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ERCOT Urging For Energy Conservation


Vic Mackey

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I don't know about commercial leases but I assume that the lease cost include utility costs? Crank it down if I'm not paying...  Lived in KL for a few years and the company paid our utilities so we had all the A/C's set to 17C and slept under down comforters...
Our company actually does take action to reduce demand although it's likely more cost driven than to help out Ercot. Auto shades come down in the afternoon and it's like a cave in there. Gets noticeably warm at times also.

You have to wonder if companies just start scrapping the whole office model at some point. It's a huge waste of resources and isn't exactly cheap to run and maintain.
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36 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Talked to ERCOT today and they’re seeing conservation across the board from the market today and therefore less usage than forecasted and no chance of blackouts. It’s going to be a tough 2-6 more weeks nonetheless. The big difference between 2011 and now is that the high pressure dome isn’t fully covering Houston. It does some days and not others, including what they expect this coming weekend for a while. If Houston gets ongoing moisture and turns it occasionally into rain, it keeps the entire grid from blowing out. Let’s hope for more of that, especially in afternoons. 

Living here, it's kind of crazy to think that Houston has the cooler and wetter weather that's a release valve for the energy demand.

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4 minutes ago, Okie State said:

Our company actually does take action to reduce demand although it's likely more cost driven than to help out Ercot. Auto shades come down in the afternoon and it's like a cave in there. Gets noticeably warm at times also.

You have to wonder if companies just start scrapping the whole office model at some point. It's a huge waste of resources and isn't exactly cheap to run and maintain.

Have a large client that did just that. Everyone work from home, come in when we need you here for a meeting. It has run quite smooth. More travel sure, but that never stopped with the development team. 

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8 minutes ago, Okie State said:

Our company actually does take action to reduce demand although it's likely more cost driven than to help out Ercot. Auto shades come down in the afternoon and it's like a cave in there. Gets noticeably warm at times also.

You have to wonder if companies just start scrapping the whole office model at some point. It's a huge waste of resources and isn't exactly cheap to run and maintain.

I work at the Amazon campus in Seattle.  That is our entire job is to make sure we reduce energy.  We have blinds come down.  AHUs shut off.  The Amazon office people actually have no control over the AC

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1 minute ago, FartingMonk said:

I work at the Amazon campus in Seattle.  That is our entire job is to make sure we reduce energy.  We have blinds come down.  AHUs shut off.  The Amazon office people actually have no control over the AC

You can say that again! 

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1 hour ago, FartingMonk said:

I work at the Amazon campus in Seattle.  That is our entire job is to make sure we reduce energy.  We have blinds come down.  AHUs shut off.  The Amazon office people actually have no control over the AC

Oh yeah, isn't that the $90k/year light bulb changing job?

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Just now, Biff Tannen said:

Man, I need to move to Seattle.

Definitely hiring .  But to get this thread back on track.  Most commercial buildings are highly automated and keep costs down as much as possible.  I recently took over the energy program. And part of it includes access to the electric bill and when I saw the number just for our building.  I was like holy fuck.  

Edited by FartingMonk
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14 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

Rock fucking sounds painful...

And is that a PERSON in the fucking water on the other side of that "beach"???  Isn't that shit about 50 deg F????

Low/mid 60s.  So very minimal 'shrinkage'.  Plenty of people swimming - just not in frame - though most are just tanning the booty

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16 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Low/mid 60s.  So very minimal 'shrinkage'.  Plenty of people swimming - just not in frame - though most are just tanning the booty

 

Water Temperature
in Degrees F (Degrees C)

Loss of Dexterity (with no protective clothing)

Exhaustion or Unconsciousness

Expected Time of Survival

Recommended Paddling Clothing*

60 to 70 (15.5 to 21) 30 to 40 min. 2 to 7 hrs. 2 to 40 hrs. Wetsuit with light paddling jacket, paddling shoes, hat

 

FUCK!  THAT! SHIT!!!!!!

My GF is a swim coach and they swim in 75 deg water and it's COLD

Edited by Ag with kids
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13 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

 

Water Temperature
in Degrees F (Degrees C)

Loss of Dexterity (with no protective clothing)

Exhaustion or Unconsciousness

Expected Time of Survival

Recommended Paddling Clothing*

60 to 70 (15.5 to 21) 30 to 40 min. 2 to 7 hrs. 2 to 40 hrs. Wetsuit with light paddling jacket, paddling shoes, hat

 

FUCK!  THAT! SHIT!!!!!!

