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Central Air Conditioners: Variable-Speed vs Soft Start Kits

Some time ago I detailed our 2021 decision to upgrade to a variable speed central air conditioner, the various features and benefits underlying that decision. That was the same year, after the Great Texas Freeze of 2021, we went about implementing a practical strategy for backup power.

We had been planning for these projects for quite some time, setting aside the necessary funds. Things might have been quite different if the old air conditioner had outright failed unexpectedly, requiring immediate replacement. We probably would have opted for a single-stage replacement purely on the basis of cost. After all, that’s what happened in 2002 when, as new homeowners, we were more-or-less forced into buying the American Standard Allegiance 12 system.

Single-stage systems certainly get the job done. They’re standard, builder-grade equipment. They simply don’t fit into our current strategy for backup power. At least, not without some fiddling. What follows in an exploration of that fiddling.

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Unexpectedly Handy Gadget: USB A-to-C Adapter

Stella &I have been carrying Google’s Pixel phones since their introduction. Each time we bought new phones they came with some accessories. The Pixel 6a we currently use didn’t come with power supplies, but they did ship with a USB-C cable and little USB A-to-C adapters.

Google USB-A to C adapter

In earlier times we needed an A-to-C adapter to facilitate migration from the older phone to new model. Thereafter the wee widgets collected in a junk drawer. That is until recently. I’ve stumbled upon some uses for them.

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The World’s Most Expensive Domestic Hot Water Heater

I’m struggling. You see. For about a year now. I’ve been smitten. With what is quite possibly the world’s most expensive domestic hot water heater. Yes, I’m simply entranced by the the SanCO2 heat pump water heater. I want one. Badly. Precious.

We’d like to renovate our kitchen. It’s not a large house. So, not a large kitchen. Part of the available floor/closet space is taken up by a rather dull, traditional, 30 gallon, natural gas-fired water heater. I’d like to use that space to enlarge the pantry.

So the question becomes how to move or eliminate the standing tank water heater. I’ve surveyed alternatives. As is my way, I’ve done research.

Traditional, on-demand gas water heater

Traditional, tankless gas water heater

On-Demand Water Heater

I had a local company quote us on a natural-gas-fired on-demand water heater that would mount on the outside wall of the house. This is quite common here in Houston. The gas meter is at the northeast corner of the house, essentially at the corner of the kitchen. That makes this arrangement eminently practical.

The quote was for $4,900 all-in. It was enough to give me pause.

Gotcha?

Twice in the past few years we’ve had unusually hard freezes. That sort of thing imperils an exterior mounted, on-demand water heater. They must be drained or a hard freeze will literally destroy them. That means there is the potential of not having hot water should we experience the equivalent of another Winter Storm Uri.

Call me crazy, but the possibility of a hot shower on an otherwise freezing day seems like a good thing. Not something that should readily be given up.

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Flume Water Monitoring: One Year Later

It just so happens that it’s almost exactly one year since I published the post on the installation of the Flume water meter. Since then, it has continued to help us save water and money. Sometimes in unexpected ways.

At the point of initial installation I found that I had to locate the Flume base station in our living room. I had to move it to the point in the house that was nearest to the Flume sensor, which is in the water meter housing, out on the boulevard.

This is likely because we have bronze metal mesh in our window screens. They tend to block wireless signals. This is also why I installed a supplemental Wi-Fi access point in the attic above the front porch.

Frozen

Over the holiday season of winter 2022 we suffered a couple of very hard freezes. During one of these freezes a fitting under the back of our house cracked. It’s where a metal pipe connects to PVC just before it goes underground to the garage. That metal/PVC interface fitting split. Not entirely unexpected given the different thermal expansion/contraction of metal vs plastic.

When the temperature finally started to rise, and water once again flowed, the Flume system alerted me to the rather dramatic leak resulting from the broken fitting. It’s not like I would have missed it in any case, since water was literally spraying aloud under the back of the house.

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Further Adventures Exploring BirdDog NDI TV Monitor for Android

My initial experiment with BirdDog NDI TV Monitor for Android on the Tivo Stream 4K turned in less than stellar results, but it did generate some interest amongst NDI users online. I accept that the Tivo device is a somewhat vintage host platform.

Chromecast 4k White

One person mentioned that Birddog had presented the application at NAB 2023 running on a current generation of Chromecast. I haven’t had a Chromecast since it was first introduced. It certainly is the definitive Android TV device. So, I bought a brand new Chromecast with Google TV. The very latest version capable of 4K & HDR.

This latest Chromecast has only two connectors: HDMI for connection to the TV, and USB-C for power.

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Exploring BirdDog NDI TV Monitor for Android

Birddog, the Australian purveyor of NDI products, recently introduced an application that allows display of an NDI stream on an Android TV. As along-time fan and user of NDI, I was curious to try this on devices around our home and office.

androidTVapp

Google’s Play Store informed me that the application would not load to my Pixel 6a mobile phone. We don’t have an Android powered TV. So, I loaded BirdDog NDI TV Monitor to a Tivo Stream 4K, which is basically a branded Android TV stick.

The free 25 MB application loaded quickly, appearing in the menu of available apps. Selecting the application, it scanned the local network for NDI sources, presenting a list of options. Thinking ahead, I had both vMix and NDI Test Pattern running on my desktop.

Selecting one of those sources, it immediately appeared on the TV. Alas, the image carried a very busy watermark. It was useful enough for confirming presence of picture, but useless for anything serious.

NDI TV Monitor for Android

There are precious few details about the app in the Play Store (pictured above.) What little is there describes it as “…free to receive and view direct BirdDog sources, with in-app purchase options for other NDI sources.”

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