You guys are on your own today.
I’m gonna spend this 75F and 88%RH day, which is sure to go into the nineties, under a tent, in a field, sweating.
n
Sat. June 23, 2018 – jammed all day
15 Comments and discussion on "Sat. June 23, 2018 – jammed all day"
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Hot hot hot.
Good opportunity to hear some of the other brand ” suitcase ” inverter generators. Most people have the Honda 2000 but a couple had others . They are all pretty quiet.
N
added- I should say they are quiet on low usage or idle. I don’t know what they sound like on full power. Even the Honda is pretty loud when running full out.
There is no constant in this world but change. My latest Mechanical Engineering magazine was dedicated to solar power generation. For instance, California now has around 15 GW of solar power generation and is adding another 10 GW over the next 5 years. Texas is also adding 10 GW of solar power over the next 5 years in addition to our current 20 GW of wind and solar power generation. BTW, Texas has the twice the power needs of California but this is a massive change.
Just about everyone knows about the problem with wind power generation. The wind is strongest in the middle of the night. But the power demand is lowest in the middle of the night. And the federal government subsidizes wind power so it was able to drive competitors out of the low demand period. So that was strike one on the current power generation industry.
Now we have massive solar power generation plants coming on line that generally generate power from 8 am to 5 pm. And the solar power peaks at noon with significant dropoffs early and late in the power cycle, just when the major power demand occurs. Solar power is also significantly subsidized by the federal government. So that is strike two on the current power generation industry. BTW, the power generation curve for the solar power plants is called the Duck Curve. “Solar power’s greatest challenge was discovered 10 years ago. It looks like a duck.”
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/20/17128478/solar-duck-curve-nrel-researcher
But, that leaves two windows of power needs for areas that use lots of electric heat and air conditioning, Texas and California. 5 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 8 pm. Current baseload power plants do not have the flexibility to take themselves offline twice per day so we are seeing massive amounts of baseload power generation plants being retired. Mostly coal fired but also nuclear and natural gas. So far we have had 4 GW of baseload coal power plants retired in Texas this year that I know of. There is probably more.
So where is the power generation coming from for the demand windows ? Gas turbines are being installed all over the place to replace the baseload units. These gas turbines run on natural gas primarily but some also can dual fire diesel for backup fuel source.
So, what happens to the power generation grid when the federal wind and solar power subsidies end ? Nobody really knows but the free market can be brutal when a artificial distortion ends. And, the subsidy will end someday. Probably abruptly.
BTW, who are the big winners of the free market distortion ? Obviously wind and solar power generators. Would you also believe massive battery storage devices ? Tesla is in this marketplace already and is building impressive facilities. “Tesla actually built the world’s biggest battery. Here’s how it works.”
https://www.popsci.com/tesla-building-worlds-biggest-battery-how-it-will-work
I expect to see many, many more battery installations in the USA and around the world. All significantly subsidized by the USA government. Your tax dollars at work. Wait, your grandchildren’s tax dollars at work.
Our grandchildrens’ work LIVES at work.
Money earned working is lifeforce banked from periods of excess to future periods of need.
This is why “it’s only money/stuff/etc, it’s not worth your life” makes no sense. The things you own and the money in your pocket are your LIFE, time you will not get back. To replace them takes more life, which you probably already had plans for.
n
The power windows in my truck are wonky. They work from the driver’s door but not the individual doors. Four door truck. I thought the passenger front door had a bad switch. Ordered a switch. Replaced it and no joy. Neither of the back doors work from their switches. Not a big deal, just annoying.
A friend has a 2000 Jeep and sometimes the passenger window doesn’t work from the door switch. The little green light in the switch is off, too. He’ll work the lock-out switch a few times, the light comes on and the window works for a while.
I have a 2002 Dodge. The little green lights are off. Looking at the shop manual, I see a tan wire for power going to the driver’s switch assembly. A yellow wire goes to the other windows. The lock-out switch makes the circuit. Easy, just run a jumper and bypass the switch.
