Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Brite
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (Darkly)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Brand Logo
  1. Home
  2. Solarpunk
  3. Technology Connections - You are being misled about renewable energy technology.

Technology Connections - You are being misled about renewable energy technology.

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Solarpunk
97 Posts 67 Posters 0 Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • K keyez@lemmy.world

    Thanks for the detailed and thorough response

    C This user is from outside of this forum
    C This user is from outside of this forum
    crozekiel@lemmy.zip
    wrote last edited by
    #21

    What, exactly, did we expect from someone named "fuckwit_mcbumcrumble"...? lol

    T 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • C cort@lemmy.world

      It is in some markets. California PG&e has it, Texas is offering subsidies in some cities for it, and I've heard that it's becoming popular in the UK too (octopus iirc).

      M This user is from outside of this forum
      M This user is from outside of this forum
      Mike D
      wrote last edited by
      #22

      I forget the exact rates but the time-of-use pricing from PG&E was pretty good. Cheaper rates from 9pm to about 6am. After getting used to it running large appliances like dishwasher and laundry became easy.

      C 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • negativenullN negativenull

        Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

        H This user is from outside of this forum
        H This user is from outside of this forum
        humanspiral@lemmy.ca
        wrote last edited by
        #23

        undersells the advantage of solar over corn ethanol land use by a lot. At least 2x. Excluding high energy/equipment cost of fermenting ethanol, overstating mileage, and understating EV mileage. The point of ethanol is purely to pay farmers for useless work, but they can make far more with less work from solar. Corn farmers in US have lost money for 4 consecutive years. Excluding land costs, their costs is $650/acre/year, excluding their time/labour. Cashflow per acre $97 @ $4/bushel. At 2.5 hours/day for $30/hour, profit before rent-equivalent drops to $22/acre

        In Nebraska, solar costs $1/watt to install (before recent permitting BS). China costs $0.50/w (no tariffs, cheaper construction services/equipment). An acre in Nebraska can hold 400kw of solar, and produce 630k kwh/year (edit: correction). It breaks even at 5c/kwh with 5% financing of whole installation (with system paid off in 25 years, even though it keeps producing) including $4000 O&M costs (high, because its washing dust and leaves 1-2 times per week). Every 1c/kwh revenue higher is $6300/acre profit,

        Since ethanol is just a gift to farmers/rural land owners. Giving them 2%/financing rate as the gift and 4c/kwh in revenue is the same profit per acre, and at 5c/kwh, massively higher ($6300) profit. For US car drivers, instead of paying $0.12/mile (a 25mpg gasoline car will use 5.4 gallons ethanol/100 miles at $2.20/gallon). 18c/kwh charging for EV means $0.05/mile. Massive cost reduction already, but tariffs and other BS removal can provide significantly more value for farmers and drivers.

        H S S 3 Replies Last reply
        0
        • M Mike D

          I forget the exact rates but the time-of-use pricing from PG&E was pretty good. Cheaper rates from 9pm to about 6am. After getting used to it running large appliances like dishwasher and laundry became easy.

          C This user is from outside of this forum
          C This user is from outside of this forum
          cort@lemmy.world
          wrote last edited by
          #24

          Yeah, and borderline extortionate pricing from 2pm-6pm

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • H humanspiral@lemmy.ca

            undersells the advantage of solar over corn ethanol land use by a lot. At least 2x. Excluding high energy/equipment cost of fermenting ethanol, overstating mileage, and understating EV mileage. The point of ethanol is purely to pay farmers for useless work, but they can make far more with less work from solar. Corn farmers in US have lost money for 4 consecutive years. Excluding land costs, their costs is $650/acre/year, excluding their time/labour. Cashflow per acre $97 @ $4/bushel. At 2.5 hours/day for $30/hour, profit before rent-equivalent drops to $22/acre

            In Nebraska, solar costs $1/watt to install (before recent permitting BS). China costs $0.50/w (no tariffs, cheaper construction services/equipment). An acre in Nebraska can hold 400kw of solar, and produce 630k kwh/year (edit: correction). It breaks even at 5c/kwh with 5% financing of whole installation (with system paid off in 25 years, even though it keeps producing) including $4000 O&M costs (high, because its washing dust and leaves 1-2 times per week). Every 1c/kwh revenue higher is $6300/acre profit,

