Utilities - water, sanitation, home energy

a small Haier AC unit for $350. It's the two part unit, evaporator mounts inside up high, compressor and condenser outside. Very quiet. 4.5 amp draw.

The evaporator unit is about 3 feet wide. I want to check PriceMart first, they had some other Haier refrigeration products there, and they have a guarantee

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21899227

My ex-house was rented to my ex-tenant. As is all too common with tenants, he got behind in the rent. Ana did verify that the utility bills were paid specifically seeing the canceled receipt for the November bill. Well, it turns out that while that bill was paid there was apparently some financial creativity conducted.

Apparently he got behind in the electricity bill and went to Union Finosa and negotiated a payment agreement. So, while the bill appeared to be current there was a separate agreement for the other money. Here are the reasons this makes no sense:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/lantern-powered-g...

In case you forgot, that's Urine Diverting Dry Toilets. A friend in Ecuador pointed me at a blog of a usano who has been in Ecuador for decades. The blog is specifically about UDDTs and seems like a good fit for Nicaragua.

I recently we communicating with somebody about wastewater treatment as it might apply to a rural Project in Nicaragua and thought I would post some notes here. Anyone who has real world experience in Nic might want to add in their comments.

I have been working on a concept that can expand electric grid access while reducing both common infrastructure and consumer costs. While it is not unique to Nicaragua, I feel the idea would be highly practical here. I intend to expand on the idea and would welcome other players with an interest in it.

I saw the subject come up in another thread and decided it was worth its own post. This is information, not questions.

The question is, is Enitel playing with what you do over an Internet connection? My symptoms are that my SIP phone connection used to work just fine. I seldom use it but a friend successfully used it in late December. Today I was rewiring a lot if stuff that connects me to the Internet. One of the changes was physically moving my router which includes software to deal with a SIP phone.

E-Cat Update: LENR Confirmed by Mainstream Scientists December 14, 2011 by Owen Geiger

I just run standing fans for now but I am going to put a false cieling in the master bedroom and want to put an overhead fan in. I am off the grid with a very small system so I just wanted to ask if anyone has experience with which fans use the least energy?

While this article is about a city in California rather than somewhere in Nicaragua, I found the analysis very useful. (Note that I got to this site following a link about PV solar in Nicaragua which turned out to be no more than a press release.) This article talks about Murrieta contracting for PV solar for the city hall.

We're installing a rope pump about 17 meters deep on the finca and we want to use an electric motor to run the pump. The motor will be solar powered. Does anyone have experience with how much motor we'll need to drive the rope pump (e.g. 1/2hp or 1hp) and what type of pump? Thanks!

Is any one running a propane gen set? Would like to know the cost of a gallon of propane and what size tanks are available in Nicaragua? Any info would help. Thanks

Living Woods Magazine, a UK publication, has yet another approach to a low-tech composting toilet. It uses close to no construction material. Not perfect for every location but it looks pretty good for places such as here in the trees.