Got a K&N Filter - - - for my house

Found out K&N now makes home AC / heater air filters so I picked up one - - - MERV 11 and should last forever they say

and at $52 less money that it would cost for the smaller filter that fits my Slingshot

Quote from FunCycle

I like the K and N filter. But you do know that most Home AC systems return air filters are not sized large enough for the AC unit that is being used. I know that a lot of people will debate this but the more air flow the cheaper the AC system will be to operate. If you are getting a pressure drop across the air filter (The air filter is getting sucked in) then the air filter is not large enough. Another point to be made is if you can hear the air going thru the filter it is too small. In my house unit and the play room unit I have built a box return that takes 2 each 20"x20" filters and that is just barely large enough. If you happen to be running a high micro filter it is really costing you on the air flow and therefore a lot of MONEY.

I was a bit worried that the new filter might make noise or whistle, but it has not happened - no sound at all and it seems to flow as well if not better than the 2 inch MERV 8 filters I was using before

AS to increased electric costs my home has 59 solar panels on the roof - a 15.64 kw system - - my AC has no impact what so ever on my electric bill - - our billing year for net metering ends in 8 days and at this point we have generated over 6,000 more kWh of power than we have used for the past year and Southern California Edison will be paying me.

Our solar setup was originally sized when the kids were still living at home and also when we had medical equipment for my mother in law who is no longer with us as such it produces far more than we need these days..

Before we installed the solar our electric bills for these summer months would have been close to $1,000 a month - takes a good deal of electricity to cool a house here in the summer didnt drop below 100 degrees until almost 10 o'clock last night

10:07 PM last night - - and it wasnt even a really hot day - high was only 111 - - AC is a 24/7 thing here this time of year

Quote from SlingLow

I guess it doesn't decrease your mileage but how many more HP do you get?

Edward Neal I am considering a solar system on my house in the NW. It looks like it would take an investment around $30-35k with a break even of 8 - 12 years depending on consumption. The difference here is that if I ran everything in the house without regard to cost, my power bill would probably top out around $400 to maybe $500. I don't expect to be here that long but there is a value to a buyer that would also potentially return some capital. Has your system paid for itself yet?

when we went with our system we decided to go with a lease. Its a 20 year lease with an option at the end for another 10 years - - the monthly payment is just a bit lower than what our lowest month was before solar and we really like that it is exactly the same every month - - makes budgeting for retirement much easier knowing there wont be any surprises - - we also like that we dont own the equipment, Tesla does, and with a guaranteed minimum yearly production for every year of the lease we dont have to worry about inverters or panels or stabilizers going bad. each of our 59 panels has a electronic stabilizer mounted on the back that makes the system more efficiently use all of the panels when some are shaded and such - well we had one go bad and it kicked a code - - Tesla sent out a crew and they pulled all 59 panels down and replaced every stabilizer on every panel with a newer model - guy told us the newer ones were more durable and reliable and they didnt want to have to keep replacing the old ones every time one went out - - if we had owned the system I seriously doubt they would have done that - I suspect under warranty they would have just fixed the one that was bad

also another thing that made us lean toward the 20 year lease has to do with Edison - edison will only commit to guaranteed net metering for a 20 year contract - after that they can change how we are billed and possibly eliminate net metering - - if that were to happen it would make having solar not worth having - so by leasing or 20 year leas and 20 year net-metering come up for extension at the same time - if Edison decides to screw us we can just stop the lease and be done

just in case you are not familiar - net metering is where they give us credit for our over production that the system puts into the grid so that we can use that power from the grid when there is no sun - - without net metering you end up still having to buy from the utility for when the sun is not out which would greatly diminish the value of solar

Quote from Bigdog

Didn’t they make it mandatory for the electric company to pay you for extra electric you generate

