#solar storage tanks

[jupitersolar]

Solar Water Heater Manufacturers in Bangalore

Solar water heaters have become increasingly popular in Bangalore as residents seek sustainable and cost-effective solutions for their energy needs. With the rising awareness of renewable energy benefits, finding the best solar water heater manufacturers in Bangalore is essential for ensuring quality and efficiency.

Key Takeaways

Solar water heaters are eco-friendly and cost-efficient.

Top manufacturers in Bangalore include Jupiter Solar ,www.jupitersolars.in .

Important factors to consider when choosing a solar water heater include capacity, efficiency, brand reputation, installation, and cost.

Government incentives and subsidies are available for installing solar water heaters.

Proper maintenance is key to the longevity and efficiency of solar water heaters.

Phone : +91 9364896193              +91 9364896194

What is a Solar Water Heater?

A solar water heater is a device that uses solar energy to heat water for domestic or industrial use. It typically consists of solar collectors, a storage tank, and a circulation system. Solar collectors capture sunlight and convert it into heat, which is then transferred to the water stored in the tank. This process can significantly reduce electricity bills and contribute to a greener environment.

Benefits of Using Solar Water Heaters

Using solar water heaters offers numerous benefits:

Environmental Benefits: Solar water heaters reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to environmental sustainability.

Cost Savings: While the initial investment may be higher, solar water heaters can significantly lower electricity bills in the long run.

Low Maintenance: These systems are generally low maintenance, requiring minimal upkeep compared to traditional water heaters.

To buy solar water heater,for solar water heater distributor/dealer call  +91 9364896193,,             +91 9364896194

Types of Solar Water Heaters

Understanding the different types of solar water heaters can help you make an informed decision:

Flat Plate Collectors: These are the most common type, featuring a flat, glazed surface that absorbs sunlight.

Evacuated Tube Collectors: These consist of rows of parallel glass tubes, offering higher efficiency, especially in colder climates.

Thermosiphon Systems: These rely on natural convection to circulate water, making them simple and cost-effective.

Active vs. Passive Systems: Active systems use pumps and controls to circulate water, while passive systems rely on natural circulation.

Top Solar Water Heater Manufacturers in Bangalore

Jupiter Solar

Jupiter Solar ,www.jupitersolars.in is a leading name in the solar industry, known for its high-quality solar products. They offer a range of solar water heaters with various capacities and features, ensuring efficiency and durability. Their products are backed by excellent customer service and robust guarantee terms.

Jupiter Solar ,www.jupitersolars.in is a top manufacturer, specializing in innovative solar water heaters. Their solar water heaters are designed for optimal performance and energy savings. The company provides comprehensive installation and after-sales support.

Choosing the Right Solar Water Heater

When selecting a solar water heater, consider the following factors:

Capacity and Size: Choose a system that meets your household's hot water needs.

Efficiency and Performance: Look for models with high-efficiency ratings to maximize energy savings.

Brand Reputation: Opt for well-known brands with positive customer reviews.

Installation and Maintenance Services: Ensure the manufacturer offers professional installation and reliable maintenance services.

Cost and Warranty: Compare prices and warranty terms to find the best value for your investment.

Installation Process of Solar Water Heaters

Installing a solar water heater involves several steps:

Site Assessment: A professional will evaluate your location to determine the best placement for the solar collectors.

System Design: Based on the assessment, a customized system design will be created.

Installation: The solar collectors, storage tank, and circulation system will be installed by trained technicians.

Testing and Commissioning: The system will be tested to ensure it operates efficiently.

Professional installation is crucial for ensuring optimal performance and longevity of your solar water heater.

Cost and Savings Analysis

While the initial cost of a solar water heater can be higher than traditional water heaters, the long-term savings are substantial. Solar water heaters can reduce your electricity bills by up to 70%. Additionally, the government offers subsidies and incentives to encourage the adoption of solar energy, further reducing the overall cost.

Environmental Impact of Solar Water Heaters

Solar water heaters contribute to a significant reduction in carbon footprint. By using renewable energy, you help decrease the reliance on fossil fuels, leading to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.

Case Studies and Customer Testimonials

Success Story 1: Residential Installation in Bangalore

A family installed a solar water heater and saw a 4 0% reduction in their monthly electricity bills. The system paid for itself within three years, and they have since enjoyed significant cost savings.

Success Story 2: Commercial Installation

A switching to solar water heating and reported substantial savings on their energy costs. The environmentally friendly system also enhanced their reputation among eco-conscious customers.

Future Trends in Solar Water Heaters

The future of solar water heaters looks promising, with advancements in technology improving efficiency and affordability. Innovations such as hybrid systems that combine solar and electric heating are gaining popularity. The market for solar water heaters is expected to grow significantly, driven by increasing awareness and government support.

FAQs About Solar Water Heater Manufacturers in Bangalore

What are the best brands of solar water heaters available in Bangalore?

Some of the top brands include Jupiter Solar ,www.jupitersolars.in .

How much does it cost to install a solar water heater in Bangalore?

The cost varies depending on the system size and brand, ranging from INR 20,000 to INR 1,00,000. Government subsidies can reduce the overall cost.

Are there any government incentives for installing solar water heaters in Bangalore?

Yes, the government offers various subsidies and incentives to promote the use of solar energy, making it more affordable for consumers.

How do I maintain my solar water heater?

Regular maintenance includes cleaning the solar collectors, checking for leaks, and ensuring the system is free from obstructions. Professional servicing is recommended annually.

Can solar water heaters work during cloudy or rainy days?

Yes, solar water heaters can still function on cloudy days, although their efficiency may be reduced. Some systems include electric backup options for continuous hot water supply.

[electronalytics]

Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market Report Includes Dynamics, Business Strategies and Huge Demand by 2032

Market Overview of Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage:

Growing Renewable Energy Sector: The molten salt solar energy thermal storage market is witnessing significant growth due to the increasing adoption of renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy. Governments and organizations worldwide are investing heavily in renewable energy projects, including solar power plants, which drives the demand for molten salt thermal storage systems.

Efficient Energy Storage Solution: Molten salt thermal storage systems offer efficient energy storage capabilities, allowing solar power plants to store excess energy generated during peak sunlight hours. This stored energy can then be utilized during periods of low sunlight or high energy demand, enabling a more consistent and reliable power supply from solar energy sources.

Cost-Effective Energy Storage: Molten salt thermal storage is considered a cost-effective energy storage solution compared to other technologies like battery storage. The relatively low cost of molten salt materials, combined with their high heat storage capacity, makes them an attractive option for solar power plant operators looking to store large amounts of energy.

Enhanced Power Plant Performance: The integration of molten salt thermal storage systems with solar power plants enhances their performance and efficiency. The ability to store and dispatch energy as needed enables solar power plants to operate at a higher capacity factor, maximizing their electricity generation and revenue potential.

The global molten salt thermal energy storage market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 9.95% from 2022 to 2030.

Key Factors Driving the Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market:

Rising Awareness of Energy Storage Benefits: The awareness and understanding of the benefits of energy storage, including molten salt thermal storage, are increasing among utilities, project developers, and policymakers. The ability to store renewable energy and provide dispatchable power is recognized as a valuable asset in the energy transition.

Technological Advancements: Ongoing technological advancements are driving the development of more efficient and cost-effective molten salt thermal storage systems. Improvements in heat transfer efficiency, thermal insulation, and system integration are enhancing the performance and reliability of these systems.

Environmental Concerns and Climate Change Mitigation: The urgency to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is pushing governments and organizations to adopt cleaner energy alternatives. Molten salt thermal storage enables the efficient utilization of solar energy, which significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel-based power generation.

Demand for Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage:

Solar Power Plants: The primary demand for molten salt thermal storage systems comes from solar power plants. These plants utilize the thermal energy stored in molten salt to generate electricity continuously, even during non-sunlight hours, thereby increasing their operational flexibility and overall efficiency.

Energy Storage Projects: The growing demand for energy storage projects, including standalone storage facilities or hybrid systems integrated with renewable energy sources, contributes to the demand for molten salt thermal storage. These projects aim to enhance grid stability, improve renewable energy integration, and ensure a reliable power supply during peak demand periods.

We recommend referring our Stringent datalytics firm, industry publications, and websites that specialize in providing market reports. These sources often offer comprehensive analysis, market trends, growth forecasts, competitive landscape, and other valuable insights into this market.

By visiting our website or contacting us directly, you can explore the availability of specific reports related to this market. These reports often require a purchase or subscription, but we provide comprehensive and in-depth information that can be valuable for businesses, investors, and individuals interested in this market.

“Remember to look for recent reports to ensure you have the most current and relevant information.”

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Market Segmentations:

Global Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market: By Company • BrightSource Energy • Solar Millennium AG • Abengoa • Orano • Siemens • Acciona • ESolar • SolarReserve • Schott • Wilson Solarpower • Cool Earth • Novatec • Lointek • Acciona Energy • Shams Power • ZED Solar • Absolicon • Rioglass Solar • Greenera Energy India Pvt • Focus solar • BrightSource Energy • NREL • Evergreen Solar Services • Suntech • Thai Solar Energy • BP Solar • Trina Solar Energy • Sunhome Global Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market: By Type • Tower-type Solar Power Tower System • Dish Concentrating Solar Power Systems • Other Global Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market: By Application • CSP System • Generate Electricity • Industrial Heating • Other Global Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage Market: Regional Analysis All the regional segmentation has been studied based on recent and future trends, and the market is forecasted throughout the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Global Molten Salt Solar Energy Thermal Storage market report are U.S., Canada, and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America as part of South America.

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In general, market research studies offer companies and organisations useful data that can aid in making decisions and maintaining competitiveness in their industry. They can offer a strong basis for decision-making, strategy formulation, and company planning.

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[reasonsforhope]

"A 1-megawatt sand battery that can store up to 100 megawatt hours of thermal energy will be 10 times larger than a prototype already in use.

The new sand battery will eliminate the need for oil-based energy consumption for the entire town of town of Pornainen, Finland.

Sand gets charged with clean electricity and stored for use within a local grid.

Finland is doing sand batteries big. Polar Night Energy already showed off an early commercialized version of a sand battery in Kankaanpää in 2022, but a new sand battery 10 times that size is about to fully rid the town of Pornainen, Finland of its need for oil-based energy.

In cooperation with the local Finnish district heating company Loviisan Lämpö, Polar Night Energy will develop a 1-megawatt sand battery capable of storing up to 100 megawatt hours of thermal energy.

“With the sand battery,” Mikko Paajanen, CEO of Loviisan Lämpö, said in a statement, “we can significantly reduce energy produced by combustion and completely eliminate the use of oil.”

Polar Night Energy introduced the first commercial sand battery in 2022, with local energy utility Vatajankoski. “Its main purpose is to work as a high-power and high-capacity reservoir for excess wind and solar energy,” Markku Ylönen, Polar Nigh Energy’s co-founder and CTO, said in a statement at the time. “The energy is stored as heat, which can be used to heat homes, or to provide hot steam and high temperature process heat to industries that are often fossil-fuel dependent.” ...

Sand—a high-density, low-cost material that the construction industry discards [Note: 6/13/24: Turns out that's not true! See note at the bottom for more info.] —is a solid material that can heat to well above the boiling point of water and can store several times the amount of energy of a water tank. While sand doesn’t store electricity, it stores energy in the form of heat. To mine the heat, cool air blows through pipes, heating up as it passes through the unit. It can then be used to convert water into steam or heat water in an air-to-water heat exchanger. The heat can also be converted back to electricity, albeit with electricity losses, through the use of a turbine.

