A new study looks at the government investment needed to lower the cost of geothermal energy to that of coal. Having recently moved into a building that uses a closed-loop ground-source heat pump system for its heating and cooling needs, my wife and I are excited at the prospect of lower energy consumption. So far, the technology is as it claims. During our first proper billing period, we used only 241 kWh. According to our local utility, the average customer in its service territory uses 600 kWh per month. Considering Madison had a cruel stretch of daily high temperatures in excess of 90° with humidity that made even the exterior of windows sweat, a phenomenon more common in August than June, we are very pleased with the first result. I should note our low usage is supplemented with eastern facing windows, obsessive thermostat setbacks, and compulsive energy efficiency that drives my wife absolutely insane. She likens my robotic behavior to her childhood days spent living in Communist Romania. Somehow being told to turn off the power strip when not using the Internet unearths memories when television broadcasting was limited to two hours and consisted mostly of regime propaganda. Needless to say, I've loosened my insistence, especially following a confrontation that ended with her uttering something in Romanian. I don't speak the language, but it sounded like a warning to me given her emphatic use of the word Ceauşescu. It definitely did not sound inviting like when she plays with our cat. Anyway, it remains to be seen how effective geothermal heating is in the dead of a Wisconsin winter. The electric baseboard heaters situated under the two very large windows that are encased in a dominant wall of exposed brick in our living room cautions my optimism. And so does any conservation measure that can easily be mistaken as a form of societal censorship. Stay tuned readers and I love you, honey.
Showing posts with label Romania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romania. Show all posts
7.22.2009
Dirt Cheap or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ground-Source Heat
A new study looks at the government investment needed to lower the cost of geothermal energy to that of coal. Having recently moved into a building that uses a closed-loop ground-source heat pump system for its heating and cooling needs, my wife and I are excited at the prospect of lower energy consumption. So far, the technology is as it claims. During our first proper billing period, we used only 241 kWh. According to our local utility, the average customer in its service territory uses 600 kWh per month. Considering Madison had a cruel stretch of daily high temperatures in excess of 90° with humidity that made even the exterior of windows sweat, a phenomenon more common in August than June, we are very pleased with the first result. I should note our low usage is supplemented with eastern facing windows, obsessive thermostat setbacks, and compulsive energy efficiency that drives my wife absolutely insane. She likens my robotic behavior to her childhood days spent living in Communist Romania. Somehow being told to turn off the power strip when not using the Internet unearths memories when television broadcasting was limited to two hours and consisted mostly of regime propaganda. Needless to say, I've loosened my insistence, especially following a confrontation that ended with her uttering something in Romanian. I don't speak the language, but it sounded like a warning to me given her emphatic use of the word Ceauşescu. It definitely did not sound inviting like when she plays with our cat. Anyway, it remains to be seen how effective geothermal heating is in the dead of a Wisconsin winter. The electric baseboard heaters situated under the two very large windows that are encased in a dominant wall of exposed brick in our living room cautions my optimism. And so does any conservation measure that can easily be mistaken as a form of societal censorship. Stay tuned readers and I love you, honey.
1.18.2009
Pălincă
Romania's version of Howard Beale. This woman was fired after going nuts on live television; apparently cracking under the pressure of getting viewers to call in during a game show. That or a temperamental reaction to one too many sips of vişinată.
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