How about first telling us where you are seeing how the plant is too big to survive the mail.

Heres a Link: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/saving-energy-manual-j-and-manual-d Even when they do the calculations, the results are usually wrong In his posted comment, Bailes raised an interesting point: the problem of “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO) Manual J calculations. Several energy experts have commented on the GIGO problem, including John Proctor, Hank Rutkowski, and Allison Bailes. Hank Rutkowski, the mechanical engineer who wrote the original Manual J document, was recently interviewed for a profile posted on the Green Building Talk Web site. The piece notes, “Rutkowski estimates that only 10% of heating and cooling equipment sizing decisions are based on some type of Manual J calculation and that less than 1% of the jobs are based on an aggressive implementation of the recommended design procedures.” Rutkowski explains the GIGO problem this way: “Manual J is a good tool if you use it aggressively. Follow the rules and it will give you a reasonable margin of safety. But the average contractor says, ‘Better safe than sorry,’ so he fudges here and there. He adds 5 to 10 degrees to the summer and winter design temperatures, calls the building ‘average’ instead of ‘tight’ and doesn't take credit for shading by interior blinds and drapes. Then when he finally comes up with a load number for sizing, he throws in an extra half-ton of AC just for the heck of it.” For a high-performance home, sizing by Manual J may still result in oversizing Several years ago, I had a conversation with building scientist Joe Lstiburek about air conditioners installed in Building America homes in Las Vegas. “HVAC designers are committed to the institutional oversizing of air conditioning equipment,” Lstiburek told me. “The average system is sized at 150% to 200% of the requirements of Manual J. They oversize because they don’t know what they will get for a building envelope, and to compensate for duct leakage and inappropriate refrigerant charge. If you size according to Manual J, there is already a fudge factor built in. But most designers then add another fudge factor.” According to Lstiburek, their experience proved the high-performance Building America homes in Las Vegas could have had HVAC systems sized at about 60% of Manual J. To be conservative, his team recommended installing systems sized at 80% of Manual J. Does oversizing matter? There are strong arguments against routine oversizing of HVAC equipment. The best argument is simple: oversized equipment usually costs more than right-sized equipment. Oversized equipment suffers from short cycling. For example, an oversized furnace brings a home up to temperature quickly, and then shuts off. A few minutes later, it comes on again, only to shut off quickly. Many homeowners find the see-saw sound of a short-cycling furnace to be annoying. When air conditioners short cycle, the units don't run long enough to achieve much dehumidification ��" at least in theory. (During the first few minutes of operation, an air conditioner cools a house. But not enough moisture has collected on the cold coil or on the pan below for any water to have actually gone down the drain. When the air conditioner turns off, all of the moisture in the pan and on the coil just re-evaporates.) The conventional wisdom may be wrong, however Increasing evidence shows that energy experts have exaggerated the negative effects of equipment oversizing, however. Studies have confirmed that oversized furnaces don't use any more energy than right-sized furnaces. Moreover, newer modulating or two-speed furnaces operate efficiently under part-load conditions, solving any possible problems from furnace oversizing. Although there are ample reasons to believe that oversized air conditioners are less effective than right-sized equipment at dehumidification, at least one field study was unable to measure any performance improvements or energy savings after replacing an existing oversized air conditioner with a new right-sized unit. The bottom line The main reason to choose right-sized equipment is to avoid paying too much money for equipment you don't need. A Manual J calculation will ensure you don't spend more than necessary for your furnace, boiler, or air conditioner. Moreover, a Manual J calculation will provide room-by-room heat loss and heat-gain information that is essential to good duct design. Without good duct design, you're running the risk of comfort complaints.

In Florida there are wild grapefruit, that grow in the shade (understory) and still produce (inedible) fruit. No fertilizer, other than decaying plant matter from the canopy. So that seems very strange yours is so mature and hasn’t bloomed. I wonder if there areways to induce flowering, chemicals or cultural? Maybe those huge thorns are a clue...

Until you go in to apply for the position, they tell you the pay is commission based. So if you're not also a 'silver tongued' salesman, your pay is likely at best 30K a year or less and at risk of being let go. These kinds of ads are nothing new Mike. I've seen them for 20 years. They talk a good game... but it's just a game like everything else. You're a home owner Mike. How could you know? Why is a position like this commission based? because techs lie, ride the clock... meanwhile the company goes broke, due to non-productivity --- or giving services away. (Some companies will employ these measures to get their foot in your door. You know we won't charge you for advice sort of thing... but their advice is heavily stacked in their favor. It has to be... they are paying 100's of thousands of dollars to make high cost TV ads, not to mention other forms of ads.) The position is a good secure position that isn't going away... but if you think it's easy as just 'showing up' to make $75-100K a year... you're beyond clueless. There are more techs that try this field and quit, than there are techs that succeed and become anything remotely what I wake up to every morning. Why do you think there are so many ads looking for people. Hint *high turn over, churn mill*. Remember I've been doing this for 26 years... 13 of those years I worked for other companies. This isn't meant to discourage a younger generation from doing this... but there is no such thing as an 'easy profession' to make a livable wage. This job is hard, hard, hard. People will call you rip off artist, lying cheating con man, tell you the company you work for cheated them when the system fails. You will work in the weather... hot, cold, mild, windy, rainy, thunderstorms. You will craw under homes in rat infested dumps, climb thru attics maybe if you're fortunate you won't plummet to serious injury up to and including death by being impaled by something. You will sit in a truck for many hours. Get used to it because you will more or less live in that truck. You will work from sun-up to sun down and sometimes beyond that. Some days you'll will be busy, making good money. When the calls come at a trickle you'll still be sitting in that truck... the pay won't be as good then. It's a seasonal business any way you slice it. There will be the calls you spend hours on, but because you're running a 'free estimate bid' you won't make nothing on those that you don't sell. Do too many of those and the company will cut you loose. Why would this company put you in a truck and keep you there if you don't perform like they think you should? There will be those employees who wanting to get a leg up, go and snitch on you. There will be favorites.. those who get to go home early while you continue to work. You're nearly to your front door... then another call comes in. You're on call... forget your plans. On that call you find out that another clueless idiot that snitched on you had been out on this call earlier didn't perform the repair right and the condensate pan is over flowing dripping into yet another pan from another unit that is also backing up flooding the home. What's all this you ask: It's what the ad doesn't say. If they told you all that... there would be far less people who stick their neck out. Remember, I've lived it... 26 years is a LONG TIME. I don't run a 'churn mill' -- if that's what you want, good luck. The Ray Austin way is only achieved by using Ray Austin. The few, the happy, the service when you need it. (I can't service everyone, nor do I try.) I service the Katy, Texas area