In Pornainen, Paajanen believes that—just by switching to a sand battery—the town can achieve a nearly 70 percent reduction in emissions from the district heating network and keep about 160 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere annually. In addition to eliminating the usage of oil, they expect to decrease woodchip combustion by about 60 percent.

The sand battery will arrive ready for use, about 42 feet tall and 49 feet wide. The new project’s thermal storage medium is largely comprised of soapstone, a byproduct of Tulikivi’s production of heat-retaining fireplaces. It should take about 13 months to get the new project online, but once it’s up and running, the Pornainen battery will provide thermal energy storage capacity capable of meeting almost one month of summer heat demand and one week of winter heat demand without recharging.

“We want to enable the growth of renewable energy,” Paajanen said. “The sand battery is designed to participate in all Fingrid’s reserve and balancing power markets. It helps to keep the electricity grid balanced as the share of wind and solar energy in the grid increases.”"

-via Popular Mechanics, March 13, 2024

--

Note: I've been keeping an eye on sand batteries for a while, and this is really exciting to see. We need alternatives to lithium batteries ASAP, due to the grave human rights abuses and environmental damage caused by lithium mining, and sand batteries look like a really good solution for grid-scale energy storage.

--

Note 6/13/24: Unfortunately, turns out there are substantial issues with sand batteries as well, due to sand scarcity. More details from a lovely asker here, sources on sand scarcity being a thing at the links: x, x, x, x, x

[zvaigzdelasas]

[ABC is Australian State Media]

While Australia debates the merits of going nuclear and frustration grows over the slower-than-needed rollout of solar and wind power, China is going all in on renewables.

New figures show the pace of its clean energy transition is roughly the equivalent of installing five large-scale nuclear power plants worth of renewables every week.

A report by Sydney-based think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) said China was installing renewables so rapidly it would meet its end-of-2030 target by the end of this month — or 6.5 years early.

It's installing at least 10 gigawatts of wind and solar generation capacity every fortnight.

By comparison, experts have said the Coalition's plan to build seven nuclear power plants would add fewer than 10GW of generation capacity to the grid sometime after 2035.[...]

Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes, who recently returned from a Shanghai energy conference, said China has decarbonised its grid almost as quickly as Australia, despite having a much harder task due to the scale of its energy demand.

"They have clear targets and every part of their government is harnessed to deliver the plan," he said.

China accounts for about a third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. A recent drop in emissions (the first since relaxing COVID-19 restrictions), combined with the decarbonisation of the power grid, may mean the country's emissions have peaked.

"With the power sector going green, emissions are set to plateau and then progressively fall towards 2030 and beyond," CEF China energy policy analyst Xuyang Dong said.[...]

The world's largest solar and wind farms are being built on the western edge of the country and connected to the east via the world's longest high-voltage transmission lines.[...]

Renewables have a "capacity factor" (the ratio of actual output to maximum potential generation) of about 25 per cent, whereas nuclear's is as high as 90 per cent.

So although China is installing solar and wind generation equivalent to five large nuclear power plants per week, their output is closer to one nuclear plant per week.[...]

To "firm" or stabilise the supply of power from its renewable energy zones, China is using a mix of pumped hydro and battery storage, similar to Australia.

"They're installing 1GW per month of pumped hydro storage," Mr Buckley said.

"We're struggling to build the 2GW Snowy 2.0 in 10 years."[...]

The China Energy Council estimated renewables generation would overtake coal by the end of this year.

The CEF's Xuyang Dong said despite the country's reliance on coal, "having China go green at this speed and scale provides the world with a textbook to do the same".[...]

"In China they decide they're going to do something and then they go and do it."

15 Jul 24

[apas-95]

The cyberisation surgery takes months of desensitisation and sensory-deprivation training to prepare for, if not years for full-body prosthesis. Calibration and acceptance of new perception is as important as withstanding the transition process itself. Like all brain surgeries, cyberisation is performed while the patient is conscious. The period between total severance of the original neural connections and the establishment of the cyberbrain is the most critical. Psychological damage at this time can result in catastrophic integration failure. I thought my training had prepared me for it. When it happened, though, there was something new. Without the noise, without even the most slight sensory input, I could pick up on what had always been in the background, something that was drowned out even in the total silence of the deprivation tank. I felt everything. The entire world. I felt the operating theater around me, felt myself being lifted carefully away from my old body as it was carted to storage. I felt the emergency generator in the basement and the six thousand kilometers of rock beneath that, and the solar wind flowing out in every direction. They call it cyberisation psychosis; or hypothesise it's retroactive memory, the brain trying to write over an empty segment. But I know what it felt like. It felt like dying.

[demonic0angel]

More Jazz Forms (click for clarity)

TW: disturbing content, body horror

1) Head only Jazz

+ She is a head that walks on a bunch of mysterious tentacles. She’s inspired by a CN novel called “Let the Villain Go” in a chapter where a demon pops up and is described as a head that walks on tentacles (I may be delulu and remembered it wrong).

+ Around 900 feet tall. Most of the height is her tentacles, but her head is still around 100 feet tall.

+ Jason is a little obsessed with how huge she is. When he is away, she stays standing over his apartment like a creepy water storage tank. Nobody can see her except liminals and ghosts, so she remains undetected by Jason’s side.

+ She is generally peaceful and doesn’t move much. She is a relatively quiet being with no explicit ability to defend herself or attack. I imagine her to be very dreamy, despite her piercing stare.

2) Celestial Object Jazz

+ She is a quasi-stellar radio source, AKA a quasar :)

+ Impossibly large and infinite. She is so big that her gravitational pull is pulling apart a piece of the universe. Jason thinks that she’s beautiful, and he looks for her every night. He uses special technology to see her on Earth and when he can, he sneaks onto the Watchtower to look at her.

+ The mass of the black hole that she is made of is around 150 billion solar masses. She is located extremely far from the Milky Way within the largest galaxy of the universe. Since she is technically both the black hole and the gas that surrounds it, she won’t be fading for awhile.

+ Her origin is unknown in this idea (but is related to her siblings, who have all become celestial objects themselves). Her existence is extremely old and that is partially Clockwork’s fault.

3) Corrupted Jazz

+ She has become corrupted from years of ectoplasm, death, and generally instability. The tentacles that come from her stomach is actually just pieces of her soul that are trying to reach for others. She calls for help, but no one but Jason has been reaching out.

+ She cannot be around people for too long, or she causes insanity, violent mood swings, headaches, auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia, nosebleeds, and general weakness, even if they cannot see her. Jason is somewhat resistant to her, but she heavily restrains herself so the effects of her existence won’t hurt him.

+ She tries to stay away from Jason, but bc she’s so clingy, she watches him from a distance. Her presence brings shadows and darkness, so he’s also been getting a reputation of scaring criminals to pissing themselves whenever he comes by.

+ Her body is covered in shadows, but she glows a little from the ectoplasm, so her silhouette can be vaguely seen.

4) Monochrome Jazz

+ Inspired by Lady Dimitrescu and Hachishakusama

+ She dresses in all black and her skin is pale as well. A hat and face mask cover all available skin on her face. Any skin below the neck is also covered.

+ She is around 9 feet tall. She stalks Jason whenever she can and always follows him around. She is extremely hostile and dangerous and does not hesitate to attack when she feels even the slightest bit threatened. She is also completely mute.

+ She is both a ghost and an urban legend, hence why she looks like that. Underneath her mask is a mouth of razor sharp teeth like a moray eel.

5) Wolf Jazz

+ Inspired by Jason’s Red Hood motif that is similar to Little Red Riding Hood. That’s also why I associate Jazz with so many canine themes :)

+ Black fur, several pairs of eyes, and two sets of deformed ears. I am debating whether or not she also has 3 pairs of legs.

+ She follows Jason around like a dog, but does not behave like a pet. As such, he can’t order her around unless she wants to listen to him. Thankfully, she likes cooperating with him and the two of them terrorize the criminals of Crime Alley.

+ She is around 5 feet tall when standing on all fours, but when she stands up on her hind legs, she is around 9 feet tall. She is very fluffy.

[darkmaga-retard]

An analysis has found that the Democratic Party's Green New Deal plan could see electric bills multiply by as much as 28 times.

This is according to a report by the think tank the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, which found that the Green New Deal's proposed plan to shift the United States' energy system to be run solely on renewable energy could make electricity bills soar to 28 times its current cost.

Dr. David E. Wojick, a journalist a policy analyst, breaks down some of the major costs that come with implementing the Green New Deal.

The first is the need for massive amounts of battery storage. Replacing fossil fuels with energy harnessed from renewable sources like solar and wind power would require that there be around 250 million megawatt-hours worth of storage capacity in the United States.

If battery storage costs $300,000 per megawatt-hour, the total price tag for these batteries comes to a staggering $75 trillion. Spread over 20 years, that amounts to $3.75 trillion each year.

With U.S. households using about 1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity yearly, this cost translates to roughly $26,250 per household annually – 14 times higher than today’s average bill of $1,800.

Electrifying transportation and heating would double the electricity demand – potentially pushing costs up even further to $52,500 per year per household, or 28 times the average.

While these figures paint a grim picture, it is important to remember that they are based on current estimates and assumptions. Battery costs could decrease or new technology might improve efficiency. However, the sheer scale of this shift presents a significant challenge and it is unlikely economic changes or technological shifts would suddenly make the Green New Deal a profitable endeavor for American households.

[crying-fantasies]

Designation

Masterlist

A designation is comparative to what human's name have, given by their human creator shortly after being born.

Most mechs are called after their developed physical abilities, so most cybertronians receive their designation, however, after a few cycles of their forge, it's customary to first see characteristics of the new spark in order to give a meaningful and accommodating name, suited for the new spark, of course they can change it once they reach adulthood (when their external armor has fully hardened) or even others around them can give a new designation, almost no cybertronian has the same designation (there are separated casesike the Tankors).

If the creators are out of the picture by any reason the one to name them is their mentor or any bot in charge, in the worst circumstances handled by the Senate which only gave codes for designations, those making it easy to storage and direct, there was a time when a designation was prove of a medium or high wealth.

Human designations, names, have always been a constant question for cybertronians, what is a Margarita? What is supposed to mean Ethan? And so on, searching the meaning of some in other ancient languages is fun but still not really fitting in some instances.

"You are telling me your name is Teofilo"

"That's right"

"But you don't believe in any god"

"Nop"

Humans are strange, and their designations too, because those don't make any sense, some see it quite rude from the human creators for not considering a real suiting name for their offspring.

Yet again, almost all Cybertronian's name are related to machinery, to car or engines, because it's a normal given due to their nature, and traduction leads to a similar thing in humanity most shared language, english, and it sounds funny in Chinese that oddly enough sounds like a strange vossian with a tint of kaonite if one squint hard enough.

When the first terraformers emerged their designations were a mixture of their abilities and human names, some have most of one side of the creators.

So we have names like Sunset Eve even when there is no real groundbreaking meaning in Cybertron's solar rotation every cycle, but back on Earth it is reported to be seen as breathtaking in some occasions or even homecoming, referred to a sparkling with fire abilities if only subsided a little.

There are names as Aquamarine, also name of a earthling gemstone, that in human meaning it represents happiness and hope (humans can be romantic like that).

Or Belial, a silly name for cybertronians since it can be misguided as the human word for internal tank or belly, when in reality it refers to a creature only comparable to Unicron's own spawn, when anyone asks the human carrier why to use such a name the human only smiles saying that the sparkling's audial structures, more times than not called horns by humans due to the similarities, made them remember of that demonic creature, when asking the cybertronian creator they only agreed with their conjunx.

Designations types, there are plenty out there.

[ryuzakemo128]

Solar Eclipse

Chapter One: Stranger Than Fiction

Pairing: Joel Miller x Oksana 'Gorgon' Uvarova

Content Warning: No Outbreak, Age Gap (Joel is 45 and Oksana is 24), Sexual Content, implied drug and alcohol use, Swearing.

