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Welp, had a nice dark street until the neighbors next door moved in an now keep their bright porch lights on blazing all night. Probably should introduce myself anyway before anonymously leaving light pollution flyers in their mailbox daily.
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Jul 31, 2017 04:50
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Pipistrelle posted:I opened it but honestly I don't know what I'm looking for, and there's no identifying information on who owns it. Do I call around? Talk to the city and see if there's an easement and find out who owns it that way? Thanks, it's my first house and I'm still learning a lot. Open it up, take a picture, post it on the internet. If it's telco you will see some 4-wire terminal dealies which are RJ-11 on the customer side. (A phone plug.) If it's CATV it will be coaxial cable going into 2->N splitters. If it's something else post a picture on the internet because I'm curious.
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Jul 31, 2017 15:31
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Hubis posted:Here are some decent control tips Be careful with that glyphosate, I'm pretty sure it turns frogs gay.
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Jul 31, 2017 15:59
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No Butt Stuff posted:Be careful with that glyphosate, I'm pretty sure it turns frogs gay. 
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Jul 31, 2017 16:20
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mastershakeman posted:Sick of home warranty never fixing anything - dishwasher is running terribly yet again. Replacement brand recommendations? Currently have a 15 year old KitchenAid. Bosch is the gold standard if you can swing the cost. Not terribly expensive, but more than the competition. http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-dishwasher/
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Jul 31, 2017 17:01
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LogisticEarth posted:Welp, had a nice dark street until the neighbors next door moved in an now keep their bright porch lights on blazing all night. Probably should introduce myself anyway before anonymously leaving light pollution flyers in their mailbox daily. What's the advantage of a dark street? I'm guessing you don't have street lights?
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Jul 31, 2017 17:03
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FCKGW posted:What's the advantage of a dark street? I'm guessing you don't have street lights? Light pollution. The primary direct effects being that your night vision is worsened (lights actually decrease vision at night, when you're not looking at things that are directly illuminated by them), and of course if the light shines into your bedroom, it can make it harder to sleep.
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Jul 31, 2017 17:21
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FCKGW posted:What's the advantage of a dark street? I'm guessing you don't have street lights? Wildlife, stars, seeing in the dark, going outside at night without loving up your melatonin levels before sleep.
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Jul 31, 2017 17:32
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FCKGW posted:Bosch is the gold standard if you can swing the cost. Not terribly expensive, but more than the competition. I got the Bosch model they recommended and it is indeed a very good appliance. Super quiet, no visible buttons when it's closed, top drawer for small stuff and silverware, dynamic height for the top drawer. I could post about that dishwasher for days.
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Jul 31, 2017 17:49
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HEY NONG MAN posted:I got the Bosch model they recommended and it is indeed a very good appliance. Super quiet, no visible buttons when it's closed, top drawer for small stuff and silverware, dynamic height for the top drawer. I got a similar one, similar opinion. I regret getting the one with front buttons as now my kid likes to push them. I semi-regret not getting the one with integrated garbage disposal. Use both jet dry and cascade packs (we use the platinum) for sparkly clean dishes.
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Jul 31, 2017 17:55
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We had a bamboo patch at our old house we had to deal with. We never got it all gone because it had spread to the neighbors property and we couldn't get at it there, but we had good success with the following: Use sharp clippers to cut the stalk as low to the ground as you can. Immediately, like, seconds after you cut it, brush the open cut with undiluted brush killer. Do that to every single piece you can see. You will have to do multiple rounds of it, but for us it worked until the next spring when the ones int he neighbors property would start sending up stalks in our yard again.
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Jul 31, 2017 18:20
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FCKGW posted:What's the advantage of a dark street? I'm guessing you don't have street lights? There are a couple street lights, but they are very low wattage and only at intersections. As others have said, when you're away from the city proper, keeping light pollution down has a lot of advantages. There are actually a couple houses on the street that keep porch lights on, but again, they are low wattage and directed downward. My neighbor has two probably 100 watt bulbs in clear glass, "lantern" style sconces. Super bright, lots of glare from the bare bulb, no directional control, and totally illuminates the house across the street. Pretty much "how_to_cause_light_pollution.txt". It's OK when you're expecting guests or whatever, but leaving lights like that on through the night is just douchey. The old neighbors never turned them on except on rare occasions, so it was never an issue. This might seem petty but I'm one of the local natives who have seen huge swaths of farmland and forest gobbled up by sprawl. Years of open space destruction and increasing light pollution has made me a bit bitter.
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Jul 31, 2017 19:41
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What do you grow on your land?
