The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

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7Wannabe5
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Very interesting article on the baboons. Now dropping subject.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 8:52 am
and LOL. I shall not do such a thing. It is actually rather bad for my mental health, I spent most of covid doing such a thing. I am hesitant to say...
ah, shit! understood. will not insist. wishing you the best of health.

&

i recommend getting ac for your location, but work on passive solar also.

ac guarantees good sleep (mental health is prime directive), passive solar cuts down on dependency and cost. can elaborate upon request.

&

re: vaccine pain: best thing is a tylenol unless you have contraindication. it reduces the perception of pain while not interfering with the necessary inflammation required for proper immune response. glad to see your system is working.

==

a note to lurkers reading this, if this applies to you: please note that if you have a strong response to the vaccine, your response to actual covid would be much worse. so quit being a fucking coward and get your damn shots.

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

Absolutely right on about AC and sleep quality--that was something I was hesitant to add because I get that some people "dont get it" and am afraid I come across spoilt and wining. But sleep quality has massively decreased. Yes, please elaborate or link to books/article about passive solar that you recommend?

And oof, I forget some people will read the pain that comes from vaccine as an excuse to not get it. We are unimaginably privileged to have access to the vaccines. If you are afraid of pain, just repeat to yourself USA USA USA--make it a mantra through your pain. You'll be alright.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

passive solar is a principle or paradigm or element of building design, often used in permaculture but not exclusive to it, which seeks to provide thermal regulation through strategies that take advantage of onsite solar energy.

it can range from anything like ad-hoc tree planting, to windows and shades, to whirlybird roof turbines and/or ridge vents, to insulation, use of solar colectors, thermal mass, cooling towers, water heating, etc etc, depending on climate, location, solar aspect (orientation), your objectives, etc.

you could start from something like this.... https://open.oregonstate.education/perm ... ar-aspect/
and go down the rabbit hole.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 8:52 am
Living without an AC has become anxiety inducing.

I first bought a single hose portable AC...
Disclaimer: the following is just my opinion based on a limited set of facts.

I'm concerned that the one year without AC challenge is very risky with little reward for you or the environment. I think you might be playing with fire. I'm sorry, I don't have time to type out a huge response and I apologize for writing in a "telling you what to do" way. I also feel like I don't have much info to go on but I'm concerned that you are making your life much more difficult and uncomfortable, creating new problems to solve (example: mold), and risking your mental health (the big concern) for very limited or nonexistent gains. I recommend returning the portable AC or selling it and using the house AC in as efficient a way as possible (example: where I'm at it usually makes sense to turn off the AC and open the windows from midnight to 8am because it cools off at night). You can combine that with sealing, insulating, and passive solar ideas like curtains, trees, window awnings if they make sense, etc.

Big picture, I'm concerned that it sounds like you are overthinking and agonizing over a number of things all at once. From what you've reported you strongly remind me of someone else I used to know with a very similar mental health challenge who would get very focused on issues like this and go way too far in 10 directions at once on each issue. That person didn't make much progress but caused themselves a lot of stress and confusion. Slow and steady wins the race.* Pick one thing and work on it and make sure that thing is going to make a positive impact that is proportionate to the suffering you have to endure to get it. I don't think switching from whole house AC to a portable AC or giving up AC entirely meets that standard.

*The rebuttal to the "slow and steady" argument is to look at my journal to see how long it is taking me to get anywhere. Moderation in all things I suppose, not too fast not too slow. Take my advice with a big grain of salt as there is nothing "extreme" about it.

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 10:29 am
[quote=ellarose24 post_id=242616 time=<a href="tel:1620136364">1620136364</a> user_id=4814]
Living without an AC has become anxiety inducing.

I first bought a single hose portable AC...
Disclaimer: the following is just my opinion based on a limited set of facts.

[/quote]

Gilberto, I truly appreciate you being candid with me and I absolutely agree. I believe the big problem is that our ac unit does not work and would cost $9k to replace. Which we have, but I thought it might be a fun experiment to see if we can do without.

I agree that this is turning to be more trouble than it is worth, and that it is forming into an obsession bordering in neurosis. I am now at the point where adding ac back feels like I’m losing and that is driving me mad and sending me into flight mode as I think about one hundred and one different ways to win at this—none of them feasible for a home built in early 2000s with very cheap materials.

I will talk to M about getting ac back and from there simply work on lowering ac bill.

