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Share Your Home Energy/Efficiency Improvements

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by iplug, Jul 10, 2015.

  1. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Yes, but they picked some easier 50% humidity elsewhere to define the rating.
     
  2. tada

    tada Member

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    I know an organic farmer in San Marcos, TX who has one of these installed in his house. And it’s a very nice house. He prefers that visitors urinate outside, though.
     
  3. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Inside or outside, he should be collecting the pee too for agricultural use:
    Pee and poo | PriusChat
     
  4. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    As fuzzy1 mentioned, yes:


    Excerpts/condensed from the best link I have come across on SEER/EER/COP/HSPF:

    EER (energy efficiency ratio) is a measure of how efficiently a cooling system will operate with 80°F 50% RH indoor and 95°F outdoor.

    Because of the ratio of BTU/watts, an EER of 3.412 means 100% efficiency


    SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) measures how efficiently a residential central cooling system (air conditioner or heat pump) will operate over an entire cooling season. The SEER of a system is determined by multiplying the steady state energy efficiency ratio (EER) measured at conditions of 82°F outdoor temperature and 80°F 50% RH indoor entering air temperature by the “Part Load Factor” (PLF) of the system.


    Formulas for the approximate conversion between SEER and EER or COP in California are:
    SEER = EER ÷ 0.9
    SEER = COP x 3.792
    EER = COP x 3.413

    SEER of 13 is approximately equivalent to a COP of 3.43, which means that 3.43 units of heat energy are removed from indoors per unit of work energy used to run the heat pump.

    The relationship between SEER and EER is relative depending on where you live because equipment performance is dependent of air temperature, humidity, and pressure.

    If you live in the higher humidity of Georgia, it is better approximated by:

    SEER = EER ÷ 0.80 due to the much higher humidity

    COP (coefficient of performance) is the measurement of how efficiently a heating or cooling system (particularly a heat pump in its heating mode and a chiller for cooling) will operate at a single outdoor temperature condition. When applied to the heating modes of heat pumps, that temperature condition is usually 47°F.

    HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor) is the measurement of how efficiently all residential and some commercial heat pumps will operate in their heating mode over an entire normal heating season. (To convert the HSPF number into a percentage, you just divide the HSPF by 3.412, the number of Btu in one watt-hour of electricity.)

    SEER, COP and HSPF | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com
     
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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  6. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I'd like a grey water system, but Pennsylvania code treats all waste water as black.:(
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    In the interim, I do what I can: one can I'm pretty much the only user, I flush the pee just every 4th or 5th time. Simple (in)action that cuts down a lot on waste water. Too, we NEVER water the lawn, and the car get's washed maybe every other month, at the most.
     
  8. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    Checking in with an update on our never ending quest for home energy/efficiency upgrades.

    Last week we finally ditched the last personal home/transportation fossil fuel item and replaced our gas cooktop with an induction one. Excited to turn the gas valve to off at the meter!

    The new induction cooktop has been a pleasure. It boils water much faster than gas, is very efficient as heats only the cookware (actually once the cookware gets hot the cookware can heat the cooktop directly underneath), and because there is immediate direct energy transfer to the cookware it allows more precise cooking control. We can melt butter or chocolate without burning it.

    For the wife, the greatest thing is how easy it is to clean up given a smooth ceramic top and no burn-on since the top doesn't get hot directly or even hot enough with cookware heat back feed.

    A few months ago we also ditched our one speed pool pump for a variable speed one and can confirm it cut energy use 85-90%.
     
    #48 iplug, May 20, 2019
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
    Zythryn likes this.