My GF is a swim coach and they swim in 75 deg water and it's COLD

consider that this is a national folk hero

 

 

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17 minutes ago, Okie State said:

I don't understand how people keep their house at 68. I'm hot natured and that's too damn cold unless it's winter.

I was using 68 as a point. I find 72 at night is usually about as cold as I like it. And during the day 74.

but there is no “we’re in this together” with our electricity failures. It’s gotta get worse before it gets better.  

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I was using 68 as a point. I find 72 at night is usually about as cold as I like it. And during the day 74.
but there is no “we’re in this together” with our electricity failures. It’s gotta get worse before it gets better.  
Gotcha. 72 at night and 74 during the day are my go to temps also. I did dial it up a couple degrees with this shitty weather though so it keeps the bill somewhat manageable. My in-laws keep theirs at 68-70 all the time and had a $600 bill last month.
Yeah sorry that's insane.
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4 hours ago, dcar00 said:

While everyone was yelling about ERCOT, etc(rightly so statewide) Austin Energy was a lot of the problem during freezepocalypse in Austin. They almost got off scot free for their shitty old infrastructure until the water fiasco.

I'm actually on a board for the San Marcos utilities, and it's one of the most well-run organizations I have ever seen.  The guy in charge is brilliant in spite of being an Aggie.  

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36 minutes ago, midtown said:

67 at night here. I also have 4 fans. Including a bed fan that blows air under the sheets.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
 

 

Just now, Grade of D as in David said:

Just because you fart in bed doesn't make your ass a fan.

 

Edited by Grade of D as in David
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48 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

When my wife and I lived in upstate NY we'd let the temperature drift down to around 60 every night in the winter. Kept the thermostat at ~66 during the day.

When I was living in New England, I had my bedroom window open at least four inches every night, regardless of season. Best sleep of my life.

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50 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

When my wife and I lived in upstate NY we'd let the temperature drift down to around 60 every night in the winter. Kept the thermostat at ~66 during the day.

 

1 minute ago, trauma babe said:

When I was living in New England, I had my bedroom window open at least four inches every night, regardless of season. Best sleep of my life.

My man.

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Jesus, how are some of your AC units not freezing up?  Mine never goes below 67 and I try to not even get it to that. 73-75 during the day. 

Do you have an older house? Aluminized decking in the attic and spray in foam as well as used newspaper for insulation. Look into this. My current house is more than twice as big as my last (pre kids) and my E bill is the same. We keep it at 68 at night and 73 during the day.
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18 minutes ago, markstanco said:


Do you have an older house? Aluminized decking in the attic and spray in foam as well as used newspaper for insulation. Look into this. My current house is more than twice as big as my last (pre kids) and my E bill is the same. We keep it at 68 at night and 73 during the day.

Used newspaper…

This Is Fine GIF

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9 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Neon lights are very energy-efficient. 

TBH they pale in comparison to LED bulbs. I do prefer the light from neons to LEDs, but it's nuts how much more efficient and cool LEDs are. 

It's crazy to think that a single incandescent lightbulb being on for an hour used more juice than most laptops or consumer electronics do now. Not to mention the savings on AC from not filling your home with heat sources lol

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9 hours ago, markstanco said:


Do you have an older house? Aluminized decking in the attic and spray in foam as well as used newspaper for insulation. Look into this. My current house is more than twice as big as my last (pre kids) and my E bill is the same. We keep it at 68 at night and 73 during the day.

Nope.  2010, spray foam insulated, 5 star green energy rated.  

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I don't know if it will make a material difference with electricity costs but I've recently replaced the door seals in my house. FYI, this is the foam/vinyl seal around external doors. Watch a video on youtube if you want to replace but its not difficult. The only tool I used was a flat head screwdriver to help loosen the current seal and push in the new one.

No idea if this is helping but I can tell the door is sealed tighter.

Next on my list is to address the seal on the slightly warped attic door.

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1 hour ago, markstanco said:

Maybe it is treated?  Not sure. 

 

29 minutes ago, drt said:

Yes, cellulose insulation is treated with a flame retardant that also makes it less palatable to bugs.

I rented a house built in the 40s in Arlington Virginia and it had old copies of the Washington Post as insulation in the attic.  This was not "cellulose insulation" it was newspapers.

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Yes, people used to use them that way.  Stanco was proposing modern day upgrades to another poster (adding blown in cellulose, which is cheap and relatively easy).  Someone thought recycled paper was a bad idea from a fire standpoint.  My point was that modern cellulose added to homes is treated to mitigate that danger.

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