It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

[mooncliff]

I have been using this for over a year, and it is unbelievably useful. Just aim it at anything and it will tell you the exact temperature.

I have used it to see where the coldest and hottest areas in my apartment are, so I can see where heat is leaking in and out. The temperature of black curtains in full sunlight in the winter reaches 120F in my apartment, providing a large fraction of the heating.

My cousin uses it to see where there might be leaks around car engines or air conditioning where everything is packed very tight.

I have also used it to teach students about radiant heating and cooling of the night sky.

Another totally unexpected use was to check the temperature of fresh water to be added to my aquarium. I can get the replacement water to be within one degree F of the water in the aquarium even in the winter.

And not only that, it is 30% cheaper than when I bought it! And in yen terms, 50% off.


http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-T...8176196&sr=8-2

[BigBagel]

Re: It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

Your posts are always interesting Mooncliff. I put one of these bad boys in my Amazon cart.

[mooncliff]

Re: It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

Five years ago, I was fairly certain we were going to have a depression that would last a decade, so I switched from trying to make money to trying to get future expenses down. I got my mom's house in Hawaii from $10,000 a year down to about $3,000 dollars a year with no change in standard of living.

I am always interested in getting costs down for a few bucks. This device will I hope help everybody to do that. We can live in a much less wasteful world with the same level of comfort. Go to your relatives houses and check for their heat leaks too. I insulated just my front door and it made a HUGE difference.

Once you can see the unwanted heat gain or the unwanted heat loss, it seems much less daunting to do something about it.

Radiant barrier paint is a good cheap thing that might be worth looking into.
http://www.hytechsales.com/housepaint.html
http://www.hytechsales.com/

[aaron]

Re: It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

The temperature of black curtains in full sunlight in the winter reaches 120F in my apartment, providing a large fraction of the heating.

Can you elaborate a bit on this? Is it better to have black curtains than to let the light in, naturally? Do you switch them to white in the summer?

Cool stuff, by the way.

[mooncliff]

Re: It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

In the summer, I have white curtains on my southfacing veranda, and vines to block the heat.
In Tokyo in the winter, it is usually clear and cool, say 45F during the day and 30F at night, from December to March. My veranda faces south, and for about 5 hours a day, I get full on sun. I put up black curtains in the winter. It can get so hot in here that I have to open a window. I have 2 double glass doors at the veranda, about 8 square meters,yards, so there is a lot of heat in the afternoon.
It would be the same if I opened the curtains and let the light in, but during the day I am at the office often, so I dont want to leave the curtains open, because I live on the first floor.
I found excellent insulating curtains for $60... love this deflation in Japan.

Also, I replaced my air conditioner/heat pump heater and refrigerator and switched to all LED lighting, and my electric bill dropped from about $120 a month to $60. We have a really high rate of about 30 cents a kwh in Japan, so it was significant for me.

Also, rents have been going down, so I asked the landlord for a reduction, and got $1500 off per year. That with the electricity reduction is about $2000 off per year.

I am not cheap (oh, if only I were, i would be rich... haha) and I waste money all the time drinking, etc., but plugging the leaks in household finance is an important part of being then able to waste money.

I also rediscovered cooking at home, and how much cheaper it is and how much of a pleasure it is. Basically, it is just going back to how we used to live when I was a boy... with hightech enhancements.

[mikedev10]

Re: It is getting cold, and you may find this device useful

i just got this puppy, although haven't tried it out yet - http://www.amazon.com/Steinel-11391-...sr=1-1-catcorr

originally planned on using it to check brake temperatures after coming off a race track. slash a toy for me to play with. scanning around the house once the snow falls sounds a much more intelligent idea.