So part of the city of Buffalo got 6 feet or more of snow while it's nearby airport got 6 inches. Meanwhile the ski resorts in the area (which try to be open for the Thanksgiving holiday) only got a few inches of snow.
Our residential power rate here is about 13 cents per kWh, commercial and industrial power rates average about half this rate. Combined water and sewer are about $18 per 100 cu ft of water, sewerage is more than 2/3 of that.
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I went to the Didcot power station when it had it's opening day - an impressive thing for a kid to see. Just up the road is the JET fusion power laboratory - an interesting contrast and it also impressed me greatly to see it before it went into use.
On the isle, the first 9m3 is ~$4/m3
But that's only 6.5 gal/day, a five minute shower for one.
On a low income, with a couple of kids, living under a corrugated roof, out of the wind, the tropics are much less a paradise.
I have acquaintances/friends there who dream of having aircon in their home, every year the answer is maybe next year. But always cheerful, and I always make 'm laugh.
On the Euro side, I live in a 9 bedroom home with 4 showers and 2 bath tubs, and still have to install a pair of 2-way 16A switches, as a dozen automatic switches isn't sufficient to bubble my butt.
Makes life's relativity all that visible.
(thinking about starving Armenians makes me eat stuff that crossed the consumption expiring date a week ago)
Our 170 Sq. meter residence.....we pay appx. 200 Pesos( $20 USD) every two months for unlimited water consumption. You do have to watch for the "water police"....those who roam the city looking for stupid water leaks from "mains" going into your residence. We have a common type gas powered water heater that is so powerful, it will keep up with your rather low pressure water system.....making for that perpetual hot shower if you want. Each residence has the high mounted "backup" water-tank, appx. a cubic Meter worth.....this is to keep you in water when the clubs down at the beach-front decide to fill their swimming-pools.
--------------------------------------------------------------Rick.........
--------------------------------------------------------------Rick.........
Thank you for exciting my curiosity. It’s the first time I sat down to check the utilities cost (bliach!)
A good 2013 average for our house (3 inhabitants) consumption:
Electricity: 480kWh/month
Water: 13m^3/month
For electricity, effective final charge 0.162Euro/kWh
Nominal charge is ~0.09Euro/kWh.
The rest is transportation/distribution grid charges, green gas tax (0.02Euro/kWh!), 13%VAT
For combined water and sewer , effective final charge 1.237Euro/m^3
Nominal charge for tap water is ~0.56Euro/m^3. Tap water here is fine drinkable.
For sewer they charge 75% of water cost.
Rest is escalating VAT (13%,23%)
George
A good 2013 average for our house (3 inhabitants) consumption:
Electricity: 480kWh/month
Water: 13m^3/month
For electricity, effective final charge 0.162Euro/kWh
Nominal charge is ~0.09Euro/kWh.
The rest is transportation/distribution grid charges, green gas tax (0.02Euro/kWh!), 13%VAT
For combined water and sewer , effective final charge 1.237Euro/m^3
Nominal charge for tap water is ~0.56Euro/m^3. Tap water here is fine drinkable.
For sewer they charge 75% of water cost.
Rest is escalating VAT (13%,23%)
George
Heat Pump Woes - They don't work that well and then they need replaced 7 - 10 years
A winter-ey rain/snow mix will turn them in to ice blocks; if you have enough warning use the emergency heat before the storm.
If you have a choice install condenser near/below the kitchen window so the hot water faucet reaches, in case of a freeze up. Just open the widow and squeeze the trigger 😀
Last winter my inside furnace (fan/blower) was acting crazy: wouldn't turn off, emergency heat was on full time.
My son and I opened the inside unit, found a small control circuit board, Googled the model number and found surplus boards for $35. Works nicely and they used larger resistors in the newer model boards.
Might be able to upgrade or add additional electric coils to your system.
Keep warm 😎
A winter-ey rain/snow mix will turn them in to ice blocks; if you have enough warning use the emergency heat before the storm.
If you have a choice install condenser near/below the kitchen window so the hot water faucet reaches, in case of a freeze up. Just open the widow and squeeze the trigger 😀
Last winter my inside furnace (fan/blower) was acting crazy: wouldn't turn off, emergency heat was on full time.
My son and I opened the inside unit, found a small control circuit board, Googled the model number and found surplus boards for $35. Works nicely and they used larger resistors in the newer model boards.
Might be able to upgrade or add additional electric coils to your system.
Keep warm 😎
I got the unit thawed out after we had two days above freezing. I did not have time to open the unit up and work on it.
During the time it resembled a popsicle, we used "emergency heat". I switched back to heat pump for a few days, but the snow that came Monday started the avalanche again. It has been on emergency since Monday since it is frozen again and the high temp since Monday has been 35. Next warm day will be Sunday, but it will be raining.
The small PC board is the "defrost controller" it works by setting the Freon flow back to AC mode and shutting off the outside fan. This pumps enough heat from the house to warm the outside coils to about 70 degrees F. This is not happening on our unit.
We were not here last winter, but we owned the house and had friends living here. The unit kept blowing the low voltage fuse, and they called the local HVAC repair company several times. We paid for a "new circuit board" ($150) and several service calls where they got it working without really stating what they did. They finally told the users to leave it on emergency all winter.
It appears that someone who did not have a clue has been inside the air handler. There are a few cut wires, and wires of different colors have been spliced together. I suspect that the defrost cycle was blowing the fuses, and it has been disconnected.
During the time it resembled a popsicle, we used "emergency heat". I switched back to heat pump for a few days, but the snow that came Monday started the avalanche again. It has been on emergency since Monday since it is frozen again and the high temp since Monday has been 35. Next warm day will be Sunday, but it will be raining.
The small PC board is the "defrost controller" it works by setting the Freon flow back to AC mode and shutting off the outside fan. This pumps enough heat from the house to warm the outside coils to about 70 degrees F. This is not happening on our unit.
We were not here last winter, but we owned the house and had friends living here. The unit kept blowing the low voltage fuse, and they called the local HVAC repair company several times. We paid for a "new circuit board" ($150) and several service calls where they got it working without really stating what they did. They finally told the users to leave it on emergency all winter.
It appears that someone who did not have a clue has been inside the air handler. There are a few cut wires, and wires of different colors have been spliced together. I suspect that the defrost cycle was blowing the fuses, and it has been disconnected.
I proably live further north than any of you, but the Gulf Stream and close proximity to the ocean makes the average temperature fairly suitable for heat pumps. Still, in these areas, heat pumps are often equipped with a fair length of self regulating heater cables in the bottom tray of the outdoor unit.
Had the same problem her in GA . found a real hvac guy 1/2 hour 79 dollar later it work very well . Hope you are using gas or propane in the new house . At least as a back up . By the way weather permitting I will be in Dayton on the 16 and 17th of DEC. Regards
Minus 6 Celsius right now. ...Five inches of snow. ...Clear sky, full of stars and a half moon.
Two little birds sleeping on my veranda, and freezing. 🙁
Two little birds sleeping on my veranda, and freezing. 🙁
Maybe you can put up some small wooden boxes outside to give them some protection from the wind ? With a small opening for entry and exit. Will they have enough strength to hop in ?
while boarding our car for a Sunday morning ride / walk along Ross Bay (crisp at around -2c before the breeze)
that rock is about 14" tall