Words: 9518

Masterlist - Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three

Credit for the Dividers: @cafekitsune + @strangergraphics

Summary: Leaning on the door frame on the front door, door open, the audacity she had of calling ME pup. “What’s the matter, pup? Can’t sleep?”

The bedroom, dimly lit, the only source of light coming from the lamp from her desk. Which was on the left-hand side of her bedroom door. Along with battery powered nightlights in the shape of various animals and dinosaurs. Placed in odd places around the entire room.

The bookshelf with the vinyls of different subgenres of heavy metal. The record player itself being on the night stand a few paces from her bed. Right next to the portable heater. Which would have been shoved in her storage closet at the end of the hall. She felt cold that morning. Forgetting to put the heater back into the storage into the closet.

The bed itself, enormous, draped in black velvet, the posts carved into the shapes of snarling wolves. Walls adorned with paintings and posters of the same raven-haired beauty, some showing her in various stages of undress, others in action poses, weapons drawn.

Above the bed, a large fan whirred quietly. On the door of her wardrobe, a collection of knives and swords glinted menacingly in the dim light. She knew each one intimately, having spent hours honing them to perfection. The scent of leather and metal hung heavy in the air, a stark contrast to the faint sweetness of the incense burning in the corner.

The thick metal chain choker wrapped around her neck with the carabiner in the centre. The white tank top she decided to throw on. Which looked to have been cut into more of a crop top. Pulling on a pair of dark blue tiger printed shorts with her favourite black lace thigh high stockings underneath. Hands encased in fishnet, fingerless gloves. Her trusty combat boots waiting for her to put them on were at her bedroom doorway.

Her hair colour, a burnished copper with highlights of platinum blonde and auburn. Furthermore, her hairstyle is a combination of layers and textures, creating a voluminous and dynamic look. The top section of her hair is cut shorter, with choppy layers adding height and movement. Her hair cascades down, transitions into longer, tentacle-like strands that frame her face and extend past her shoulders. The ends of her hair thinned out to create a wispier, almost ethereal look. Coloured highlights of a deep blue on the ends.

The lip piercing, the multiple lobe piercings, industrial (a barbell through two points in the ear cartilage), helix, and tragus piercings. In addition to those, she has a double Labret ring lip piercing on her bottom lip. The venom tongue piercing she recently got in addition to the others.

A thick, studded belt worn loosely around the hips with a large skull belt buckle in the middle. Laid discarded on her desk after deciding she didn’t feel like wearing leather pants that day. Beside it, a black leather collar with spikes along the edge, adorned with a small silver bell.

The tattoos she has decided to have in the last few months consisted of a raven taking flight on her left forearm. The death's head hawk moth on the left side of her collarbone. The Luna Moth on her right ankle, with the date of her parent's divorce above it in cursive. On her left wrist is the Ouroboros tattoo, symbolising eternity, and the cyclical nature of life. The most recent tattoo she got is a full sleeve of various mythological creatures on her right arm. The intricate details of their scales, fur, and feathers looked like they could come alive at any moment.

Pale translucent complexion with undertones of blue and purple. Delicate features with high cheekbones, elfin ears, and a pointed chin. A small nose with flared nostrils and sharp cheekbones. Her eyes, the colour of a solar flare, framed by long, thick, dark lashes. The colours of her eyes were a mix of orange, yellow, red, green, and blue.

The makeup she decided to wear consisted of a contrasting matte black upper lip with a metallic or shimmery silver lower lip. She would put on black liquid eyeliner afterwards to make the colour of her eyes stand out further.

Her breasts, they were much, much bigger than both of my hands could hold, and the way they bounced slightly with every step she took. As she usually went without a bra on, it was always a delightful surprise to see them in all their natural glory. Always amuses me to see her either half-asleep or drunk. Especially if I came over to tell her to turn the music down so I could pass out in peace.

Leaning on the door frame on the front door, door open, the audacity she had of calling ME pup. “What’s the matter, pup? Can’t sleep?” The smell of whisky, vodka and weed wafted into my nostrils like an unwelcome symphony of a genre I didn’t particularly like. “I thought you didn’t work on weekends, bub.” She taunted a little more, the joint in her right hand, taking a deeper drag. Blowing it away from me instead of in my face. Though I doubt it was done out of courtesy or kindness on her part.

With a smirk she switched the music off entirely, “Better now pup?” she asked raising an eyebrow at me. Though, I have a surprisingly good feeling, she’s about to invite one of the guys that usually came over on Saturdays to fuck her. I didn’t know what came over me. I didn’t just want to have her in that way. Finding myself wanting her to myself. Every part of her.

It wasn’t like the guy would be upset if she didn’t call or tell him to come over, I have a feeling their relationship is more like a casual fuck buddy kind of deal. Though, it never quite explained the perpetual vibe of the eighties that came from her. It did leave a sour taste in my mouth when the guy left her one hundred and fifty dollars the next morning. Along with another part of his own stash of weed. Like it was a trade of some kind. She enjoyed it enough, as the jars of cash she saved from it were any indication.

She could also be getting ready to meet up with someone else tonight, until I found out she was actually planning to get another tattoo. Something inexplicable welled up inside of me. I didn’t, I couldn’t exactly put my finger on why I felt this wave of jealousy and possessiveness. It came down on me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

The tattoo she planned to get is a snake. Made to look like it was weaving itself around the right collarbone. A snake inside a sea of colour, like it was overdrawn with blue and green to recreate the ocean without stepping inside of it. She had been eyeing the design for weeks. Each night she'd sit at her desk, sketching it out, perfecting the placement, the way the scales would catch the light, the way the snake's eyes would look eerily realistic.

Oksana, or Gorgon as she liked to be called, was a creature of the night. Her lifestyle was a constant party, a whirlwind of ink, music, and fleeting romances. The mismatched furniture from thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, posts from sites from people that were getting rid of things they didn’t want.

The typewriter on her desk, coloured led lightbulbs with a remote to change the colour of the bulbs, the organised chaos of paper stacked up in different desk organisers and a phone book of numbers of people she spent time together with. The way she'd look at me, her eyes narrowed, a smirk playing on her full lips, it was like she knew exactly what was going through my mind. The way she'd twirl the joint in her fingers, like she was playing a game with me. I didn’t know if she was flirting or just toying with me, or both. Most of the time it feels like both.

As she grabbed out cash for her dinner and her tattoo from one of the jars. The tinking of her spiked wristband on the glass was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. Pulling out several one hundred dollar bills out of it with a concentrating frown on her face. Her black leather wallet next to her.

“You’re not planning on seeing anyone tonight, are you?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. She stopped for a moment, her eyes meeting mine. Surprise flashed across her face, and she let out a small laugh that sounded forced. “Pup, you know I don’t make plans. But if you’re asking if I’m going to get some ink done, yeah. Why, did you want to come along? Unless you have plans already, pup. Though, I would be surprised if you don't. I thought men your age are busy or something. Before you get weird about what I said. My mother is three years younger than you. My mother had me when she was eighteen.”

I asked about her mother, trying to keep the conversation light. “Your mom was a young'un, huh?” I replied, trying to ignore the jab at my age.

Oksana shrugged, her smile widening slightly. “Yeah, she was wild. More than me, even. But she also married a guy who was pretty bad. She ended up leaving the guy, though. Remarried the neighbour back in Russia. More of a dad than my real one was by a mile and a half.” As she pulled her jacket on to get ready to leave. Shoving her cash into her wallet.

I nodded, trying to ignore the pang of regret that twisted in my stomach at the thought of her with someone else. “I might just do that. Tag along, I mean. Nothing better to do tonight anyway.” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. She raised an eyebrow at me, a hint of amusement in her eye. “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Tattoos aren’t exactly my usual kind of party, you know?” She grabbed her keys from the teal-coloured bowl by the door. “You're high as a kite. You're not driving." I said, taking them from her hand.

Her car was larger, bulkier, and bigger than I assumed she would drive. A black Dodge Challenger hellcat with a set of custom rims that looked like they could slice through steel. The engine roared to life, the sound echoing through the quiet night. The vibrations sent a thrill up my spine as I slammed the door shut. She leaned back into the seat, a smug grin on her face. “You know how to handle a beast like this, pup?”

I smirked, taking a look at her, “I can handle you, can’t I? Not that much different from that now, is it?”

“Cheeky one aren’t you pup?” she smirked. She lived like she was going to die tomorrow. It both frustrated me and made me want to live. Even at my age now. She is the wildfire to my dry grass. Waiting, wanting to be set alight by her fiery nature. Her fiery inferno. Her car was cleaner than her house. Something I didn’t find too surprising considering her usual habits. It smelled faintly of leather and mint gum. A stark contrast to the smoky scent of her home. According to the gossiping older women I could hear from my house. She inherited the house from her grandparents who moved here during the 1980s.

They were upset when they found out she was moving in there instead of her younger brother, Sergei. Who they just lusted over from what I had seen and heard. Though they weren’t too pleased when they saw her moving in. Her brother was much more to their taste. Young, fit, and had a smile that could charm the pants off a saint. But no, she was the one that got the house. I never knew why she chose to stay, though. It was because she liked to be closer to me. To annoy me, or to see me, as she said, get my panties in a twist.

The house was part of her grandmother's farm, "Its a sea of ducks, geese, chickens and other farm animals. And a sea of plants and flowers she had planted herself." I thought to myself, remembering the first time I saw it. It was like a small oasis in the middle of suburbia. The engine's roar grew louder as we pulled out of the driveway, the headlights cutting through the darkness. She threw the gear into drive, and we peeled out onto the street.

As Oksana got her tattoo done, I sat in the chair next to her, watching the needle dance over her skin. The buzz of the tattoo gun filled the small, intimate space, mingling with the occasional clank of metal on metal. The artist, a burly guy with sleeves of ink himself, worked with a focused precision that was almost mesmerizing. His eyes never left the canvas of her skin, his thick fingers guiding the snake into place. She didn't flinch once, not even when the needle hit the sensitive spot on her collarbone. Her eyes remained closed, her breaths deep and steady, as if she were in a meditative state.

I couldn't help but feel a strange mix of emotions as I studied her. The way the snake's body curved around her, the way the blue and green inks blended to create the illusion of water, it was... beautiful. It was a stark contrast to the hardened exterior she presented to the world. It was like seeing a side of her that no one else got to see. The vulnerability was intoxicating. I found myself wanting to reach out, to trace the ink with my fingertips, but I kept my hands firmly in my lap.

Oksana's eyes fluttered open, and she caught me staring. "You like it?" she asked, her voice low and raspy. I nodded, unable to find the words to describe the way it made me feel. She smirked, "Thought you'd be more of a prude, pup."

The tattoo artist, noticing the tension in the air, cleared his throat. "Alright, we're all done here." He wiped the excess ink away, revealing the completed piece in all its glory. She sat up, stretching like a cat that had just woken from a nap. The way her muscles moved under her skin was hypnotizing. She looked over at me, her gaze lingering a little longer than usual. "Thanks for coming with me, Joel. I know it's not your scene."

She paid for the tattoo which included a nice tip that made the artist's eyes widen. He was a man of few words, mostly because he was busy with his craft, but also because he knew better than to pry into his client's personal life. Oksana stood up from the chair, her body moving with a grace that was surprising for someone so rough around the edges. She pulled on her shirt, the fabric sticking slightly to her skin from the sweat that had built up during the inking process. The new tattoo looked even more impressive with the fabric of her shirt hugging it.

