Category: Technology

Views of science and technology from around the world

Thursday (18-February-2021) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

About 4 inches of snow and sleet. I waited till late afternoon until the precipitation stopped to clear the driveway. More snow, sleet, and frozen rain expected tomorrow. It is a lot easier clearing the snow right away. Time-lapse video recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Daily Electric Energy Used (85.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The solar panels totally covered with snow. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 85.3 kWh.

Friday (05-February-2021) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

More snow early this morning. I went out after the snow stopped to widen the path to the road using the Brush Mower with Snow-blower attachment. First had to replace the broken collar connecting the Snow-blower attachment to the Brush Mower. Luckily, an extra collar was included in the assembly kit from the manufacture. Some of the snow had melted and refrozen making the task more difficult. I need to get chains for the wheels. Time-lapse video taken with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Daily Electric Energy Used (70.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (8.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny, however the solar panels still significantly covered with snow. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 62.2 kWh.

Tuesday (02-February-2021) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Heavy Snow all day long. I went out after noon to make a path to the road using the Brush Mower with Snow-blower attachment. Had a hard time since the snow was wet and heavy. I need to get chains for the wheels. Time-lapse video taken with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Daily Electric Energy Used (73.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of Snow. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 73.3 kWh.

Thursday (31-December-2020) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Visitors to the birdfeeder: White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.


Backyard Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (65.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (6.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Rain and clouds. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 59.5 kWh.

Monthly Electric Energy Used (1963 kWh) from Sense. Monthly Solar Electric Energy Produced (551 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 1412 kWh.

Annual Electric Energy Used (20,515 kWh) from Sense. Annual Solar Electric Energy Produced (15,082 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 5543 kWh. The SREC credits (15 MW) and not needing ~$4K of fuel oil more than pay for the deficit.

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.