural gas.

Regards, Rod

[Jack Frederick]

That is the best plan Rod, especially if you can tie some solar to the property.

[Alan Lightstone]

That is the best plan Rod, especially if you can tie some solar to the property.

How well does solar work up North in Toronto? Always wonder about those Alaska shows where they show the solar panels, tilted almost totally vertically which is amazing to me living down South.

[Mark Wedel]

The one plus being up far north if you get a lot of energy in the summer due to long days, but very little in the winter.
My father, who did solar analysis back in the day, and I looked at this when I got solar panels - this was more about them facing east or west vs south, but also included angles. The low angles hurt some, but does not necessarily mean a system is not viable.
I decided to look at my stats (I'm near San Jose, CA). Right now, with short days and sun low on the horizon, my peak production is ~2000 watts. In June, it is ~2500 watts. So I'm losing about 20% due to low sun angle (more atmosphere), and probably a bit more because the angle of the panels is not ideal for the lower sun angle. This is instantaneous power production. Daily production is ~20 kwh/day in summer, ~8 kwh/day in winter - this is caused by the shorter days and more cloud cover. A totally clear winter day may get me ~12 kwh. For summer months, 90+% of days are totally clear around here.

[Jack Frederick]

I use the Sun Seeker app for all kinds of solar, daylight hrs, maps, etc. I know there are many but this one has been very good for me. I miss being able to follow my solar systems output. Here in Petaluma the Solstice sun angle 12/21 is 28.30*. Summer Solstice 6/21 is 75.17*

[Bill Dufour]

My under standing is the cost off added moving parts to have the panels track the sun and change tilt angles is no longer justified. It is a better investment to use that money to just add more panels to the system.
BilLD

[Mark Wedel]

I could see that - plus, it just adds a lot more complication and things to fail on the setup.
Around here, to get the utility rebate, the utility first does an energy audit to see where you might be able to save power - so that is another part - rather than spending a lot of money on tracking devices, just improving efficiency of the house might be money better spent (insulation, LED light bulbs, etc)

[Jack Frederick]

Mark, in the energy saving regard, insulation, windows, tightening the envelope offers the best results and best bang for the buck. It also offers comfort which you will feel. It is always best to bring the load back to a fit the system. Taht is kinda stating it backwards Our “problem” here in CA is that the PUC gave PG&E the green light to regulate residential solar. they changed the Net Energy Metering program (2) in April. On my system in Nevada City I simply met the install requirement, fed back into the grid and received a pittance for the power but made enough to zero the bill. NEM (3) as I understand it from my EE friend pretty much requires that you install a battery with the system. As to trackers I’d never do them on other than a ground mount. I was in the solar business back in the 70’s early 80’s and had a couple owners instinct on trackers. Certainly the technology is light years advanced from then, but they end up looking at each other. Just add the sq ft of collectors to compensate. They are so inexpensive now.

[Mark Wedel]

I'm fortunate that the city of Santa Clara, CA (where I live) has its own municipal power and never sold out to PG&E. So I get my electricity through the municipal utility, and its very simple - the meter goes forward if I use electricity, goes backward when I produce it. Once a year, they compare the meter to what it said a year ago, and that is how much I get charged for (or if I overproduce, I get some minor amount of credit)