Oksana also paid for takeout, even though I protested a little and ended up agreeing on a 50/50 split. We drove back to her place in relative silence, the sound of the engine the only constant. The adrenaline from the tattoo parlour still buzzed through her veins, making her restless. She was like a caged animal, needing to expel the excess energy. When we arrived, she practically leaped out of the car and into her house.

By the time I got in, she cleared off the kitchen counter and the dishwasher hard at work. Cleaning the dishes from the night before. The kitchen looked better than it did a few hours ago. As she cleared off the rubbish away to prevent me from getting up and doing it for her. "You don’t need to do that, I got it," she said, her voice a little too cheerful for someone who had just endured a few hours of pain.

Once the kitchen was deemed ok or what I should say, deemed clean enough to have dinner on. She placed the takeout containers on the island bench and got out two plates.

Good God.

Even her dishware was mismatched, no two are the same colour, size, or design. I assumed she bought them. Until I noticed the pottery wheel, clay and other things in her backyard shed. Hinting at the fact she made the plates, bowls, and other dishes herself. It explained why she was able to make a modest sum from her pottery as well as her job. Though I never did find out what she does for work.

Until I found out yesterday.

I wish I didn’t see it.

I didn’t mean to.

I was looking at other porn when I stumbled upon her onlyfans page. I didn’t know what came over me when I decided to look further. For some reason I felt the urge to continue to peruse around it. Pictures of her in various stages of undress, pictures of her in different outfits from different eras, videos of her undressing in front of the camera and other things like first person penetration videos, videos of her playing with herself and videos of her riding a plastic cock of various sizes, girths, textures.

From what I’ve seen from her, she had that entrepreneurial spirit inside her.

Wandering into her office, it was set up nicely, the three monitors, the two pcs set up and the layers of porn magazines I saw in her magazine rack. The galaxy projector on top of the desk and the camera beside it. The erotic posters framed and hung on the wall.

Various bottles of perfume inside a second worn out make up bag beside the one with all her make up inside. From what I’ve seen so far most of the more expensive ones were sent to her from her fans. Notes attached to them of how much they loved her content and how they hoped she liked the gift. From the amount of use they seemed to have. She loved them. Including the ones that didn’t cost as much or last as long as them.

She sipped the mead she bought that morning, well it was more like she bought more mead this morning. Her bar fridge full of various drinks, from mead to vodka. Only she didn’t touch beer and wine. She said she didn’t feel mature enough to drink either one of those things. She also said she felt like she hadn’t reached an age to even consider liking it either.

“I’ll gift it to someone else, that’s not an issue, I just don’t like the taste at all.” She said taking a sip of her mead.

I raised an eyebrow at what she said, “You don’t drink beer or wine?” I couldn’t help but ask, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Tried it once or twice, before deciding to never touch it again. The taste of it overpowers everything else. Regardless of what one someone says to try out.” She said eating her spicy potato noodles, the spice bringing more of a flush to her cheeks. She didn’t care or notice how she ate with gusto. Her appetite larger than her body frame would suggest.

“I think it’s pretty cute,” she said with a smirk suggesting that she knew what I was thinking about. “For someone who’s double my age, you have a wonderfully wild imagination there. Pretty hot. I don’t do anything related to it with someone I know. It just muddles things up and causes emotional mess. Now I mean, in front of the camera stuff. I don’t mean not having a relationship that’s different.”

I nodded, trying to ignore the way my heart raced at her words. “I get it. Separate life, separate place.”

“Kind of hard to do this job and have a relationship though, most guys wouldn’t handle it. I do mean it like that because of the nature of my work. Jealousy is a dangerous thing to have when it comes to it though-”

I cut her off with a laugh, “I’m not most guys, Oksana, I have seen worse things than a woman enjoying herself as she gets herself off in front of a camera.”

The visible and audible sigh as her shoulders relaxed, taking another sip of mead, “Good to know. You have no idea how weird guys get when they find out about it. They get possessive, jealous and take it to another level of weird. And weirder than you might think or even assume by the way.”

I chuckled, “Yeah, I know the type. I’ve seen enough of that to know what you mean. Though I’m surprised you still tell them even after you know how it’s going to go.”

“Some of the guys I went out with they were fine with it for a while. Then it’s like an internal switch flipped and suddenly they’re no longer alright with it.” She says like an exasperated, seasoned veteran who’s seen it all before. “If you ask about what I do for work I’m not going to turn around and lie about it. I can’t lie. I’m a bad liar. I hate lying and everything that comes with lying.”

By the time we finished dinner, Oksana told me I was allowed to crash there considering the guy that usually came over had other plans that night. “By all means crash in the spare bedroom. It’s the only normal looking room in this house.” She said showing me the spare room. “I didn’t want to spook any potential guests with all my weird shit.”

The guest room had a queen size bed, with charcoal grey sheets with matching pillows. A thick black comforter over the top. A print of the painting called, ‘Starry Night.’ By Vincent Van Gogh placed above the bed. The walls painted lavender and the soft plush carpet a dark chocolate brown. The green lava lamp on the bedside table next to the bed and the black curtains to block out the sun.

The incense of mint burning on the other bedside table. Filling the room with a sweet aroma of mint. A refreshing change from the rest of the house. The floor is clean, the bed is made. The indication she is used to having guests over at her place. The kind that she fucks and forgets.

I didn’t want to be another one of those guests.

I wanted to be much, much more than that.

More from her than just a quick fuck from her. More than just a night of excess, pleasure and a good time. If I were to fuck her, like I plan to, I would rather do it inside her own bedroom. Regardless of how much of a mess it can be at times. It felt more intimate. Real. A connection from my world to hers.

Just my own thoughts on the matter.

My own thoughts on it.

Mine.

The word continued to echo in the back of my mind. I stared at her as she got ready for her bath inside of her bedroom. The image of her naked body burned into my retinas. Posed in various ways. Posted on her onlyfans. A strange feeling of wanting to claim her. To have her for myself. To be the only one to make her moan, writhe and squirm in pleasure as I pound into her dripping wet cunt.

I knew this wasn’t just lust speaking into my ear. It felt more like a deep connection, something I hadn't felt in an extraordinarily long time.

A connection deeper than just being neighbours and acquaintances we had.

She grabbed a towel from the linen closet. The charcoal-black coloured towels, bed sheets, hand towels and bathrobes. They all felt and looked expensive with a gold embroidered G for ‘Gorgon.’

The bathroom itself is surprisingly clean, the black tiles gleaming under the artificial lights. The bathtub was a deep clawfoot tub with a shower head attached to the wall. Matching black soap holder, toothbrush holder and towel rack. The smell of mint filled the room from the candles she had lit around the bathtub. The steam filled the room, creating a sense of comfort and warmth. She stripped off her clothes without a care in the world, revealing her tattooed body. She stepped into the tub, the water was a dark purple, almost black, thanks to the bath bomb she had dropped in.

I know she told me to make myself comfortable.

But how could I make myself comfortable with someone who I desired more than I would ever care to admit. Even to her. Even to myself. Someone who is so incredibly open about her sexuality and at the same time so closed off to the idea of a romantic relationship with someone. No matter what I did to try to shake the images of her from inside my mind. All it did was make the image sink further in.

The podcast she listened to in the background, listening to a podcast about serial killers and their origins. Odd choice for someone to listen to, though if it were anyone other than her. It would have been more of a red flag. Her strange fascination with things other people would keep away from. Things deemed too dark or too much for someone ‘normal’.

Nothing is ever normal about her.

From her job to her inherited farm. Nothing about her is ever normal. Added to her charming nature. My mind went back to when I first met her. She didn’t know how to approach me at first.

“Hey. My name is Oksana Uvarova. Most people call me Gorgon. I just moved in next door. I wasn’t sure what to bring over to introduce myself with. So, I brought over a thing of fudge just to say hello. I hope you like it.” That is what she said to me when I opened the front door and saw her there. Her thick Russian accent indicating she moved here from overseas.

The first thing I noticed about her was her eyes, a mix of orange, yellow, red, green, and blue. Pulling in me in with a fiery intensity and never letting me go. And then there was her hair, a wild mess of curls that looked like they hadn’t seen a brush in weeks, but somehow, it worked for her. She was wearing a t-shirt that was a few sizes too big for her, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, exposing her inked arms.

I had a hard time finding the right words to say to her, after what it felt like an eternity, “Nice to meet you, Gorgon. I’m Joel Miller. Thanks for the fudge by the way. I was about to have a piece of cake with my whisky. But I have feeling this would go much better with it. Would you like to come in for a drink?”

Ellie showed up at the door, “What the hell is taking you so long?” She barged in, her explosive energy on full blast. Her eyes fell on the fudge. “Oh, you have a visitor?” She looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

“She yours?” Oksana asked me curious about her.

“This is Ellie, my daughter. Ellie, this is Oksana, our new neighbour.” I answered. I had adopted Ellie months prior.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie.” Oksana greeted her with a warm smile, her eyes lighting up. She handed the fudge to me and stepped aside. “I’ll let you two catch up. I have some things to unpack anyway. Joel knows where to find me if he needs anything.”

As I watched her retreat to her house, feeling a strange mix of disappointment and relief. I knew I needed to set some boundaries, but the way she looked at me made it difficult. Ellie grabbed the fudge from my hand and took a bite, her eyes widening in delight. “This is amazing, who made it?”

“Gorgon did El.” I answered with a smirk on my lips. The glass Tupperware container on the kitchen bench as I grabbed my bottle of whisky from the refrigerator. Pouring some into a glass to drink with the fudge.

“Mm, she’s got skills. Maybe she can teach me how to make it. Can I go say hello?” Ellie asked, already bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Not today, El. She’s got some serious unpacking to do by the look of things. How about tomorrow? That way she has some time to settle in on her first night and bombard her with a welcome committee of two. That way if you want to help her and hang out with her, she’ll be more likely to say yes.” I suggested to her. Hopefully, it would keep Ellie from crossing any boundaries Oksana may or may not have known about prior.

“Okay, okay. I’ll wait. But I want to know everything about her tomorrow, deal?” Ellie said with a cheeky grin, already planning our next visit in her head.

To think that first meeting would spiral into spending time in her house like this. If someone told me this would have happened years ago. I would have laughed at them and called them an idiot for thinking that would have happened. Now that it had. I didn’t know whether it was a blessing or an oddly timed curse.

“You doing ok in there pup?” Oksana questioned noticing my silence from the bathroom. Her voice echoed in the hallway, filled with a hint of concern.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just getting ready for bed,” I replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. The truth was, I was anything but casual. The images of her in the tub, the water a dark purple hue, her skin glistening with beads of sweat and water droplets was something I couldn’t easily shake off.

“Pup. I know something’s up. What’s the matter?” Oksana asked, stepping into the bedroom, charcoal bathrobe tied around her.

Her eyes searched mine, and I realized she could see right through me. The silence grew thick, and I knew I had to say something. “It's just... I can't stop thinking about what I saw on your OnlyFans, Oksana. It's messing with my head.”

“I warned you pup. Not for the faint of heart and all that.” She soothed with a hand on my cheek, her thumb brushing against my bearded cheek. Her eyes searched mine, trying to gauge the extent of the mess in my head. “Did you want to talk about it, or did you want to sleep on it?”

“I don’t know, I just- I just need to get it out of my head.” I confessed, frustration lacing my voice. She nodded, her eyes never leaving mine. “It’s just- I’ve never felt like this before. Watching someone I know, someone I care about, do something so intimate with herself. It’s... I don’t know, it’s fucking with me.”

“You sound like me when I found porn at eighteen.” Oksana chuckled. “Though the type of porn I watched the first time was more like cuckholding and I went across it once. Fucked me up a little when I found out it was my ex.”