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Jul 31, 2017 20:22
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H110Hawk posted:Open it up, take a picture, post it on the internet. If it's telco you will see some 4-wire terminal dealies which are RJ-11 on the customer side. (A phone plug.) If it's CATV it will be coaxial cable going into 2->N splitters. If it's something else post a picture on the internet because I'm curious. Ok, I'm at work but I'll snap a picture when I get home. I opened it last night and it's full of spider webs and junk, which is one of the reasons I want it gone. Whoever opened it last left the screw out so it's been slightly open for who knows how long, and I guess bugs and stuff moved in. I'm like 90% sure it's for a landline.
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Jul 31, 2017 20:46
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HEY NONG MAN posted:What do you grow on your land? Nothing beyond backyard gardens, as my family has never had enough money to actually own any farmland. That said, we did have a beekeeping business for a while, I worked as farm/farmstand labor from high school through college, and now work in agricultural technical assistance and watershed protection.
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Jul 31, 2017 20:50
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Pipistrelle posted:Ok, I'm at work but I'll snap a picture when I get home. I opened it last night and it's full of spider webs and junk, which is one of the reasons I want it gone. Whoever opened it last left the screw out so it's been slightly open for who knows how long, and I guess bugs and stuff moved in. I'm like 90% sure it's for a landline. That screw has very little bearing on it being filled with spiders. Ours in Florida was always filled with bugs. "Weather sealed" indeed.
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Jul 31, 2017 23:39
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All things become filled with spiders when left undisturbed. It's a maxim of home ownership.
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Aug 1, 2017 04:32
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Not true, depending on your climate they may become filled with centipedes or scorpions instead.
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Aug 1, 2017 15:41
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Yeah seems like a box filled with spiders is an easy target for something that eats spiders
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Aug 2, 2017 23:06
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Held what I think is called a 'topping out' in english today, since I finished the roof structure of my car port, serving hot dogs and beer for the guys that had done the foundation and set the posts. Here is the dog inspecting it shortly after.
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Aug 2, 2017 23:18
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QuarkJets posted:Yeah seems like a box filled with spiders is an easy target for something that eats spiders I had no idea those ate spiders  I've never seen a scorpion here though, and very rarely do I see centipedes.So I went to open the box, and it fell off the loving wall.  Here's the inside:  I called a ton of people, and it turns out CenturyLink is the one who owns the box. They should be coming to uninstall it in 2-3 days. We'll see if that actually happens, though. Pipistrelle fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 01:43
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Pipistrelle posted:I had no idea those ate spiders I'd say you already did all the uninstall necessary. FWIW, this is the term you're looking for: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_interface_device
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Aug 3, 2017 01:59
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I'm sure this has been discussed before but has anyone here gotten a solar system from SolarCity? We looked into installing a solar system a few years ago but we ended up not doing it. Has the process gotten better/worse since the tesla acquisition? Any general feedback?
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Aug 8, 2017 00:31
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SnatchRabbit posted:I'm sure this has been discussed before but has anyone here gotten a solar system from SolarCity? We looked into installing a solar system a few years ago but we ended up not doing it. Has the process gotten better/worse since the tesla acquisition? Any general feedback? Unless you are building new or are at the end of your current roof's lifespan the economics don't work out meaning it's a lifestyle/vanity decision. Musk himself said "traditional" solar is still a viable and better option for roofs that aren't well into their rated lifespan. They have a calculator on their site but it is highly dependant on the area and electric buybacks which I wouldn't put a lot of stock in to. I think the Solar roof will make a lot more sense when Powerwall tech improves to the point you can store several days worth of whole-house power without having to buy 5-6 Powerwalls.
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Aug 8, 2017 13:53
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Potentially stupid question: in the worst case scenario can't the panels be removed and reinstalled on a replaced roof? What am I missing?
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Aug 8, 2017 16:35
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sweet_jones posted:Potentially stupid question: in the worst case scenario can't the panels be removed and reinstalled on a replaced roof? What am I missing? The solar panels in question *are* a roof if I'm not mistaken. Meaning they'll last you a long time, but if you just replaced your roof ten years ago, getting a new solar roof is kind of a waste of useful remaining roof life. https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
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Aug 8, 2017 16:38
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I think they might be talking about the solar shingles?