I dont know about other States, but in California the three major utilities had to offer full net metering until they got 5% of their peak demand from solar installations. They then could switch to what is being called Net Metering 2.0 which is not as beneficial to the end user. there is also another level where if they reach it smaller utilities can end net metering all together - this actually happened with a smaller utility here in the valley and some people who had partially installed solar got screwed because they had not officially been turned on yet - - ended up getting reversed in court, but it took them a few years - - - - - I am grandfathered in on the original full net metering, but at the end of my first 20 years it will change to whatever they are offering then -

also not all utilities in all states pay the same - - on my net metering we get full credit to draw back out any extra we put in, but at the end of the year if we over generated we only get paid out at the wholesale rate that they buy commercial power for - about 2 cents per kWh - - much less than they would charge if I had to pay

technically my system is too big, I waste money by having a system that over generates by too much and dont get paid enough for it, on the other hand even when my system was down for a month in summer to have all of the panels pulled and have parts replaced I still over produced and didnt owe and I never have to get upset if the grandkids leave the back door open

Quote from SlingLow

I've never been a renter. I have always preferred to own the tools and equipment I use. However when you look at the possibility of the utility ending the program in 20 years the math changes and leasing becomes more attractive. If you can make a net investment of zero and produce a positive benefit (income) each month (probably in your case) or year (in my case) vs. a large outlay of cash for the same benefit, it's kind of a no-brainer with a 20 year window and a starting age of 60. I will have to explore that possibility if I get into it farther. I would also have to oversize my system since we are two people living in a house that could house a large family and I expect to sell it before I'm too old to keep it up - whenever that is.

That brings up another question Edward Neal . What happens with the system and the lease if you sell the property during the 20 year lease period? Is it automatically assumable by the new owner? Are they obligated to continue the lease?

there are basically 3 ways to deal with the lease if we sell the house 1 - if the people buying the house are financially qualified (which they would be if they qualify to buy the house) can sign up and assume the lease. 2 we can add the cost of the remaining lease into our selling price and then pay off whats left of the lease - the new owners would then decide what they want to do at the end of the lease but would have no monthly payments and the 3 rd option in our lease says that if we move within the same utility district we can pay a fee and simply have the entire system moved to our new home.

also as a side note us being in our early 60's when we did this made the lease option with the 10 year extension an easy one to make - zero out of pocket expenses - a monthly payment that is fixed and lower than our lowest month without solar and we will be in our 80's at the 20 year mark and if we extend our 90's - - - assuming we even make it that far in this house

Quote from wokka

I ordered one from the K&N website, they are offering 25% off right now, use discount code CLEANAIR

As with all of their products, they recommend using their cleaner on the filter. I went ahead and ordered a bottle of it, but will test with some other cleaners to see if they work as well.

I'm a big fan of K&N, made in the US, usually very affordable products and well made. Their oil filters are typically cheaper than other brands.

I still have a K&N air filter that I put on a Mustang in 2002, still works well. People balk at the price of their reusable filters, but for me, they are worth the cost and maintenance.

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I agree I like K&N as well and it is very well made, much nicer design and quality than other washable AC filters I have tried in the past

I decided to hold off on the cleaner for now - I will wait until it gets ready to need cleaning and will try straight water first - - I have washable filters in the past and water always worked just fine - - but if it doesnt then I will go on amazon and place the order - - no need to have right this second

Quote from Neosolidus

As soon as i read this I went to their website to order one they don't have one that fits my furnace (16*25*4).

What is important about cleaning them is not the cleaner solution but oiling them after washing them so they can function properly and last as long as they are meant.

yea - as said in the above post the home filters are dry - no oiling involved

I suspect the cleaner and need for it will depend a great deal on the home and where the AC return air is located - - - if up high near a kitchen where cooking grease might by more of an issue a cleaning solution might be more needed than if the return is located in a better location.

in my rental property the AC filter is located in the ceiling in a central hallway and in my home the return is just outside the kitchen at floor level - - - even though ours is near the kitchen I have never noticed any grease on the AC filters - perhaps because the returns are down low - - usually just lots of dust and GSD hair