A counter to your counter is to look at my past journal and see how going all in leads to burn out and mental health episodes. Middle way is certainly best. Your observations are appreciated and spot on.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 10:44 am
I believe the big problem is that our ac unit does not work and would cost $9k to replace.
see if you can find someone willing to repair and get a quote maybe?

do you know why is it that's not working?

white belt
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by white belt »

If you really want to go down the passive solar/permaculture rabbit hole, I recommend getting Brad Lancaster’s book (also available on Amazon): https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/pro ... -new-2019/

He goes really in depth with a number of subjects, but one chapter in particular gives you the tools you need to evaluate how to naturally cool your property. This includes things like awnings on windows based on angle of sun in different seasons, shade trees, and so on. There is a lot you can do.

Regarding the A/C issue, I believe I mentioned earlier why I only only run AC at night typically. I find I am comfortable up to 80 degrees indoors during the day if I have a ceiling fan running. The inside of my apartment hasn’t gotten higher than that yet despite highs in the upper 80s many days recently. Do you have ceiling fans and a small desk fan to aim at your face while working?

What is the indoor temperature and humidity you are dealing with during the hottest part of the day? I bought a cheap thermometer that shows humidity as well to give me an idea of this.

Humidity is the bigger challenge than heat. I believe people dealt with heat differently in the olden days due in part to house construction. You can try moving heat generating activities outside (e.g cooking on a project and stove on your porch or patio). But again this will work to a point. I haven’t ever noticed mold issues in high humidity areas as long as there is decent air circulation. Sometimes it just means cleaning the bathroom more frequently. But yes there is a limit to comfort when it comes to humidity and you also need to be cognizant of what wet bulb temperatures make it impossible for the human body to cool itself (I think I linked it in an earlier low tech magazine article). I used to live in Louisiana so I know your pain regarding high humidity.

You need to run the actual numbers on how much energy the room A/C unit uses and a few different courses of action. There is a lot of misinformation out there pedaled by the HVAC industry regarding how central air is more efficient. Often they use absurd comparisons like an entire house with central air vs a room air conditioner in every room running 24/7. If you are only using a room A/C for a few hours a day in one room of your house, I highly doubt central air is going to be cheaper in terms of energy or cost.
Last edited by white belt on Tue May 04, 2021 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 10:44 am
I am now at the point where adding ac back feels like I’m losing and that is driving me mad and sending me into flight mode as I think about one hundred and one different ways to win at this—none of them feasible for a home built in early 2000s with very cheap materials.
I didn't realize the house AC is broken and is going to cost $9000. I wouldn't want to pay for that either but I've gotten better at accepting that spending money is sometimes necessary unless you are going to forgo a thing entirely. I have been on a many year journey to learn that. For example, accepting that I am not willing or able to give up my car so, since I am going to own a car, it is better to have a reliable car than a time/money pit that is unreliable. From there, accepting that if I am going to have a reliable car I am going to have to spend a significant amount of money to buy it.

I can empathize with turning a single solution into a win/loss battle and not wanting to give up. Over the last few years I have backed myself into quite a few painful and unsatisfying corners that way. I'm still trying to learn that lesson too. One thing that has helped me is to realize that implementing a possible solution can be thought of as a gamble or experiment rather than a battle. Come up with what seems like a good solution, implement that solution, if the solution fails, let it go and try something else.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

i have central heating/cooling

but i live in just 1 room :lol: :lol: :lol:

nevertheless i use fans and passive solar (shades, awnings) to minimize ac usage because why bleed freely.

i agree with @white belt that cooling the bedroom is the only PRIORITY here :mrgreen:

everything else can be handled.

but i am curious about wtf is wrong with the existing unit, regardless. i mean if you guys sell the house, the average buyer would want the machinery in good working order.

so that might be one thing that will need looking at regardless. but look first, don't just do the first thing they tell you.

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

white belt wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 10:57 am

You need to run the actual numbers on how much energy the room A/C unit uses and a few different courses of action. There is a lot of misinformation out there pedaled by the HVAC industry regarding how central air is more efficient. Often they use absurd comparisons like an entire house with central air vs a room air conditioner in every room running 24/7. If you are only using a room A/C for a few hours a day in one room of your house, I highly doubt central air is going to be cheaper in terms of energy or cost.

It’s getting in the 90s here so I’m good if I keep it at 81, but I am scared of summer where it will be “good” if I can keep it at mid 90s.

I did find I can get a rebate for a window unit but not a full hvac system through my electricity company.

I would imagine humidity is the same as outside if not more, 60-70% at least currently.

Fruit and bread developed mold within 3 days.

My big issue is, if I spend money on window units and then determine I still need a hvac system? I do plan on renting this house eventually, so we will need one. But perhaps waiting will save.