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Aug 8, 2017 16:38
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sweet_jones posted:Potentially stupid question: in the worst case scenario can't the panels be removed and reinstalled on a replaced roof? What am I missing? Each tile is individually replaceable yes, not sure how their warranty works but overall it's rated for 30 years I believe. Assuming you are asking about a new Solar-roof install? If you mean, doing that with a regular roof and just dropping in a few tiles as opposed to a more traditional solar setup: I believe they require at least 50% coverage for the solar tiles, and overall they will replace the entire existing roof using matching non-solar tiles for the rest. Otherwise the roof would look weird. They've also done an impressive hailstone test where they fired a golf-ball chunk of ice at a tile at 100mph. The same test shatters regular ceramic roof tiles and severely damages composite shingles. Video in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmRrQhQf-co
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Aug 8, 2017 16:39
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The guy wasn't asking about solar shingles, just a traditional system. The solar shingles are a loving gimmick and they were done a decade ago and no one wanted them then. Don't even bother entertaining the idea of those dumb loving things. If you're looking at regular solar panels the cost/savings will be highly dependent on your area, state and utility. I got solar panels about 4 years ago and it brought my $600 summer electric bills down to an average of $150 Just get a few quotes from different providers. I got quotes from 4 or 5 different companies, SolarCoty was the second most expensive. We ended up going with SunRun but again, it will depend on who's in your area and the rebates/NEM rates offered. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Aug 8, 2017 |
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Aug 8, 2017 16:46
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FCKGW posted:The solar shingles are a loving gimmick and they were done a decade ago and no one wanted them then. Don't even bother entertaining the idea of those dumb loving things. What made them inferior to traditional panels a decade ago?
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Aug 8, 2017 16:54
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Coverage efficiency on a per sq. foot basis is still higher with traditional panels vs. roof. Tiles have improved but that hasn't changed. Tiles work better when they cover more of the roof surface - the idea being, because it looks like a "regular" roof, you'll get (or even be allowed to if you have an HOA) a much bigger footprint than you would with panels. Also, you don't have to deal with panels sitting on top of your roof. However it's more expensive and really only makes sense if you are A) building new or B) replacing the entire roof for other reasons. And even then panels will probably be more cost effective. Like I said above, the roof only really makes sense once Powerwall becomes a more affordable way to store a large amount of power over a longer period of time. Then you can tie in massive coverage (you can do up to 70% of the entire roof, generally) with the ability to economically store it. The latter is becoming more important now that the utilities lobby has managed to turn the argument for buying excess power around to the point where selling them surplus isn't as big a benefit. Better to keep that power and just use a shitload less of theirs. And the same reasoning still applies for panels, of course, especially if you can get good coverage with them in your area/direction of the roof.
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Aug 8, 2017 18:29
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Just so everyone is clear: Solar City is a solar panel company that Musk had invested heavily in, and it was in deep financial distress when Musk made the decision to have Tesla buy it, giving himself a nice paycheck and shifting Solar City's very significant debts and very shaky financial situation onto the shoulders of Tesla's ebullient, frantically optimistic stock holders. Tesla/Solar City has begun marketing a roofing tile that acts like a solar panel. It will be amazing and new and great and not at all like the lovely ones from a decade ago, because of reasons. Tesla, being incapable of producing enough cars in the next few years to possibly justify its market price, is aggressively moving into other markets and in particular into batteries and the Power Wall concept. This is also not a new thing that you can only get from Tesla, but it does have Tesla's battery technology and design skill and heavy duty marketing behind it. Generally, you can get a rooftop solar system from many different companies - the market is saturated with big and small-time players who are all competing on razor thin margins with some companies definitely destined to go bust and get acquired at firesale prices by their competitors. Rooftop solar can be standalone or tie into the grid, and can include or not include local storage - that is, batteries, like the power wall. There are pluses and minuses to both having/not having batteries and having/not having the ability to send power onto the grid. Everything about deciding to do solar is dependent on specifics. This includes: the hours of direct sun per year you receive, your home's efficiency, whether you're heating and cooling your home with electric power, the state of your home's existing wiring and panel, your neighborhood and municipality's regulations, your utility company's specifics re: whether you can sell power to the grid and if so, for how much; and your state-level regulations. Your monthly and annual current electricity usage, whether you will be selling your home within a financed or lease period, whether you have or will have a plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicle, the total square footage of your roof and your home, the condition and age and type of construction of your roof and its load-bearing capacity, etc. etc. etc. All of this is to say: yeah, you could get a solar panel setup from Solar City or some other company, but gently caress if anyone can tell you in this thread if it's a good idea or not without a huge amount of detail, and if you have all that detail, then you can do the math and figure out if solar panels will actually make financial sense for you. In many cases the answer will be no. One final factor worth considering is that the company you buy from might go bust, and the company that buys them out might unilaterally alter the conditions of your lease or finance deal. Electrical panel technology is evolving rapidly, as is battery technology, so you may be committing yourself to decades of owning an obsolete panel system. If you decide to sell your house, the buyer will have to accept and take up a leased panel system you installed, most likely; this could limit the potential buyers for your home, or on the other hand, could be a big selling factor. Whether or not the panel system will add to or subtract from your home's market value is worth careful consideration; as is the decision to lease vs. finance vs. buy outright. Which vendor you pick does matter, and no matter where you live, there are definitely several choices of vendors. Probably the Tesla solar shingles things will be cool and good products to buy in like three years, but being an early adopter is probably a really risky idea.