Her words didn’t help to ease the tension in the room, but the way she talked about it so casually made me feel less like a creep. “Is that a common theme with you?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation light, despite the images playing in my mind.

“The exs, the porn or the good looks?” She questioned with a wink.

I couldn’t help but laugh, “Maybe a bit of all three. But I’m more curious about the porn theme. It’s not every day you find out your neighbour is a porn star.”

“I know right? Almost like it was written straight out of a badly filmed porno of some kind.” Oksana replied smirking at me. “You know the kind that have poor image quality that you have to squint in order to see what the hell is going on.”

“So, you’re saying it’s like the kind of porn you make?” I quipped back, trying to lighten the mood even more. She playfully threw a pillow at me, which I caught easily.

“You’re a sly one, Joel. But yes, something like that. I guess it’s not the most conventional job, but it’s honest work, and it pays the bills. Plus, I enjoy it. Can’t say everyone can say that about their job.” Oksana pointed out the photo on the wall. “That is what my first ex looked like just to give you an idea.”

The photo was of a man in his mid-thirties, with a smug smile on his face, muscular arms folded across his chest. He was standing next to a motorbike, wearing leather pants and a sleeveless shirt. The resemblance was uncanny to the type of guys you’d see in a biker gang. “I can see the appeal. But what happened with him?”

“He went on and on about needing more ‘space’ to do what he wanted and how I was too ‘clingy’. But what he really meant was that he was tired of being married and wanted to bang every groupie that threw themselves at him when he went on tour. He was a musician, not a good one, but he had a decent fan base. He played the guitar like a fucking amateur, had a shit band and an even shittier personality to go with it. But somehow, he had fans that threw themselves at him, probably because he had a good dick and knew how to play it up on stage. I caught him with his dick in one of them and that was the end of that.” She said with a roll of her eyes. “I was nineteen when I started dating the guy and I was twenty-two when we divorced.”

I nodded, placing the pillow back on the bed. Her honesty was refreshing, but it didn’t make the situation any less complicated. “And what about you? Any serious relationships?”

“Not since that entitled prick left. Mostly casual ones I know won’t last too long and won’t mind living somewhere else.” Oksana answered honestly. “I did have an encounter with him recently if you wanted to hear about it.”

“I’m all ears, Gorgon.” I replied, my curiosity piqued. She sat down on the edge of the bed, her robe slipping open slightly, revealing the top of one of her breasts. She didn’t bother fixing it, instead, she leaned back, making herself comfortable.

“Sweet. I had this bottled up for three days and it’s been weird thinking about it since it happened.” Oksana replied wiggling her hips a little more to get more comfortable, “I was looking at some nice lenses for my camera, you know the big bulky thing I keep in my office? The one that looked like that could break your foot if you dropped it?”

I nodded, remembering the camera that looked like it could be used for professional shoots. “I know the one. What happened with your ex?”

“I was looking at camera lenses that gave the soft blurring look without having to edit it in post. Which can take ages if you don’t know what you’re doing. It was for the, you know, for those intimate shots that really make the eyes pop, and the background just fade away.” Oksana showed off the lenses she bought that day, still in the box. “And I swear, you could have been able to smell the guy before you even saw him. It was like he doused himself in an entire bottle of cologne, if you were there your eyes would be watering from the smell and your lungs would want to collapse from the sheer fumes of it all. He walked into the shop like he owned the place. And you know what he said to me?”

Her eyes glinted with amusement as she leaned back into the pillows, her long legs stretching out on the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed, eager to hear the story. “What did he say?”

She recanted what he did to her, slapping her hand on my shoulder, bringing me in closer to her, her lips close to my ear, “’How about I ditch this chick, and have you re-enact that porn scene you did last week?’ As if he could just weasel back into my life after what he did.” She pulled away to give me my personal space back.

The image of her with another man was a knife twisting in my gut. Jealousy boiled in me, a potent cocktail of anger and possessiveness. I tried to keep my voice calm, not wanting to show how much it affected me, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him to get fucked and leave me alone. No way in hell I was going back to that guy. You nuts? He had his chance two years ago and he blew it. It’s not my fault that he ‘regrets’ it. Not my problem either.” Oksana’s voice was filled with a mix of amusement and annoyance, her eyes narrowing at the memory. She leaned back into the pillows, her hand playing with the sash of her robe. The conversation had taken a sharp turn into her personal life, but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, it was as if she enjoyed sharing these intimate details with me.

The room was quiet for a moment, the only sound the distant echo of Ellie playing her guitar in her room. “Thankfully, his new girl dragged him away afterwards after she spotted me. She had more sense than he did.” She added in with a snort.

I chuckled, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine, “There’s not much to tell. My ex-wife and I had our issues, but she’s mostly out of the picture. Nothing too dramatic, just two people who realized they didn’t belong together anymore.”

“I wish my parents went that route.” Oksana’s voice was low, filled with a hint of sadness that hadn’t been there before. She looked down at our joined hands, her thumb tracing circles on my palm. “Found out he was seeing other women when I called his motel room during one of his business trips. I heard another woman's voice in the background and well, it went downhill from there. Though hard to imagine a ten-year-old getting the ire of a man who couldn’t keep it in his pants at the time.”

Her words hung in the air, and I felt a twinge of pity for the little girl who had to deal with such a shithead of a father. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Oksana.” I squeezed her hand gently.

“Don’t worry about it. As I said before. I traded him in for a better dad when my mother remarried.” Oksana smiled grabbing her phone and showed me a photo of her mother with her stepfather.

Her stepfather was a burly man with a thick beard, kind eyes, and a warm smile. He had his arm around Oksana’s mother, who was petite in comparison but had a strong presence. They looked happy together. The kind of happy that was earned through hardship and finding each other.

“I helped her pick out the wedding dress. Well, me, my twin sister and younger brother helped her pick one out.” Oksana murmured. Her voice was filled with fondness, and I could see the love she had for her stepfather in her eyes. Her mother looked beautiful, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“They look happy together,” I said, returning the phone to her.

Oksana nodded, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “They are, he has been more of a father to me than my biological one ever was. And my sisters and brother, they’re great too. We’re all a little... different, but that’s what makes us work. My twin, she’s a doctor. Go figure, right?”

We shared a laugh, the tension breaking into a comfortable silence, she shifted closer to me. Her robe slipping further open to reveal the intricate tattoos snaking down her torso. I swallowed hard, my eyes tracing the ink, feeling a primal need to touch her. She noticed my gaze and took my hand, placing it on her bare skin.

Her body, soft like velvet, warm like fire, smooth like silk and addicting like heroin. Feeling the heat radiating from her skin onto mine. Powerless to resist any longer. The electricity between the two of us. Like a magnet pulling me closer to her. Her hand remained in mine.

No longer enough now.

I need more of her.

I want more of her.

I want to peel back that robe from her body and touch more of her warmth. I want to kiss her neck, to feel her pulse race under my lips. But I don’t move. I’m paralysed by fear of losing this friendship. Of scaring her away. But the way she’s looking at me, her eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and something else, something I can’t quite place, it’s like she’s daring me to make a move.

“Joel, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Oksana’s voice breaks the silence, her thumb still tracing circles on my palm.

“Just... thinking,” I reply, trying to keep my voice steady. Her eyes searched my face, looking for something.

“Thinking about it pretty hard from the look of things.” Her lips hovered near mine like an enticing piece of chocolate I accidentally left on the counter only to have Ellie eat it while I wasn't looking.

Taking a deep breath as I looked into her eyes and back at her lips again, breath hitching in my throat like a grip tighter than a vice and a heart beating faster than a drum in a death metal concert. “I can't help but think about you, Oksana. In ways that I probably shouldn't.” I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Are you scared pup?” Oksana asked me getting closer to me. The heat from her body getting to an intense level.

Placing a gentle kiss on my lips just to test the waters, a taste of mint from her toothpaste and the lingering taste of the mead she was drinking earlier on her tongue. A question rather than a demand, a gentle caress rather than a hungry bite. She waited for a response from me, to give her permission from me. Waiting for me to allow her to go further.

Oksana’s breath was warm against my face, and the scent of mint filled the air around us. I could feel her pulse quickening in her hand, matching the rhythm of my own heart. “Oksana... I don’t know if I can handle this... if I can handle you,” I admitted, my voice hoarse with desire.

“Pup, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to wait. We can wait.” Oksana kissed me on the forehead.

The fire inside of me was burning. Out of control. Her touch set me on fire and now. Now I couldn’t get enough of it.

She gently lets go of my hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back of my hand as she did, “I don’t want you to be afraid, Joel. I want you to want this as much as I do. If we’re going to do this, it needs to be because you’re ready, not because you think you need to or because you’re curious about what it’s like to fuck your neighbour. It has to come from your own comfort level.”

Her words resonate deep within me, my heart hammering in my chest. I nod, understanding the gravity of what she’s saying. “You’re right. I need to think about this. I don’t want to mess up what we have.”

“Take as long as you need to.” Oksana smiled at me before she left, closing the door behind her. She walked to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

I sat there, staring at the floor, feeling like I was about to jump out of my skin. What the fuck was I doing? This woman was my neighbour. She’s seen me at my worst, and here I was, practically drooling over her. I groaned as I got ready for bed. Thinking about what happened moments before. Thinking about the kiss. Thinking about the way she looked at me. Thinking about the way she touched me.

The way she left without making it seem like it was a big deal made it a big deal to me. Her words echoed in my mind as I lay in bed, unable to sleep. The room felt smaller, the walls closing in as I replayed our conversation. Her hand in mine, the way she smelled, the way she talked about her exes so casually. It was like a fucking punch to the gut. But it was the way she talked about her job that really got to me. She enjoyed it. And why wouldn’t she? She was good at it. Too good at it.

Too good at it in the sense that she had the power to make a man's head spin with just a look. She wasn’t just a pretty face with a great body. She’s intelligent, she had a good heart, strong, and she had been through hell and back. And here she was, living her life on her own terms, making a career out of something she enjoyed. Despite the stigma hanging around sex work in general.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to understand the jumble of emotions coursing through me. The desire to claim her, to have her only for myself was overwhelming. The reality was, she didn’t belong to anyone. And she never would. She was a free spirit, a wildflower growing in the cracks of concrete pathways and sidewalks. Like mother nature taking back its rightful place in the world. Taking over the abandoned buildings left untouched by humans.

The sound of the running water from the bathroom grew louder as she turned the shower on. I could imagine her, the water cascading down her body, washing away the day’s stresses. The image was too much, I had to get out of the room. So, I got up and went to the kitchen, trying to find something to drink. The mini fridge was full of mead, whisky, vodka, tequila, and gin. Nothing to drink for someone who’s trying to clear their mind. But then I remembered the bottle of whisky I had brought over from my house. It was hidden in the pantry, buried behind canned foods and dry goods.

I grabbed the bottle and a glass, pouring myself a generous amount. The amber-brown liquid burned as it went down my throat, but it helped to clear my head a bit. I leaned against the counter, taking in the quiet of the house. The only sounds were the shower and the occasional creak of the floorboards.

All because of a woman half my age had kissed me like I was made out of glass. Afraid I would shatter under her touch. I took a deep breath, feeling the whiskey warm my chest. I needed to get a grip on myself. This wasn’t the first time I’ve had feelings for someone, but it was the first time in a long time that I’ve felt like this. Like a teenager again, trying to decode the unspoken cues of a girl I liked.

