On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 04:07:13 -0500, Roger
wrote:

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 05:25:33 GMT, "Dave Stadt"
wrote:


"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:dYNnf.14092$Ea6.1451@trnddc08...
Roger wrote:

I've forgotten my physics...any one... what's 30KW in BTU?

According to a formula I found at "infoplease", that works out to 102,360
BTU.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong
to
your slightly older self.

My 75K natural gas unit heater costs $1.00 per hour as a comparison.


Depending on what I'm doing I keep the shop 28 X 40 at 70 to 72
degrees F for about 12 out of 24 hours with the other 12 at 62 to 64
for about $2.00 to $3.00 a day in this very cold weather and it's
75,000 BTU as well. Of course it's not running all the time.

I should have added the furnace is not running all the time, but the
shop is heated all winter, 24 X 7.

Actually it is heated the warmest during the coldest part of the night
as I usually work out there from about 7 or 8 PM on to about 3 or 4
AM. The setback takes it to 62 degrees at 3 AM, but it's usually
still 68 or better by then. It ramps back up to 66 at 7 AM where it
keeps it the rest of the day. it goes to 70 around 10 PM unless I
manually punch it up. The big doors get opened several times a day
which is another reason I don't keep it as warm as I do at night.

I just received the bill for this past month when we had the wind and
single digit temperatures. It was a tad under $2.50 a day at $74
($2.47 a day) including sur charges, delivery charge (for natural
gas?), and all the other charges and taxes they stuck in there.
I keep the shop warmer than the house, and it cost 20% less to heat
than the house.

The electrical use was up though as I did a lot of welding,wood
working, and fiberglass sanding last month, which meant the whole shop
fan was running all the time too. I had to set up the humidifier as
well as another fan just blowing over the top of some 5 gallon pails
of water. The humidity was down to 16%. It's no wonder the plywood I
took out there curled up before I could turn it into shelves. (and
that was less than two hours). 28" pieces were warping over an inch in
less than two hours. Clamps, glue, and a few nails took care of that.

Also there are 11, eight foot fluorescent fixtures (22, 8' lamps @
40W each) mounted from the ceiling. I'd like to use full spectrum, but
at the price they run, I think I'll stick with the cheap ones and
maybe hang a couple of the good ones over the work bench and desk.

When the first one burns out I change them all as I know the rest will
go within the next month or two. Besides a full carton is almost half
the price of purchasing the same number one-at-a-time. I throw out
the bad ones, and mark the others as spares, for the just-in-case. But
at any rate that is 440 watts or about 3 cents an hour for lights.
OTOH that works out to about $11 or $12 a month just for the ceiling
lights. It's amazing how each of the little costs adds up.

Let's see now... If I could convince my wife I need to replace that
big, heavy, bulky, gets in the way, 19" CRT on the computer out there
with an energy saving 21" LCD thin screen.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com




Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Roger