Best Of
Re: Natural gas price spikes in MA
I believe ISO NE’s electric peak demand was set 20 years ago? But maybe their area has changed. The capacity is there, let’s use the grid we’ve paid for!
Re: Air elimination demo
I’ve often pondered why some folks attach pictures versus posting in page using the picture icon. Ford versus Chevy thing?
PC7060
Re: Vintage thermostat relays and temp controller scale
or it is warm weather shutdown. or shut down of part of the system.
mattmia2
Re: Natural gas price spikes in MA
MA politicians cancel two gas pipelines, block construction of new electric substations and high tension wires, shut down power plants without replacements, then complain about energy prices due to self inflicted scarcity.
There is a fixation with ‘net zero’ with zero acknowledgement that existing capacity must be maintained or expanded even if 100% of new construction is net zero because peak demand exceeds net zero. Peak Zero would have to be the target efficiency and that’s impossible in a state with the majority of construction predating the oil crisis in the 70s.
Waher
Re: Natural gas price spikes in MA
Our local CBS news channel ran a story yesterday about this issue, with a focus on Eversource, one of the two regional gas companies. Eversource says their delivery charge went up 27% this year, which makes the average delivery charge $240. This is twice the cost of the supply for the average customer, which implies an average supply cost of $120.
Supply cost is up slightly this year, but lower than 2 years ago. So most of the increase is due to increased delivery charges.
Eversource says that $80 of that $240 average delivery charge pays for the Mass Save incentive program to promote heat pumps and other energy efficiency upgrades. That $80 average Mass Save charge has almost doubled since 2023. Gov Maura Healey said she is planning to spend about $5 billion through Mass Save in the next 3 years.
An Eversource VP said that the rate hike was needed to maintain their infrastructure. He said the company makes a little under 10% profit on an average gas bill for the infrastructure that they own and operate.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/massachusetts-gas-bill-delivery-fee/
jesmed1
Re: Vintage thermostat relays and temp controller scale
if you get the part number the manual is probably out there somewhere. sounds like some sort of outdoor reset but i'm not sure exactly how. the radiant temp or power being proportional to the outdoor temp makes sense but i don't know how you do it with 1960's controls. what do the labels inside the covers say?
mattmia2
Re: Vintage thermostat relays and temp controller scale
Honeywell T415A is a 2 wire series 40 (line voltage) temperature control . The control makes contact on a temperature fall.
Not a modulating control which would be a series 90. Not an outdoor reset which would require two sensing bulbs.
You are going to have to pull the covers off the relays to figure it out.
The only thing the T415A can be is a low limit
Re: Electric heat is too expensive, very high bills/useage
what’s the explanation for 1.5’s being tough to heat
Re: A shout out
Life time guarantees like that don't exist anymore.
I remember my mother's cousin named Barney McGill, the was a Bond Bread home delivery truck driver for many years and a self taught craftsman woodworker and all around handyman. He would make a little side money by asking if the bread customer wanted him to fix a screen door after he was finished his deliveries for the day. and stuff like that. When I was in grade school, I would visit him and in his basement he has a full workshop with power saws and sanders and all kinds of tools. When he retired from Bond Bread, he came to my home and made the basement in our home a full fledged bar dance floor and pool hall. It was a great opportunity for me to learn all kinds of woodworking and how to use and care for tools.
I remember that he would tell my parents that all his work had a lifetime warranty. "His Lifetime." and when he passed away, all that great work that he did lasted much longer than he did. I miss him and all the times we spent together.
Re: Electric heat is too expensive, very high bills/useage
Go with floor heat and a wall hung gas boiler. Can't beat it for comfort.
JMWHVAC