NeutralAxis

Last winter I had an old Rheem gas furnace and air conditioner replaced with what amounts to Rheem’s top of the line air-source heat pump system.  Its a dual fuel heat pump with a modulating gas burner and variable speed fan.  To make that part of the system work required a modulating thermostat and the one Rheem sells is made by White Rodgers (Emerson).  Rheem’s model number is RHC-TST411MDMS.  White Rodgers and Emerson refer to it as “Big Blue” under several different variations.  That stat added $300 to the cost and had a stupid programming glitch in it that came to light with the daylight savings time switch last weekend. [Problem resolved, see updates]

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An interesting project I hope to be involved in has crossed my desk.  Its not every day around here where somebody wants to build a 12,000 sq.ft. home, yet an email arrived from a German architectural firm looking for someone local to perform structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) engineering on such a home.  I won’t be posting any images of the real thing, and I don’t yet know who the owner is, but the photo is similar to the style and here are the specs.

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Who knew?  Ovens can be rebooted.  Yesterday the oven part of my 15 year old GE electric range refused to turn on and the timer/clock went blank.  The stovetop burners still worked though.  The circuit breaker was OK too.  Grasping at a straw before calling for service, I turned off the breaker and left it off for about 30 seconds and then back on.  Problem fixed.

Weird.

BusinessWeek.com is reporting that this fall as part of the federal stimulus package, there will be a rebate program for home appliances similar to the Cash For Clunkers automobile program.  Certain appliances will be eligible for rebates of $50 to $200 and the old appliance will not be required to be turned in.  This sounds like a great thing for the manufacturer’s but I can’t help thinking its going to prompt a whole lot of people from spending money needlessly on new equipment thinking they’re getting a good deal.

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I thought I’d do a little review of the Irritrol lawn irrigation controller they call, unimaginatively, PC-Control.  Its a hardware package with a Windows software module that provides for detailed scheduling and smart operation of a lawn irrigation system.  [Updated July 10, 2009 with information about program errors.][New version 2.0.37 beta software is available and hopefully will be more stable. Screenshot of new software below.] (continue reading…)

I’d always heard that refrigerators were a major energy user within the home, and decided to check mine against the modern norm.  The results were not what I expected.

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