BrianW

11 hours ago, mreaves said:

Lol, I’ve had calls from Tesla every month since November asking me if my WiFi hookup is working since they aren’t registering anything. Each time I have to tell them they’re under 2’ of snow. 

I actually went up and cleaned them off on Saturday. My roof isn't too steep and easy to get on from my deck. Missing 30 kwh days in CT were the electricity is literally the most expensive in the lower 48 they are worth cleaning off. On good sunny days I can produce $10-15+ a day in power. 

My solar panels rocked the last 2 days producing almost 30 kwh. I had to go back to Mid Sep 2018 for the last time I hit 30 or even came close.

So I am guessing the equivalent sun angle is close to sept?

Half my panels were locked in ice/snow the last week so my production was cut in half. 

I remember reading once that 90 percent of homes south of the Mason Dixon line have no basements. Its really a New England thing. 

My wife has a bunch of family in Missouri people dont even know what a basement is there. I try and explain it to them and they seem confused. Homes there are built flat on the ground on concrete slabs. Nowhere really to go except a closet.

With all the technology out there where are the automatic snow depth sensors? Infared triangulation and ultrasonic sensors are extremely accurate and cheap. 

Sun should come out and melt most of this today right?

I am hoping it melts off my solar panels quick so I can take advantage of the clear days coming up. My solar production is really starting to ramp up this time of year. 

Upton made a presentation on the storm.

https://www.weather.gov/media/okx/Briefings/WxBriefing_FB.pdf

SE CT and RI getting crushed under that band.

Just measured 2 inches in Branford. 

Nice band along the CT shoreline. Heavy snow here. 

Just now, CoastalWx said:

93 N wasn't touched north of Wilmington. Suck ass ride. It's like eff the northbound commuters and focus on southbound lol.

Looks like the Mass Pike is closed eastbound almost from the NY line to Springfield.

1 hour ago, OceanStWx said:

Congrats GYX, 214 kt observed wind on the sounding tonight.

Other area soundings, CHH 208, OKX 187, and ALB 211 

I was checking out flightradar24.com before and flights east to Europe are hauling. Some 750+ ground speeds.  Also, noticed most of the NYC Europe flights are flying out east well south of Long Island instead of their normal routes. I guess to take advantage of the insane tailwinds? 

1 hour ago, moneypitmike said:

Today will be a good example of late February solar impact vs. cold temps.  I'm expecting my snow-covered, sun-exposed driveway will take a beating despite the progged high temp of 20*.  Meanwhile, it'll be deep winter on the north-facing deck.

I just noticed my solar panels have been cranking the last week or so. Had to go back to early Oct of last year for a similiar production day. Sun is definitely getting stronger. 

Crazy how cold its been at Great Falls. I can't even imagine what heating costs are with these temps.

1 hour ago, ORH_wxman said:

As long as we aren't going by the disastrous Logan observer, id forecast 3-6" for BOS right now. They are in an a pretty decent spot latitude and longitude wise. 

If we get one more tick colder at 00z tonight I'd up the ante to 4-8".

 

When the bent back WF in the midlevels is oriented from NW to SE line, that is usually a good setup for BOS and NE MA. That's like a 3/19/13 setup or 12/16/07. Where ALB-SYR is pinging before Scooter does.  

 

Who does the observations at the airports? The FAA? Are they actually paid to do it like it's in their job description? Or are they just sort of doing a favor for the NWS?

I went outside with my FLIR infared camera the other weekend when it was like -2 here. This thing was still pumping out like 115 degree temps at the ducts. I was like wtf when it showed -20. I just can't wrap my head around how it can pump out heat at that temp.

The technology is certainly intriguing.

Side note- Notice how much heat loss an uninsulated basement foundation in New England has...

4 hours ago, alex said:

They are becoming pretty common. I just built 3 houses and all 3 have hybrid heat pump/propane systems and it's awesome. The thermostat has an outdoor temp sensor, and automatically switches from heat pump to propane heat when the temperature drops below a certain level. It's awesome!

Spot on. I know what to set my main oil furnace t-stat to kick on when it can't keep up. Which down on the shoreline in CT is pretty rare.

5 hours ago, dendrite said:

No fossil fuels for you since you're on solar. I know Jerry said his electric bill went sky high. You must have had quite the pricey initial fee. I'm intrigued by them though.

True on the expensive side but better then burning oil. The going cost is about 4-5k in New England for a Mitsubishi or Fujitsui installed. These were invented in Japan where the market demands reliability and efficiency and they definitely deliver on that.

I have been warm all day by not creating heat but pumping it in from outside. The technology is certainly intriguing and when you have a unit your like how is this thing pumping out crazy heat right now...

I installed a mini split heat pump a month ago and have been blown away by the heating performance. The technology is pretty nuts where you aren't creating heat your moving it at 388% efficiency.

100 percent heating capacity at 5 degrees using no fossil fuels and 388 percent efficiency....This is going to be the future of heating and cooling...

I get these are expensive to install but these units destroy every other heat source on efficiency.

This billboard just went up on 91 just outside New Haven. Only 60 miles to legal weed. Haha

My work van is showing 60 down here in SW CT.  Eating my lunch outside in it. 

Looks like a pretty nice week coming up. Will be nice to get some outdoor stuff done like stacking more firewood.  The lower heating load will be real nice as well.

For those into weather sealing/insulation FLIR makes a cheap infared camera for $150 that attaches to your smartphone now. This thing is absolutely amazing for summer and winter air leaks. You can literally see through walls. 

I could never figure out why my central air sucked untill I started looking around with the FLIR. Discovered the hvac hacks had the return connected right into the attic. The central air was sucking in 100+ attic air in the summer. 

27 minutes ago, dendrite said:

A calm -10F isn't that big of a deal. You dress for it and you're fine. It's not trying to force its way through the cracks of your house either. Crank that wind up to 20-30mph and even 10F above becomes tough to tolerate. idk...I mean I enjoy radiational cooling and the big cold numbers, but there is definitely a different feel between the two.

I am in the middle of going all out insulating my house. I was using a FLIR camera and the amount of cold pouring through cracks was insane Weds night. I couldn't believe what some air sealing and insulation could do though. The before and after with the FLIR camera is mind blowing in the difference.