Being a dummy, I can’t find a yellow wire. The rest of the wires match the diagram. After a bit of Google and reading a few sites, I find I’m right. There is plenty of “take it apart and re-solder bad joints” directions. I can do that but getting the buttons off of the switches isn’t easy and if I break a switch, I’m screwed. I still can’t find /my/ yellow wire.
The switch assembly has two units. One for windows and locks, one for the power mirrors. There’s a couple of short wires between the two. Why is the yellow wire on the connector for the mirrors? Why?
I found a site that sells the switch assembly…. OEM for $125 or their version for $19. Free shipping. http://www.switchdoctor.net They have a good warranty for their brand.
Well. $19 it is. If their warranty is rubbish, what’s another $19 for a replacement?
While I wait I’ll jump the tan and yellow wires. “Proof of concept” or something like that. When it’s not 100F in the shade.
But, that leaves two windows of power needs for areas that use lots of electric heat and air conditioning, Texas and California. 5 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 8 pm.
Florida. With the humidity, the demand windows are probably wider, and, on the peninsula, the temps at night don’t drop much below 80 for about six months of the year.
Plus, CA and TX have some gas infrastructure for heat. In Florida, the water table is so high that only the newest of the new subdivisions have gas lines. Daytime highs in the 50s during a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas mean rolling blackouts.
“Tesla actually built the world’s biggest battery. Here’s how it works.”
Pay no attention to the big tent behind the factory.
Tesla will be toast within a year.
Maybe the tent is Toyota’s, covering the Corolla tooling that will go back into Fremont when Elon sneaks out in the middle of the night. 🙂
Yes, solar energy is a complete, total fraud. Recently, some Communifornia board mandated that all residential buildings must have rooftop panels starting in Jan., 2020.
Well, if they are such a great, money saving thing, why are they mandatory? And the same liberturds are talking that housing is costing too much. How does another $50,000 on the roof help?
Sheesh, how do I not agree with Gov. Moonbeam and his lackeys? I guess that I failed my courses in thermodynamics but my professor affirmative actioned me out by mistake.
Your problem is that you know how to spell thermodynamics, or even that you’ve heard of it. If you want to be a right- (ie, left-) thinking person — er, persyn, gotta remember to avoid offense of even the most easily offended — you have to forget all the math, science, and engineering you’ve ever learned and start believing that your wishes can come true if only you wish hard enough. I hear that large doses of LSD will help with both of those tasks. And, in fact, large doses of LSD are the only thing I can think of which explains the majority of California politicians and voters.
Florida. With the humidity, the demand windows are probably wider, and, on the peninsula, the temps at night don’t drop much below 80 for about six months of the year.
The demand windows are the same. It is people getting up, turning on the lights and a/c, showering, cooking breakfast, and going to work. And then the sun comes up and the solar power comes up.
And at 4pm the solar power starts dying as people are driving home. And people get home, turn on the a/c, cook supper, exercise and go to bed. But the utilities are having to start gas turbines to make all this happen.
Something to consider in your area – possibility of algae blooms in your city’s water supply.
Ask the folks in Salem, OR: https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46347642&nid=157&title=warming-drives-spread-of-toxic-algae-in-us-researchers-say .
Where does your water come from?
Jeez o pete it was hot today. The fan and portacool were mandatory. Cool vest worked overtime. Big hat kept the brains of the operation cool.. Shade was a blessing. Fortunately for part of the day we had overcast and a breeze.
Same again tomorrow, but only half a day.
And the world turns…..
n
Where does your water come from?
The bottom of the aquifer under my house, 2,000 ft down.
I hear that large doses of LSD will help with both of those tasks. And, in fact, large doses of LSD are the only thing I can think of which explains the majority of California politicians and voters.
Yup, that would do it.
Is water racist?
(Click on video for sound.)
Tracey Ullman ~ Kindle Killed The Library Book
As someone said in a comment on another blog: She’s everything that SNL is not.