I don’t know. I do feel stretched thin as Gilberto mentioned. We generally kept our ac at 80 as well. But that was enough to drive humidity out.

My current options:

Get two window units with goal of replacing AC in three to four years once house is being rented

Pros
-would let me know our house pretty intimately and encourage good behaviors like cold instead of hot showers and not using the dryer. Reconfiguring activities to line up with weather/space/ etc and being more in tune with weather/space etc. would prioritize insulation, better windows, etc over artificial cooling

Cons: may end up buying new system anyways. Stress.

Buy mid range efficient ac unit ($9k)

Pros: stress is gone

Cons: lack of all knowledge from above. Money $$

Buy extremely efficient ac unit ($15k)

Pros-same as above, as well as more efficiency so less reliance on electricity

Cons—same as above. Even more money $$$$

white belt
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by white belt »

What exactly is wrong with the current central AC unit? I agree with Alphaville’s recommendation and follow that with any expensive repairs (especially cars). It goes something like this:

-get diagnostic from professional (sometimes multiple if I don’t trust one) and make sure they tell you specific issue
-Google issue that needs fixing
-See if someone else has fixed similar issue
-Source replacement part and special tools if needed
-fix issue

It might be the case that it’s a fix that is not possible for an amateur, but at least you will know for sure and have fully explored all options. $9k is a lot of money so it deserves some digging.

Edit: Sometimes you can even get away with buying the parts yourself and just paying a repairman for labor to fix the issue.

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

Well I failed with step one.

I sometimes get frustrated as M leaves me to deal with all of this, and I have had hail damage so people coming out for roof, insurance claims, car, pipes burst from freeze. I’m a bit exhausted and we had our third hail storm come through last night. I thought I did good there as I finagled our insurance payment to be higher and found a roofer to tell me what truly NEEDED to be replaced.

I think by the time ac went out I was exhausted. No excuse. Just had one guy come out, showed me pics of corrosion and a leak. Said he could fill it with coolant but it would leak out again eventually. The AC unit is 20 years old... so I didn’t question too much. I was honestly waiting for it since we moved in.

Perhaps I’ll do some digging. I was very proud of fixing the toilet but dealing with anything of this nature is scary for me because I am very absent minded/clumsy/forgetful and I feel that is dangerous in such problems. But diagnostics is probably a good exercise as far as education regardless.

white belt
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by white belt »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 11:34 am
I would imagine humidity is the same as outside if not more, 60-70% at least currently.

Fruit and bread developed mold within 3 days.
60 to 70% and you’re getting mold on fruit? I just looked at mine and it says I’m at 60% which feels very comfortable to me. I haven’t had mold issues. Anything up to 75-80% is pretty manageable in my opinion.

Well the easy fix for moldy bread and fruit is to just store it in the fridge.

I’m in a studio and run my AC while sleeping. I turn it off when I wake up. Windows stay closed during the day with ceiling fan on until it cools off at night to a lower temperature than indoors (if it happens), so usually I’ll get an hour or 2 with windows open before bed and a fan aimed out a window. Then AC goes back on a half hour before bed until morning and the cycle repeats. That’s my best solution because leaving windows open all night in my area is not feasible for a variety of reasons.

Edit: In your situation it might look like leaving the windows open in all parts of the house other than the bedroom overnight, possibly along with a few window fans to push the hot air out.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 11:49 am
Well I failed with step one.
eh, don't sweat it, this is precisely the value of a hive mind. we throw the problems out for public computation
ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 11:49 am
I Said he could fill it with coolant but it would leak out again eventually.
me: "sounds good... how much?" :lol:

(but i'd look to patch over the leaks... maybe replace corroded pipes?)
ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 11:49 am
The AC unit is 20 years old... so I didn’t question too much. I
im way older than 20 but still not ready for the glue factory :lol:

7Wannabe5
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I recently read a novel set in the climate change future which included a gruesome scene in which almost everybody in a village in India died when wet bulb temperature surpassed human survival level, so I vote for either fixing the AC or moving north. Even Jacob runs his AC on the humid/hot summer days in Chicago. I certainly do at even somewhat more northerly latitude, which is why my medium term plan is inclusive of shared recreational property even further north and near Great Lake breezes.

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

After talking to M, we will be going with mid range AC. I am sure many of you are quite happy in 80% humidity, This is turning out to be more of a stressor than it is worth and Gilberto was absolutely right with my state of mind currently.

Will get 2 more quotes.

