BrianW

What a great time here...

Head down. We had a pretty amazing stretch of weather here the last few days but it looks a bit stormy this week. Its the best time of the year to get out of New England... took the new Avelo flight out of HVN. Was only a 2:38 flight coming down. The sun angle warning is legit. Like 75% of our group got roasted with sunburn and are out for the count today...

Its been full sun here most of the day and it looks pretty active just west of here. We had a deluge earlier and then full sun and the dews were spectacular.

Pretty epic day for severe here... The atmosphere is primed for thunderstorm development today as a stationary front sits in south-central Florida and additional parameters point to the increased potential. This morning`s 12Z sounding highlighted PWATs of 1.57in which is near the 90th percentile for this time of year. In addition, low-level winds will begin to veer more westerly/southwesterly as a previously formed mesoscale convective system breaks up into multiple positive vorticity pulses that advect over the Florida Peninsula.

I didn't realize grubex is using a new chemical that appears to be relatively safe and effective. Chlorantraniliprole (AceleprynTM for commercial applicators, GrubExTM for homeowners) is a non-neonicotinoid insecticide that is extremely effective against all white grub species (as well as caterpillars) and has no activity against bees, ants, or wasps. The product also has a very low level of vertebrate toxicity, so much so that a signal word is not required on the label, not even ‘Caution’. An important aspect of using chlorantraniliprole is to account for the fact that it takes 60 to 90 days to fully dissipate in the soil for optimum effectiveness against grubs. Therefore, the preventive window is earlier than for the neonicotinoids, usually mid-April to early June in most years.

What a special day on tap for South Fl. Scattered/Numerous Thunderstorms Across South Florida Today... ...Severe Weather and Flooding Rainfall May Accompany Storms... Quasi-zonal upper level flow presides over much of the lower latitudes of CONUS. The exception here is a vigorous H500 short-wave trough and attendant mesoscale-convective system that is propagating eastward across the Gulf of Mexico. As this feature approaches South Florida, RAP/GFS guidance suggest that this wave will decouple into separate impulses, one of which will allow of differential cyclonic vorticity advection to encompass South Florida.This will be commensurate with divergent flow aloft, low-level convergence, and a general veering of winds within the troposphere favoring warm air advection from SFC-700 hPa. Sufficient instability on the order of 1500-2500 J/kg should allow for thunderstorms to develop as the aforementioned wave phases with peak heating this afternoon, though convective debris may limit surface heating and resultant thunderstorm coverage in some locations. Furthermore, effective bulk shear on the order of 30-40 kt and steepened mid-level lapse rates around 7/7.5 C/km may allow for a few severe thunderstorms to develop this afternoon - mainly over eastern portions of South Florida. Hail up to quarters in size and a brief tornado or two cannot be ruled out within the most robust thunderstorms that develop through the evening hours today.

Saw a bunch of sea turtles come up on the beach here in FL last night and lay eggs. Was an amazing thing to see.

Yes. Closer to $8500. Its a 5.4 kw system so not huge. When I installed 8 years ago CT had an 80 cent watt upfront incentive. So I got like almost 4k from the state of CT's energy efficiency program. I also got a 30% federal tax credit. Was literally the best investment I ever made. My panels will produce like $2500+ in free electricity this year.

Yeah. I would never live here. I just come for the heat and dews. I literally come to my wife's family beach condo and never leave. I avoid as much of FL as possible. This weekend has been absolutely stunning here. Its been like full sun in the upper 80s and just some great dews. There's been a line of stationary storms firing off the coast for the past few days as well. The lighting has been awesome at night.

I used a low interest home equity loan from my credit union to finance my panels. My monthly loan payment was $160 a month which was less than or equal to my average monthly electric bill. Instead of paying Eversource I paid off the loan. My panels took 5 years to be paid off and reach my return on investment. My electric bill is just the $9.62 service charge every month. My house is 100% electric including my heat pumps for heat.

It's a special place. Look at these 10 pm temps....

Just South of there. Highland Beach.

I'm down in West Palm Beach and the weather has been epic. Such a special place... The front will eventually make it down to South Florida on Sunday in terms of a wind shift, but it will not be felt temperature-wise as temps will still hit the upper 80s with 90 degrees possible over the interior.

Cool island. Had 2 nice trips there. The next 2 weeks are usually the best time to leave New England for vacation. I'm heading to Key West FL tomorrow. It seems like every year I go the weather turns to crap right when I leave.

Turned out to be a pretty awesome day for yardwork here. 56 with some sun most of the day.

Anyone else notice all the bamboo seems to be yellow and dead this year?

Man the difference between up there and the shoreline is crazy. Have you been down by New Haven recently?

One thing that is awesome is the Ford Pass Ap. Let's you access your car from your phone. One awesome feature for those up north is you can schedule the car to start every hour and run for 5 mins or whatever you set.

Its an insanely hot car. I was talking to my salesman about them and people are paying whatever to get one. Have you looked into the car market lately? Its nuts. Dealers are charging like 5k over msrp with crazy add ons like $1700 mandatory upholstery spray protection. Many cars are like 6+ month wait periods. Just saw the average car payment is now $716 over 6 years as well.

Properly sized and zoned its superior in comfort. My entire house stays one uniform temperature as my units run nonstop at low speed using only a few hundred watts. I have a split level and they are one of the best setups for heat pumps. The downstairs heat pump carries most of the heating load and in the summer my upstairs unit carries the cooling load. Having 2 means I always have a backup as well. I average about 400-700 kwh a month in winter and about 225 kwh in July August. My heat pumps used just under 3000 kwh last year. If I had to buy the electricity at .25 it would be around $750 for the entire year heating and cooling. Here was last years total electricity usage. As you can see in the summer my upstairs unit runs way more.

I bought my system 8 years when prices were $1.50 watt. It paid for itself and I reached my ROI in 5 years using a home equity loan to pay for it. Prices are like $3-4 watt now but I think it still works out to like an 8-10 year payback in most New England states.

Have you seen what your Ranger is worth? Those older 2009-2011 Rangers are getting big money. Their book value will be like 12k but they are selling for like 15-17k. My next truck will be hopefully an electric but the 4cyl turbo in this has some of the best mpg in its size.

Get some bear spray. My wife and I carry it when we walk the dog. I stopped a charging pit bull with it instantly. Used it on a coyote getting to close once as well but I think he smelled it and bolted. I think the brand I use is Sabre and is their compact version. Or you can just get your pistol permit.

Agree about insulation and there are huge state and federal rebates for them as well. I have had solar for 8 years and my house is 100% electric from my net metered solar. 2 high efficiency heat pumps for heating cooling. I pay just the $9 monthly minimum service charge year round. Why wouldn't you at least put a heat pump in for shoulder season that also gets you the most efficient ac? You have solar that is likely paid off but would rather line the pockets of gas companies and speculators? Here was the coldest day of the year here back on Feb 3rd when it hit -5. From 10am to 3 pm my solar powered directly my entire house and heat pumps while exporting most of the power. Why would you not use a fuel that you can generate for free on your roof?