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Aug 8, 2017 22:50
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I can't imagine installing a leased system. Too many entanglements. Sure, purchasing a system outright is more expensive, but it also has much clearer implications for your house's sale value and your potential responsibilities down the road.
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Aug 8, 2017 23:24
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Unimaginable as it may be, it seems like the large majority are leased. The companies are all aggressively marketing leased systems, probably because they're aware the typical homeowner is not going to cough up $25k+ in order to save $85 a month on their electricity bill. Nor should they, of course. But a leased system at least lets a company say "look, you're paying $x a month and saving this slightly larger $y a month on power bills, so it's worth it!" without discussing all the other externalities which will impact the homeowner down the line.
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Aug 9, 2017 00:43
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Yup. If you can figure out how to cut energy consumption you'll save more money than moving to solar generation.
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Aug 9, 2017 00:50
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I mean just as an indicator of the state of this industry, they will give you a discount if you promise to let them display a sign in front of your house advertising their solar panels. And once they set up your house, they will canvass the neighborhood and mention your house to all your neighbors, because obviously if a neighbor did it then it must be worthwhile and saving them big bux!!!
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Aug 9, 2017 00:53
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Leperflesh posted:Unimaginable as it may be, it seems like the large majority are leased. The companies are all aggressively marketing leased systems, probably because they're aware the typical homeowner is not going to cough up $25k+ in order to save $85 a month on their electricity bill. Not to mention those leases have other shady things built into them, just like all the factors listed above a lease can have just as many factors. Minimum amount produced, minimum surface of your roof covered, no float based on electricity price, decreased value (increased lease payments) allegedly because the panels degrade but it's not tied to actual output loss, etc. A facebook friend who can 100% afford to put down cash on panels leased them, then was shocked that his bill goes up 2%/year for the life of the lease to cover panel degradation. Leases make a lot of sense for places like apartment complexes, commercial, industrial, and governmental places. Those places (should) have appropriate legal and financial analysts who can show the true TCO of leasing way better than any homeowner can hope. If you're going to get panels, knock yourself out, but cash or cheap-to-free financing only, with a way to pay off that financing if you need to sell. That could certainly include the proceeds of your home sale as a vehicle to pay it off.
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Aug 9, 2017 01:22
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I did a leasing agreement on my panels but I was able to find only a single company that had 1) no money down, 2) no increased payment over the life of the lease and 3) a fair buyout price at the end of the lease if I wanted to (couple hundred bucks). It helps that I'm in a generous state that forces the electric companies to buy power back at market rates. It would have been cheaper to buy the system outright over the 20-year term, but I wouldn't have been able to get solar in the first place were my options to pay for the 33 panels up front. I basically signed a contract and started saving money from day one.
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Aug 9, 2017 01:33
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Hilariously petty new neighbor question: the new folks next door suddenly started mowing a couple mower widths on my side of the line. I wouldn't mind except: 1) we mow our lawns drastically differently, I leave it at about 4", which is the healthy height for the species that grow in our climate, and they started zipping it down to putting green height. 2)There's a very obvious break in the curb line where our property line is. I have no curb, and they have one, set back another 5-6ft from the street. So the end result is that it's not only killing the grass but doing so in a wierd strip. Obviously, the non-goony thing would be to go talk to them, but so far our schedules don't seem to overlap and I'm not sure if they're using a lawn service or whatever (old neighbor did it himself). I'd like to nip it in the bud and throw a 2-3 white wire survey flags along the property line. Passive aggressive or reasonable?
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Aug 9, 2017 02:46
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FCKGW posted:It helps that I'm in a generous state that forces the electric companies to buy power back at market rates. As an aside: this is unsustainable the more people take advantage of it and eventually will go away everywhere, because construction of transmission isn't free and the infrastructure needed to handle random feedback into the grid from thousands of customers is expensive to put in place and run. Basically, the more customers take advantage of this program, the worse the situation gets for the utility, and the utility is either going to go bust or eventually convince the regulators to let them dial back the program. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2016/12/08/report-finds-net-metering-is-not-sustainable-over-the-long-term/ e. LogisticEarth posted:Hilariously petty new neighbor question: the new folks next door suddenly started mowing a couple mower widths on my side of the line. I wouldn't mind except: Any plan that does not involve you talking to them face to face in a very friendly and nonconfrontational manner is passive aggressive and bad, yeah. People can't read friendliness into your other actions and without the face-to-face they tend to assume you're the worst sort of terrible human and react accordingly. Especially when it comes to MAH PROPERTY LINE.
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Aug 9, 2017 02:50
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