They can fix the AC btw for 3000. However upgrading will make sense long run. Yes I do plan on renting house out but my values currently do not allow me to be someone who does shit work and makes others live through it. (Ac guy said landlords will typically choose the shittiest tier. This seems wrong to me if ultimate goal is to make world better place?) Ultimate goal is to make this a very efficient and nice place to live and then move on to the next. Yes I understand profit will be marginal at best, oh well—I’ve stopped donations so at least I feel like I’m doing something. Will still research passive solar and such to make more efficient, but without the stress of a constant film of sweat, sleepless nights, partner very irritable, reading statistics of violence as heat rises... etc.

Our bedroom can be well and good but we both work from home—him in a separate room and me in the living room—tied to a desk. Yes I’m sure we could rearrange this and fit our desks in the bedroom along with the dogs crates now that it’s too hot to leave them in the living room.

All in all I think ac was a good invention if used correctly.

white belt
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by white belt »

7Wannabe5 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 12:49 pm
I recently read a novel set in the climate change future which included a gruesome scene in which almost everybody in a village in India died when wet bulb temperature surpassed human survival level, so I vote for either fixing the AC or moving north. Even Jacob runs his AC on the humid/hot summer days in Chicago. I certainly do at even somewhat more northerly latitude, which is why my medium term plan is inclusive of shared recreational property even further north and near Great Lake breezes.
Exactly, which is why I was pointing out that having quantitative data for indoor temperature and humidity is important. Also historical data for wet bulb temperatures in your area, with the expectation that those will increase in the coming years. Also an understanding of heat tolerance is good to, because that can often be subjective to a point. Generally, the heavier and taller you are, the harder your body will have to work to regulate temperature is my understanding.

You can google wet bulb calculator and plug in various temperatures and humidity to see how close you are to approaching 95 degrees wet bulb which is considered to be deadly for even healthy people over an extended period of time. Having said that, a quick google search for Plano, TX (not sure exactly where you live but just first thing that came up) shows that wet bulb above 80 degrees is extremely rare even in the hottest months of the year. South Carolina has restrictions for outdoor school sports when wet bulb exceeds 82 and bans them when over 92.

Still good to have this understanding just in terms of day to day activities even if you opt for AC. Also good to understand any potential risks in case your power goes out and you need to go a period of time without AC.

Edit: Apparently it is more complicated because wet bulb measures temps in the sun and heat index measures someone moving at 3 mph in the shade, so I'm unsure which would be more appropriate to use.

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Alphaville
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by Alphaville »

ellarose24 wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 1:20 pm
Our bedroom can be well and good but we both work from home—him in a separate room and me in the living room—tied to a desk.
:lol:

way to bury the lede!


best wishes and prompt fixes

ellarose24
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Re: The Road Goes on Forever--Sometimes in Circles

Post by ellarose24 »

Today was cooler so it was spent learning about ACs as I thought through potentially repairing this one.

There are minor problems, like the outside units coils are extremely warped and dirty and also with my no/lawn situation, grass etc was growing into them. Keep in mind unit is 20 years old. Tried cleaning but determined I would need new outdoor coils/fins (can’t think of what to call them). They no longer manufacture my units replacement parts.

That’s all well and good but when I went into the attic, I found the condenser could was indeed eroding, leaking, etc. the cost of a condenser coil alone is 3k +.

I agree with HVAC techs solution of replacing all. He did say he could simply replace coil, but said at this point he’d replace it all if he were me. Given the outside unit looks like it’s melting and is impossible to replace (confirmed myself) and the indoor unit is corroded and leaking (no way to repair, must be replaced) I do not think he was simply trying to seek to a naive and frustrated woman.

I HAVE learned how to do basic maintenance myself, and to stop letting weeds grow into my hvac unit.

The question is now whether to spend extra to make unit ultra efficient in the amount of 15k. I assume I can make already efficient by increasing insulation and getting storm windows as well as research into passive solar. However, I have a dream of using minimal amounts of electricity such that if another winter storm came through, in the future in which I or my renters have solar and a solar bank, they could live for an entire week without power from the grid.

I will also say the winter storm made me a Prepper.

I will also say that where I live global warming is becoming very apparent with the freak cold storm, 3 hail storms since then, and 4 tornado sirens since start of spring. The weather here is always somewhat insane but it seems this past year it was really relentless.

I am confused why they haven’t come up with a solution for roofs given the hail here makes everyone’s average roof only 6 years before replacement. I’ve found rubber roofs but would not be good for water catchement. I would imagine green roofs would actually be a pretty good fit here, but the cost to reingineer would be $$$$$. I am beginning to think retrofitting may not be as sustainable as I had thought compared to building your own.

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