Once she came out, she was dressed in deep purple pyjamas, “I’m sorry if I overstepped and made you uncomfortable.” She whispered the concern for me remained. “Also, there’s water in the fridge if you need it. Go easy on the booze pup. It’s not worth the hangover. Goodnight Joel. Thank you for driving me to the tattoo parlour. It was amusing to see you there.” She walked to her bedroom, across from the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

I woke up on the couch, with Oksana placing homecooked breakfast on the coffee table in front of me. “Hey there, sleeping beauty, you sleep well?” she asked. She must have put two blankets on me when I fell asleep on the couch last night. Two thick, heavy, large fluffy pancakes, maple syrup in a serving jar and a cup of black coffee. As well as a glass of water and a jug of water beside it. As well as aspirin in case I needed it.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks for the blankets.” I said, my voice still a little groggy from sleep. The smell of the pancakes filled the room, making my stomach growl.

“I would like to think that you would have done the same thing for me.” Oksana smirked, as she went to eat her own breakfast after switching on the television on and setting it to a low mumble in case one of us had a splitting headache.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, the light from the television flickering against my face. She had set the scene like it was a movie, the morning light peeking through the blinds casting a soft glow on the room. The smell of the pancakes and the coffee is absolutely heavenly to my senses.

“Thank you for this, Oksana. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” I said, trying to hide the fact that my stomach was doing backflips at the sight of food.

“You’re welcome. Nonsense. It was no trouble at all.” Oksana replied from the kitchen. “Besides, you need to eat something, breakfast is an important meal of the day.”

I took a bite of the pancake and moaned in satisfaction. It was fluffy, and the maple syrup was just the right amount of sweetness. The coffee was strong, and it helped me wake up more than the shower did.

She seemed to be getting ready for someone to install something into her home, most likely more security cameras or another security system to help her feel safer and more secure. Monitors broadcasting the camera footage in the second office she had converted the third spare bedroom into.

The guys walked into the room, carrying heavy boxes filled with security equipment. one of them called her over, “Ma’am, where do you want us to set these up?”

Oksana showed them where the rest of the security system was in place, talking about what she had in mind, her voice a mix of authority and allure. The men looked at her with a mix of admiration and a hint of fear. She had that effect on people. While also showing them what she had set up already in terms of monitoring camera footage.

They worked efficiently, setting up the new equipment with minimal disruption to our morning routine. Oksana's confidence and knowledge of the tech impressed them, and they quickly fell into a rhythm of nods and grunts as they followed her instructions. Meanwhile, Ellie emerged from her room, her curiosity piqued by the unfamiliar faces and the faint scent of freshly baked pancakes.

“Good morning, Junior. Pancakes are ready whenever you want them. Along with watermelon juice in the fridge.”

Ellie’s eyes widened at the sight of the food, her stomach rumbling audibly. “Thanks, Oksana!” she exclaimed, rushing to the table.

The morning filled with security tech guys installing a new system, Oksana's house buzzed with an unusual energy. Oksana, unfazed by the chaos, went about her day with a grace that seemed almost rehearsed. She walked around in her fluffy pink slippers, her hair wrapped in a towel, giving instructions and pointing out spots for cameras with the confidence of a seasoned director.

By the time they were finished, Oksana flicked through the manuals to understand how to work the system and looking online for what amount of hard drive storage she would need to save camera footage as well as the audio. It was clear she took her privacy and security seriously. “You think this will be enough?” She looked over at me, holding up a 4TB external hard drive.

“Should be plenty. Unless you’re planning on starting your own reality show, I’d say that’s more than enough.” I said with a smirk, taking a sip of my coffee.

With a sense of profound relief washing over her, she couldn’t help but let out a gentle sigh, one that carried with it the weight of a decision well made. The primary concern that had been weighing on her mind was the cost factor; she knew all too well that venturing into the realm of purchasing electronic devices with a larger capacity than the one she had just acquired had the potential to significantly exceed the financial boundaries she had set for herself. The hard drive she had chosen was a delicate balance between her storage needs and her financial comfort zone. It was a compromise that she had contemplated thoroughly, and now that she had made her choice, she felt a burden had been lifted.

Carefully, she proceeded to connect the sleek, compact device to her computer, eager to embark on the setup process. As she did so, she couldn’t help but appreciate the simplicity of the task at hand. The instructions provided were clear, concise, and easy to follow, which was a stark contrast to the complexities that often-accompanied other aspects of her life. Technology, in its purest form, offered a sense of predictability and order that she found quite soothing. Most of the time, she mused, it was a realm where she could exercise control without the interference of emotions or the potential for misunderstandings.

The hard drive clicked into place, and her computer recognized its presence with a soft beep, prompting her to initiate the setup process. As she navigated through the on-screen prompts, she found herself feeling a peculiar fondness for the silent obedience of her digital companion. It was a refreshing change from the tumultuous interactions she sometimes faced in her personal and professional spheres. The straightforward nature of technology meant that she didn’t have to navigate the murky waters of interpretation or guesswork; it simply followed the commands she inputted without question or protest.

This uncomplicated dynamic was something she found particularly appealing, as it allowed her to focus on the task at hand without the distraction of potential conflict or confusion. It was a world governed by logic and precision, where the outcome was solely dependent on the accuracy of her actions. The comfort she derived from this predictability was not lost on her, and she found herself smiling slightly as she continued with the installation.

The process was indeed a straightforward one, and she appreciated the intuitive design that allowed for such ease of use. Each step she completed brought her closer to the satisfying conclusion of the setup, and she felt a sense of accomplishment growing within her. Technology, in this moment, was not merely a tool but an extension of her own capabilities, one that she had mastered and could manipulate to serve her purposes effectively.

As the final stages of the setup unfolded before her, she couldn’t help but reflect on the times when technology had been less cooperative. There had been moments of frustration, of course, when a device had malfunctioned or when she had encountered a problem she couldn’t solve. But those instances were outweighed by the numerous occasions when the harmonious relationship between human and machine had made her life more manageable and efficient.

And so, with a quiet satisfaction, she watched as the final prompt disappeared from her screen, signalling that the hard drive was ready for use. She took a step back, surveying her work with a nod of approval. It was a small victory, but one that reinforced her belief in the power of technology to simplify and enhance the human experience, provided one had the knowledge and patience to navigate its intricacies. With that, she closed the lid of her computer, already planning the various ways she would utilize the newfound storage space. The cost had been justifiable, the setup had been a breeze, and she was left with a sense of satisfaction that she had made the right choice.

Though in the back of my mind, my thoughts remained on what happened last night between the two of us. Leaving me reeling from it and thinking about whether I want to still pursue a relationship with her.

What should I do?

Go for a relationship with her despite the fact she’s half my age or call it quits and continue our relationship just as friends?

[gepetordi1]

Aquaria Technologies, a startup based in San Francisco, is creating a solution to produce clean, affordable drinking water from the air. The flagship model, Hydropack X, can produce up to 264 gallons (1,000 liters) of drinking water daily, making it possible to fully replace a household’s reliance on municipal water.

The Hydropack X is a plug-and-play atmospheric water generator, Priced at $29,999, can produce up to 264 gallons of water per day and can connect to an external tank for additional storage. the Hydropack X is compatible with solar and battery packs and starts producing water within 24 hours.

The unit measures 136 cm in length, 208 cm in width, and 172.2 cm in height, with a weight of 850 kg. It has a daily production capacity of 1,000 liters and operates in temperatures between 15 - 43°C and humidity levels of 25% or higher. The Hydropack X is energy-efficient at 245 Wh/L, operating on AC 220V/1PH at 60 Hz with a rated power of 10.24 kW.

[solarpunkliving]

So one of my plans is to convert this old storage shed/chicken coop into some form of housing and these are some renderings I made to help visualize it.

Front Area

The front area features some bee gardens and plants to attract pollinators. As well as a lattice for any vine plants I'm growing (like cucumbers and tomatoes). It also has a pre-existing porch area that I'd keep as an outdoor work area.

Main Room

The main room (the large pink one) is the living room/kitchen. Although I'll be changing this up quite a bit. The living room is largely furnished with stuff I already own, and the ornamentation (like the beams on the ceiling and the supports separating it from the other room) already exists in the shed.

One of the changes I'm looking to make is to remove that large window and make it a doorway into a greenhouse/kitchen combo. Allowing for indoor gardening year-round, helping keep plant production going during the winter too.

Bedroom

The bedroom (the dark blue one) again utilizes a lot of what I already own. The curtains along the columns separating it from the living room are there for added privacy in the event someone is sleeping but someone else is in the living room.

Workroom

The workroom (the one with the computers in it) is a room for me and my partner when we need to do any work inside the home. Mainly since I'm a developer and he enjoys video games.

Bathroom

This room connects to the bathroom (the smaller pink room). I'm debating if the toilet should be an incinerator toilet so there's no worry of having to install a septic tank or connect to city sewer systems.

Other Stuff

Right now the plan is to have the drains (kitchen drain, sink drain, shower drain) all go to a greywater collection tank. That way, it can be recycled and used for watering the garden greenhouse. Thankfully, where I'm from, rainwater collection is legal (just have to filter it to use in a home). So the rainwater collection can be used for sinks and showers.

Power is still something I need to figure out. A few solar panel calculators I've tried state that around 440sqft of solar panels will be enough to provide power for my current apartment's usage (and we'd use much less in a place like this) given the average hours of sunlight we get per day. So solar is still very much on the table.

But yeah, this is a basic idea right now, but something I'm working on to hopefully bring to fruition in a year or so. I'll be keeping tabs on everything I do to help provide steps and tips for anyone else who may want to repurpose older buildings for living! Or updating their current home to align with solarpunk ideals.

[jupitersolar]

Solar Water Heaters and Solar Panels

A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water Heaters and Solar Panels

In today's ever-evolving world, where sustainability and eco-friendliness are at the forefront of global concerns, solar energy stands out as a beacon of hope. Among the various applications of solar power, solar water heaters and solar panels hold immense potential to revolutionize the way we harness renewable energy. As we delve into the intricate details of these technologies, we uncover not only their environmental benefits but also their practicality and cost-effectiveness for households and businesses alike.

Understanding Solar Water Heaters

Solar water heaters epitomize innovation in the realm of energy-efficient water heating solutions. They utilize sunlight to heat water, significantly reducing reliance on conventional energy sources and thereby cutting down utility bills and carbon emissions. The mechanism behind solar water heaters involves collectors, storage tanks, and circulation systems working seamlessly to capture solar energy and transfer it into usable heat for domestic or commercial purposes. Buy the best solar water heaters from Jupiter Solar,www.jupitersolars.in.

Types of Solar Water Heaters

Active Solar Water Heaters: These systems employ pumps to circulate water through collectors and storage tanks, ensuring optimal heat transfer efficiency.

Passive Solar Water Heaters: Simpler in design, passive systems rely on natural convection to circulate water, making them more cost-effective and easier to maintain.

Advantages of Solar Water Heaters

Energy Efficiency: By harnessing abundant sunlight, solar water heaters can substantially reduce electricity or gas consumption for water heating, leading to long-term savings.

Environmentally Friendly: With zero greenhouse gas emissions during operation, these systems contribute significantly to reducing carbon footprints and mitigating climate change.

Reliability: Despite initial installation costs, solar water heaters boast long lifespans and minimal maintenance requirements, offering a reliable and sustainable water heating solution.

Unveiling the Potential of Solar Panels

In tandem with solar water heaters, solar panels form the cornerstone of solar energy utilization, catering to diverse energy needs ranging from residential to industrial scale.

How Solar Panels Work

Solar panels, also known as photovoltaic (PV) panels, consist of interconnected solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity through the photovoltaic effect. When sunlight strikes the panels, photons excite electrons within the cells, generating a flow of electrical current that can be harnessed for various applications.

Types of Solar Panels

Monocrystalline Solar Panels: Characterized by high efficiency and sleek aesthetics, monocrystalline panels are made from single-crystal silicon, offering superior performance in limited space.

