Neanderthals (as we understand them) are extinct. We are not extinct… yet.

I am in the process of replacing the plastic release latches with aluminum replacements on our Lazy-Boys. For a few dollars, there is a world of difference in quality. Measure carefully so that you get the correct replacement size. With a little practice, it takes 5 minutes or less to replace the latch and cable. IDK of BIFL brand recliners, but this is an EZ upgrade when the cheap part wears out.

E-bike repair and sales.

Electrician, as household remove gas appliances, they will be switching to electricity. Any building trade, actually. There are going to be a lot of houses and buildings that will upgrading to be more green, and as climate effects will be stronger, houses will have to be built stronger to withstand a more angry mother Nature, and more insulated.

Given the number of houses that will be needed to replace what we have, this will be a boom industry for years. Factory built houses that are field assembled is one area that could be high growth. I expect 3D printed houses, and underground houses to be a trend, too.

I have a building contractor friend tells clients that he can build good, cheap, or fast, pick any two. That adage applies here.

We had our questions answered, and decided to go ahead with the deal.

I doubt that I can build a 12 panel solar collector, the inverter, the tie-ins and electrical panel upgrades, the batteries, the mounting structure, and wiring for $3200, which is 10% electrical capacity above our highest usage to offset the inevitable loss of efficiency by aging equipment. It will pay for our $1100 yearly electric bill and an additional return of $350 as a yearly rebate together, which adds to $1450 yearly return for 20 years (in today’s’ dollars). The payback is an estimated 45% declining to 40% every year over 20 years.

I also do not have to tie up land, nor maintain the collector, nor worry about vandalism, nor accidental damage. Edit add: An additional government rebate dropped my cost from $4800 to $3200. This swung the offer to be so convincingly enticing.

When mine were new, I waterproofed them. Regular maintenance, cleaning and re-treating them with a silicone spray extends their life substantially. I also have repaired and re-glued mine when repairs were still at a small stage, to extend their life. I have re-sewn tops to the soles, too. I wear my junker shoes when conditions are wet, saving the good shoes from water damage. YouTube teaches about anything, now, including basic shoe repair.

I learned efficiency in heat transfer by opposite current flows. For example, a heat trade between outside air coming in, and inside air blowing out is most efficient if the highest temperature has the exchanger with the coldest temperature, and second and third stages of exchange always move so that the last exchanger have both sides closest in temperature.

If you want to squeeze the most that you can in a passive system, this principle will help.

Don’t forget, in insulating, you want the least transfer, so you go in the opposite direction.