Seven-Years Ago (06-December-2013) — New Jersey

LG Combination Washer/Dryer Vibrations: Troll Family Dance

The combination LG washing machine/dryer arrived seven years ago. It was a bit of a challenge getting it into the house, and into the laundry room. Once in the laundry room, it was very easy to set-up. It only required a single outlet (120 V, 15 A), hot & cold water connections, and the drain. The previous electric dryer required higher voltage and current (220 V, 40 A), and an outdoor vent. There was a bit of vibration (actually a lot of vibration during the spin dry cycle until I leveled the unit). The house trolls quickly discovered that it worked as a great dance floor. The unit is still running (2020), although did have to replace the drain pump last year.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny with some clouds. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 26.8 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (365 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (110 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 255 kWh.

Sunday (18-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

The troll mushroom hunters found two big ones. It has been hot and humid the last several days, but no rain.

Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 100, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 100, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 320, 135 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a second Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 320, 135 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds and bit less Sun. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work harder (25.7 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. Daily net deficit 9.9 kWh. Weekly totals  412 kWh used, 350 kWh produced. So far still ahead for the month of August, but will need some more sunny days

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 14 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25.7 kWh. I tend to believe the Sense numbers since they more closely the energy being recorded at the external power company (PSE&G) meters. I’ve asked the WaterFurnace folks in the past about the discrepancy, but they didn’t have a good answer. The Sense folks told me they thought that the WaterFurnace/Symphony system was only measuring one phase of the energy even though the system is powered by the 220V circut (using two phases). I wish an electrical engineer that understands this better would correct me here.

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Friday (09-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout: I came upon a pair of Trolls that found a large Mushroom rising from the pile of black wood chip mulch.

Hiking Trolls Discover Large Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hiking Trolls Discover Large Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (69.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Load of laundry (4.4 kWh) adding to the total used. Daily net surplus 12.1 kWh.

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Monday (22-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. Still hot and humid outside. The high was 93 °F with a heat index of 108 °F according to my personal weather station. Clouds developed and ultimately more thunderstorms (two days in a row) with 1.08 inches of rain over the two days. A large number of mushrooms popped up overnight, and I was able to get an image of the Troll mushroom farmers guarding their crop.

Troll Mushroom Farmers. Composite of 50 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/1.4, 1/80 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Focus Magic. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Troll Mushroom Farmers. Composite of 50 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/1.4, 1/80 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Focus Magic. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (78.0 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (65.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC system is able to maintain the indoor temperature at 74-76 °F using ~35 kWh of electricity. My previous 30 year old central A/C unit would not have been able to maintain the indoor temperature below 85 °F with outdoor temperatures above 90 °F and used significantly more electricity. Granted, I now have better insulation, an attic fan, and more efficient French doors.

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Saturday (29-September-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

The extended Troll Family had its Autumn Mushroom Jamboree to celebrate a better than expected crop. They also were discussing their DNA Ancestry results: (77.2% Norwegian,  10.9% British & Irish, 10.2% Broadly Northwestern European, 0.7% German & French, 0.5% Eastern European, 0.2% Broadly European). Pretty much where the Vikings traveled.

Troll Family Autumn Mushroom Jamboree. Composite of 20 focus stacked images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera with a 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 200, 56 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Helicon Focus (Method B, R8, S4). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Troll Family Autumn Mushroom Jamboree. Composite of 20 focus stacked images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera with a 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 200, 56 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Helicon Focus (Method B, R8, S4). (DAVID J MATHRE)