Polycrystalline Solar Panels: Featuring a speckled blue appearance, polycrystalline panels are cost-effective alternatives to monocrystalline counterparts, providing decent efficiency at a lower price point.

Thin-Film Solar Panels: Thin-film technologies utilize lightweight and flexible materials such as amorphous silicon or cadmium telluride, offering versatility in installation and application scenarios.

Benefits of Solar Panels

Renewable Energy Source: Solar panels tap into an infinite and sustainable source of energy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and contributing to energy security.

Reduced Electricity Bills: By generating electricity onsite, solar panel owners can offset or even eliminate electricity costs, resulting in substantial long-term savings.

Diverse Applications: From powering residential homes and commercial buildings to supplying remote areas and supporting off-grid systems, solar panels offer versatile solutions tailored to various needs and environments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, solar water heaters and solar panels represent groundbreaking innovations in renewable energy technology, offering tangible benefits in terms of energy efficiency, cost savings, and environmental stewardship. Embracing these technologies not only fosters a greener future but also empowers individuals and businesses to take charge of their energy needs sustainably.

[tubetrading]

How Pipe Material Impacts the Efficiency of Your Solar System

As solar energy becomes increasingly popular, more households and industries are adopting solar systems as an efficient, sustainable source of power.  While the focus is often on solar panels and inverters, one often-overlooked component in the system is the pipe material used to transport heat in solar thermal systems.  The right pipes for solar system works can greatly impact the overall efficiency, longevity, and performance of the system.  For this reason, choosing the right piping is essential to maximizing your solar system’s potential.

In this blog, we will explore how the selection of pipe materials affects the efficiency of solar systems, the available options, and the importance of working with reliable pipes for solar system works distributors in Vadodara and pipes for solar system works distributors in Gujarat.

The Role of Pipes in Solar Systems

Solar systems are commonly divided into two types: photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar thermal systems.  Photovoltaic systems convert sunlight directly into electricity, while solar thermal systems capture heat from the sun to warm water or air for domestic or industrial use.  Pipes are essential in solar thermal systems, as they transport the heated fluid (usually water or antifreeze) from the solar collectors to storage tanks or directly to the point of use.

The performance of a solar thermal system heavily depends on the pipes' material.  Poor-quality pipes can lead to energy losses, increased wear and tear, and potential leaks, which reduces the system's overall efficiency.  On the other hand, selecting the right pipes can enhance heat transfer, reduce energy losses, and ensure the system operates effectively over time.

Importance of Pipe Material in Solar Systems

The selection of the right pipe material is crucial in a solar thermal system because of the high temperatures and pressures involved.  Pipes need to be durable, resistant to corrosion, and able to handle extreme conditions.  Here are some key factors to consider when choosing pipe materials for solar systems:

Thermal Conductivity:  Pipes with good thermal conductivity will efficiently transfer heat from the solar collector to the storage tank, reducing energy losses along the way.  Materials like copper and stainless steel are highly conductive, making them ideal for solar systems.

Temperature Resistance:  Solar systems often operate at high temperatures, especially in regions with abundant sunlight.  The pipes must be able to withstand these temperatures without degrading or losing efficiency.

Corrosion Resistance:  Since the pipes in solar systems are exposed to both heat and moisture, they need to be resistant to corrosion.  Corrosion can lead to leaks and system failures, so using corrosion-resistant materials like stainless steel or specialized polymers is essential.

Pressure Resistance:  The pipes in solar systems are subjected to constant pressure due to the circulation of fluid.  Materials like copper, stainless steel, and high-quality polymers are able to maintain their integrity under pressure, ensuring long-lasting performance.

Durability and Longevity:  Solar systems are designed to last for 20 to 25 years or more.  The pipes must be durable enough to withstand the rigors of time, environmental conditions, and wear and tear, ensuring the system remains functional throughout its lifespan.

Common Pipe Materials Used in Solar Systems

There are several materials commonly used for piping in solar thermal systems.  Each material has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the specific needs of the system.

1.   Copper

Copper is one of the most popular pipe materials used in solar thermal systems, especially for domestic hot water applications.  It has excellent thermal conductivity, making it efficient in transferring heat from the solar collectors to the storage tank.  Copper is also highly resistant to corrosion, which ensures a longer lifespan for the pipes.  Additionally, copper pipes can withstand high temperatures and pressure, making them ideal for solar systems.

However, copper can be expensive compared to other materials.  It is also susceptible to theft, so additional precautions may need to be taken in certain locations.

2.   Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is another common choice for solar system pipes due to its high resistance to corrosion, excellent thermal conductivity, and ability to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures.  Stainless steel is particularly well-suited for larger solar thermal systems used in commercial or industrial settings, as it can handle the demands of heavy-duty applications.

While stainless steel pipes are more expensive than some other materials, they offer exceptional durability and longevity, making them a cost-effective choice over the system’s lifespan.

3.   PEX (Cross-Linked Polyethylene)

PEX pipes are made from a type of plastic that is flexible, durable, and resistant to corrosion.  PEX is often used in solar thermal systems for domestic hot water applications due to its lower cost and ease of installation.  PEX pipes are particularly useful in systems where the fluid temperature is moderate, as they can withstand temperatures up to 200°F (93°C).

However, PEX is not suitable for high-temperature or high-pressure solar systems.  It is best used in smaller residential applications where the conditions are less extreme.

4.   Polypropylene (PP)

Polypropylene pipes are increasingly being used in solar systems due to their excellent resistance to high temperatures, UV radiation, and corrosion.  They are particularly well-suited for large-scale solar thermal systems and solar district heating systems.  PP pipes are lightweight, easy to install, and can handle temperatures up to 248°F (120°C).

One of the main advantages of PP pipes is their environmental friendliness.  They are fully recyclable and have a low carbon footprint, making them an excellent choice for sustainable energy systems.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Distributor

Selecting the right pipe material is only part of the equation.  Working with a reputable pipes for solar system works distributor in Vadodara or pipes for solar system works distributor in Gujarat is equally important to ensure you receive high-quality products that meet your system's specifications.

Here is why partnering with the right distributor is crucial:

Quality Assurance:  A reliable distributor will supply pipes that meet industry standards for durability, thermal conductivity, and corrosion resistance.  This ensures that the materials you use will perform well under the demands of a solar thermal system.

Technical Support:  Distributors with expertise in solar systems can provide valuable advice on selecting the best pipe material for your specific application.  They can help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of different materials and guide you through the installation process.

Timely Supply:  A good distributor will ensure that you have access to the pipes and materials you need, when you need them.  Timely supply is critical for solar projects, where delays in sourcing materials can lead to extended installation times and increased costs.

Custom Solutions:  Depending on the size and complexity of your solar system, you may require custom piping solutions.  Reputable distributors often work closely with manufacturers to provide tailored products that meet the unique requirements of your system.

Working with Pipes for Solar System Works Distributors in Gujarat and Vadodara

In regions like Gujarat, where solar energy adoption is on the rise, finding a trusted pipes for solar system works distributor in Gujarat or Vadodara is essential.  Gujarat, known for its abundant sunlight and progressive solar policies, has seen significant growth in the installation of both residential and commercial solar systems.

Distributors in these areas understand the unique demands of solar projects in the region and can provide the necessary materials to ensure optimal system performance.  Whether you are installing a small domestic solar system or a large-scale industrial project, working with a local distributor ensures that you have access to the right products at competitive prices, backed by knowledgeable support and guidance.

Conclusion

When it comes to the efficiency and longevity of solar thermal systems, pipe material plays a crucial role.  The right choice of pipes can enhance heat transfer, prevent energy losses, and ensure long-lasting performance, while the wrong choice can result in inefficiencies and costly repairs.  By carefully considering the factors that impact pipe performance—such as thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, and durability—you can make an informed decision that maximizes the benefits of your solar system.

Working with reliable pipes for solar system works distributors in Vadodara and Gujarat ensures that you receive high-quality products and expert support tailored to your project’s needs.  As solar energy continues to grow in importance, paying attention to the materials used in solar systems will help ensure their efficiency and success for years to come.

[practically-an-x-man]

Prompt: Write a Zombie Apocalypse AU ficlet starring your OCs (let's be real, I'm mostly just curious about your take on the Zombie Apocalypse)

Ooooooh absolutely! I LOVE zombie apocalypse media, so this will be a fun one for sure :)

Decided to go with Ophelia and a techy Andy Weir-style take on the apocalypse for this one :D

____ 8.34 Million People

Word Count: 2.2k Tags: zombie apocalypse AU, science fiction, angst, emotional hurt, hurt no comfort, unhappy ending, major character death (implied) ____

Who the hell dared to spend the zombie apocalypse in the eleventh-most populous city in the world?

That was the question Ophelia Octavius had been asking herself for nearly four years now. When all the others fled - and in various states of composure, some calm early-stage relocations and others panicked stampede-like fleeing as the outbreaks spread - she wondered time after time why she'd chosen to stay.

Sometimes she looked down at the city below her and saw only walkers, a carpet of them so thick she couldn't see street nor sidewalk past their shuffling, ragged bodies. That wasn't safe. It was madness to stay here.

But aside from the imminent threat of a zombie breach, a lingering worry that resulted in far too many sleepless nights, the rest of her life had settled into something almost normal.

What once had been Oscorp became Denarii, and what once was Denarii became a towering fortress against the horde. The first four stories had been individually barricaded, each door and window welded shut with steel plates. There was no entrance from anywhere lower than the eleventh floor - and really, who needed it? She and her father had their actuators, Norman his glider, Peter his webs. If none of them could leave from the ground, neither could the zombies enter. She'd seen World War Z.

Floors five through nine had been converted to agriculture. In the early days, when the outbreaks had still fallen under a control level, Ophelia had insisted upon ordering the soil, seeds, and a veritable library of agricultural manuals. It was a weak point for them and she knew it, and she'd be damned if their downfall came from something as simple as starvation. At first they'd only grown staple crops, corn and wheat and potatoes for easy calories. Then that had expanded into fruits and vegetables, and even cotton and flax for making cloth.

None of the men ever seemed to think about making their own clothes. Ophelia figured that was a skill best learned before she needed it. Even synthetic fibers didn't last forever.

The tenth floor was insulated into oblivion, kept near-freezing and used for food storage. They only went into that floor once a week, to prevent any energy waste as the door was opened. Energy was a commodity, these days. Electricity came from an expansive array of solar panels Ophelia and her father had installed on the roof of the building, but much of that went to keeping the laboratories powered.

The eleventh floor became a coop for laying hens, the twelfth a hold for a trio of goats. Someday, Ophelia hoped to find a way to raise a few sheep as well (wool was durable and naturally flame-retardant, and would be much more helpful than the plant-based fibers they grew on the eighth floor), but the goats and chickens had been hard enough to acquire, let alone raise, in the heart of New York City.

Rainwater was collected in a vast steel funnel affixed to the roof, though the collection tanks themselves were on the ninth floor far below. The water ran through a series of channels and aqueducts through the building, powering a network of small water wheels on its way. It resulted in a small degree of water loss, mainly through evaporation, though Ophelia felt that loss was warranted in exchange for the additional electricity it generated.

Only six people lived in the fortress that had once been Denarii: herself, her father, Norman, Peter Three, Peter Two, and May. Even with the crops and animals, electricity was more a commodity than water was. Without her machines, none of this would have been possible.

So they survived, in this tall vertical settlement the likes of which Wayside School could never dream.

She thought of expanding, sometimes. Plenty of the skyscraper's floors were still dark and empty, unused now that Norman's employees had all died, fled, or turned. More hands meant more agriculture, more variety of skills, more sophisticated life, that was the crux of human settlement.

But more citizens in this strange vertical city also meant greater spread of disease (both benign and reanimatory), greater possibility for quarrels and infighting, greater consumption of food, water, and electricity...

And she didn't like people even at the best of times.

So she'd stick with six. For now.

"Thinking too hard again?" Peter Three asked, coming up behind her and running his hands warmly over her shoulders.

"Always." Ophelia replied, distantly. It seemed she spent more time in her head than in the real world, these days. It was her ideas that had led them to safety, but now safety wasn't quite enough. This couldn't keep up forever. She only saw two options forward: to develop a more sophisticated life for her little commune here, or to develop a cure and let society begin to sort itself out again.

Or to die.

She didn't like to think about that one.

"What is it today?"

"My knee." she muttered, drumming her fingers on the blueprints in front of her, "Need to get my mobility up. I'm too slow."

The best she had now was an articulated metal brace, which allowed her a hobbling half-jog if she really pushed herself. It made her feel like Forrest Gump- not the best feeling, in her opinion. If she got swarmed without her actuators, she was as good as deli meat. That wouldn't do.

"Alright, well, just promise me you'll take a break, alright?" Peter told her, and stretched around to kiss her cheek. Olly turned, and caught a glimpse of bright red fabric.

"You're going out? Again?" she asked, swiveling to look at him directly. Sure enough, he had his Spidey-suit on, sans-mask, and appeared to be halfway through strapping on his armor - additional padding, made to deter bites and scratches, strapped around his torso, shins, and forearms in case he ran into a fight.

"I thought you just got back from the last one." Ophelia added, and found herself wringing her callused hands in her lap. Supply runs scared her. She could design the perfect bunker, encase her loved ones in this towering city of safety, but she couldn't do a damn thing about the outside world. Every time he stepped outside these walls, it felt like tugging her heart out of her ribcage and letting it lie bloody and beating on the street.

"Norman's looking for a few things. Circuit boards, and tantalum and neodynium-"

"So he's making you hunt cell phones."

"Uh- yeah, exactly. He says he's trying to make some sort of universal communication device. To talk to other survivors, I guess."

Ophelia chewed her lip, rolling her shoulders to try and dissipate the tension in her muscles. As supply runs went... rooting through the pockets of the undead in search for now-obselete mobile phones was certainly among the most dangerous.

"Make sure the batteries haven't inflated." she said, biting back everything else she really wanted to say, "You'll be dead before the walkers could even think to bite you. And- and get out of there if they start to swarm. Please. Norman's project can wait."

"I know, Ol's. I'll be careful."

"I'll come with you." she decided at once, pushing herself up and out of her seat. Her joints creaked, after so long spent hunched over her desk. Peter took her arm, giving her a bit of stability before she found her balance.

"Nah, c'mon, I'll be fine. You need to take a break anyway."

"It's the literal fucking apocalypse. My last chance to take a break was four and a half years ago."

"And thanks to you, we have a super-cool skyscraper safe haven that means you don't have to worry about zombies while you go lay down for thirty minutes."

"Peter-"

"Babe, I was doing the solo act for years before I met you, I can handle a supply run. I promise. I'll be back by three."

"And you promise you're not just chasing me away because of my bum knee?"

"Promise. Hey- you go get some rest, and tomorrow we'll go out together, alright? It's like date night."

That made her snort, and she snagged the front of his suit to pull him into a kiss.

"I love you." Ophelia murmured, "Stay safe, Spidey."

"Love you too. Be back soon."

All too soon, he'd pulled open the window at the far end of her lab and took a flying leap straight out. From the corner, her actuators whirred sympathetically. They wanted to be let free too. Ophelia had become something of a hermit over the past four years, so busy fortifying the skyscraper that she hardly ever left its walls.

True to her word, she decided to call it quits on the engineering for the day. Anxiety still racked her head-to-toe, knowing Peter was out of the sanctity of this fortress, but at least it racked her from her bed rather than the middle of her lab. That was something adjacent to rest, she thought. Sometimes that was the best she could give herself.

She didn't even realize she'd drifted off until a chime from her phone startled her awake. The phones were one of the first things she'd rigged - tapped into any cell tower she could, including some that were less-than-legal (though who really cared, at this point?), a closed connection like a souped-up set of walkie-talkies.

Still half-asleep, she answered the call and pulled the phone up to her ear.

"Peter?" Ophelia mumbled, fighting to clear the fuzz from her mind, "Hey, are you calling for backup? Where are you?"

"No, uh- Ol's, I..." he stammered from the other end of the line. His voice sounded faintly choked, and it made her hackles rise unpleasantly. Then Peter cleared his throat and tried again, "Listen, I... I'm not gonna make it home. There was a swarm, and they cornered me, and-"

"Where are you? I'll come get you. We'll bring the whole cavalry."

"No, I'm in the vents now. They can't reach me. But-"

"No." Ophelia breathed, realization striking her like a bullet to the heart, "No, no, no, Peter, you are not saying you got bitten. Your suit's tear-resistant, and with the additional padding it shouldn't have even-"

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm really sorry."

"Come home. Right now. Quickly. I'll- I'll figure something out, we'll start working on a cure- it can't be that much different from curing Norman from the Goblin serum, right? Just- just get back. We'll work this out, I promise we'll work this out." She was babbling, speaking too quickly and barely making sense, but she couldn't stop. Her hands were shaking so badly she nearly dropped the phone. She could hardly take in a breath.

"I'm not gonna make it home, Ol's. I'm half across town, I won't get back in time. I'm gone. I just, uh, wanted to tell you now. So you didn't have to find out the other way."

"Peter- let's talk about this. We need to talk about this. Just- just get as far as you can, I'll find you, I'll fix this. Tell me where you are, I'll come pick you up."

Now she was moving, limping down the hall as quickly as she could. Time was precious. She needed to find him before he lost himself entirely, or she'd be stuck desperately patrolling a city perpetually crawling with eight million of the undead.

Because she couldn't leave him. Not on her life. After everything they'd fought through to be together, she couldn't let it end like this.

She'd stop this. She'd fix this. She had to.

"Ophelia." Peter snapped, the use of her full name enough to make her pause. Then his voice softened, and he cleared his throat again like he was fighting back tears. "Ol's. Baby. I'm not gonna make it. I'm lodged in the air vent of an abandoned office building like fuckin' John McClane, and even if I made it out I'd be gone before I made it home. Just... just let it be."

"No, I'm not gonna fucking let it be, I can- I can fix this!" she snapped, only distantly noticing that her cheeks were streaked with tears, "Tell me where you are!"

"I'm gonna hang up. And then I'm gonna break my phone. Don't try to track me, Ol's, it's a death sentence." Peter insisted, his voice sterner than she'd ever heard.

He paused then, briefly. Ophelia wanted desperately to fill the silence - something, anything to make him change his mind - but she'd run out of words.

"I love you, Olly. More than anything. You know that. Thanks for keeping us safe. I'd never have made it this far without you."

"Peter, don't you dare-"

Her phone screeched with static, then went dead and silent in her hand. A guttural howl broke free from her throat, and Ophelia slumped into her desk chair. Her actuators drifted over and nosed at her arms, but she shoved them away.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd sobbed like this. It was sure to send someone running, sooner or later. Her father, or Norman, or Peter Two with his enhanced hearing...

But for now she was alone in an empty lab, drowning in grief.

[greatwyrmgold]

Last time, I complained about how resource-intensive early nuclear power would be. However, more experienced Factorio users pointed out that I never cancelled out a crucial "200 seconds" figure in the calculations, which meant my estimates of uranium ore needed were orders of magnitude off.

Also, hooking up a consistent power plant mostly fixed my power problems. But since I want to scale up production soon, I decided to set up nuclear power anyways, so this won't happen again.

Nuclear reactors take a ton of resources, but they're all resources I had in buffer chests at various points. Most of them were in the starter base, but concrete is over in the stone base and sufficient amounts of copper (~1330 plates, by my calculations) are only found in the copper outpost.

I had a lot of time running around; when not running around, I ordered the bot network to set up new rails to connect the coal mines to the starter base's power plant. Which took way more debugging than it should have, given how long it took me to realize the roboports' construction range was like three tiles short of the last bits of rail I needed to actually connect the coal mine to the rails leading to it...which was literally the only problem with the path...glad I understand rail signals at least...

In related news, I realize heavy oil cracking was nonfunctional due to one (1) missing pipe and it's backed up starter base oil production. But tonight isn't all stupid mistakes. I mined some uranium!

...emphasis on some.

Uranium is unique. It gets mined half as fast as other ores, you see, and mining it consumes sulfuric acid. In the lower right-hand corner, you can see a couple of chemical plants, one making sulfur and the other turning it into acid. This requires three ingredients: Water, petroleum gas, and iron. Luckily, they're all available just a bit to the southeast.

Water is easy; I just needed an offshore pump and a bunch of underground pipes. Also a fair number of aboveground pipes for corners and such.

A month ago, I set up a little oil processing station by my stone/rails/concrete outpost, which accidentally doubles as a defensive chokepoint. Back then, I mentioned that the petroleum gas would be used somewhere else in the factory, though at the time I thought that meant "in plastic production or something," but it's conveniently available to deal with a random resource requirement in this corner of the base.

That leaves iron, which is not a liquid. There are a few ways to get iron to the assembler; I considered several options before settling for a basic belt. Once I belted in the iron, I had basically everything I needed to set up Baby's First Nuclear Power Plant:

Straightforward enough, I think. Processing, sorting, and assembly turn uranium into fuel cells; the reactor turns cells into heat; the heat exchangers turn heat and water into high-temperature steam; the steam turbines turn steam into power.

The storage tank is a way to deal with an edge-case weakness of nuclear power. Basically, nuclear reactors (unlike coal boilers) keep burning their fuel no matter how much or little power is needed. Steam storage tanks mitigate this in two ways. First, they let the nuclear reactor "store" excess energy; the single tank can hold about a minute of unused power production. Second, with a little circuit network know-how, they can be used to estimate whether the nuclear reactor actually needs to run.

As far as I can tell, this design is only missing two things. First, it needs an inserter to remove expended fuel cells; I just forgot to set that up before taking the screenshot above. Second, it needs an inserter to put fresh cells in. That, I left out on purpose.

Somehow, setting up an extra coal plant, fixing coal supply, and leaving the factory mostly alone for a while fixed power. The steam engines and limited solar are providing more than enough power for the factory as it stands, which is a pleasant surprise!

That doesn't mean this was a waste, of course. I'm going to need more power once the main bus is running. But until then, I'm happy to let the centrifuges run. When I quit the game tonight, I had 74 U-238 and zero U-235. I'm happy to leave the machines alone to produce a few 235 before turning the reactor on.

Hopefully, the factory will grow soon.

[sustainabilitythoughts]

Hot water heaters

According to the US Department of Energy, water heating accounts for about 20% of the energy use in your home.  There are many things that you can do to reduce the amount of hot water you use, but maintaining your water heater is also very important for saving energy.  There are many types of water heaters: demand or tankless, solar, and storage, to name a few.  A single-family storage water heater offers a ready reservoir -- from 20 to 80 gallons -- of hot water.  In the US, these storage water heaters are in wide use, although the tankless and solar water heaters are becoming more popular.  If you are selecting a new water heater, do some research on the various types to see which is best for you.  If you have an existing storage water heater, proper maintenance will help it perform more efficiently and last longer, both important in saving energy.  I found good how-to resources for storage and tankless water heater maintenance.  Also check the temperature setting for your hot water heater.  Most information sources recommend 120 degrees Fahrenheit so that the water is hot enough for most uses but uses less energy than higher temperature settings.  Temperature settings below 120 degrees Fahrenheit are not recommended for safety reasons.