            Since ethanol is just a gift to farmers/rural land owners. Giving them 2%/financing rate as the gift and 4c/kwh in revenue is the same profit per acre, and at 5c/kwh, massively higher ($6300) profit. For US car drivers, instead of paying $0.12/mile (a 25mpg gasoline car will use 5.4 gallons ethanol/100 miles at $2.20/gallon). 18c/kwh charging for EV means $0.05/mile. Massive cost reduction already, but tariffs and other BS removal can provide significantly more value for farmers and drivers.

            H This user is from outside of this forum
            H This user is from outside of this forum
            humanspiral@lemmy.ca
            wrote last edited by
            #25

            Also if making a fuel (that is also key input for local fertilizer production for neighbour farmers) is important, H2 electrolysis at 5c/kwh input makes $3.50/kg H2. equivalent to above 17.5c/kwh EV charging, excluding the battery charger losses. It is 10x cheaper to move by pipe than it is to move electricity by wire, while also doubling as storage, and even better home energy applications by using waste heat for free hot water. H2 has same 2.4x advantage over ethanol cost, but you can produce an unlimited amount to sell to places that need more energy seasonally, or to blast stuff into space.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • negativenullN negativenull

              Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

              M This user is from outside of this forum
              M This user is from outside of this forum
              mindbleach@sh.itjust.works
              wrote last edited by
              #26

              "That's it. That's the end of the video. Don't look at the timestamp, don't--"

              *Always Sunny music*

              Alec Gets Radicalized

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • F fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com

                They're lying.

                M This user is from outside of this forum
                M This user is from outside of this forum
                mrshankles@reddthat.com
                wrote last edited by
                #27

                Hahahahaha, funny interwebs person being a sarcastic edge! Such fresh comedic material, I've never encountered before

                Or maybe for some things, you just shouldn't... you're only hurting yourself in the end

                There's a time and place for things, and garnering the wisdom to find the subtleties of that is something you should probably work on

                Or continue forth being destructive for the lols and self-gratification, you're hilarious — truly. Enjoy the dopamine hit while it lasts!

                Big edit: sorry @fuckwit_mcbumcrumble ... I got whooshed hard. I now see that yes, the tldw is indeed "They're lying". I feel a little dumb now, as I thought you meant the youtuber was lying; not that you had (super) summarized the subject. Very concise tldw, technically lol

                Guess the video triggered me into also being tired of people lying, and thought you were being disinformative. My bad friend

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • negativenullN negativenull

                  Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                  bradleyuffner@lemmy.world
                  wrote last edited by
                  #28

                  That last 30 minutes earned a new Patreon subscription. I hope this starts a trend.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • C crozekiel@lemmy.zip

                    What, exactly, did we expect from someone named "fuckwit_mcbumcrumble"...? lol

                    T This user is from outside of this forum
                    T This user is from outside of this forum
                    troglodytis@lemmy.world
                    wrote last edited by
                    #29

                    Well, a little more bum crumble, if I'm being honest

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • H humanspiral@lemmy.ca

                      undersells the advantage of solar over corn ethanol land use by a lot. At least 2x. Excluding high energy/equipment cost of fermenting ethanol, overstating mileage, and understating EV mileage. The point of ethanol is purely to pay farmers for useless work, but they can make far more with less work from solar. Corn farmers in US have lost money for 4 consecutive years. Excluding land costs, their costs is $650/acre/year, excluding their time/labour. Cashflow per acre $97 @ $4/bushel. At 2.5 hours/day for $30/hour, profit before rent-equivalent drops to $22/acre

                      In Nebraska, solar costs $1/watt to install (before recent permitting BS). China costs $0.50/w (no tariffs, cheaper construction services/equipment). An acre in Nebraska can hold 400kw of solar, and produce 630k kwh/year (edit: correction). It breaks even at 5c/kwh with 5% financing of whole installation (with system paid off in 25 years, even though it keeps producing) including $4000 O&M costs (high, because its washing dust and leaves 1-2 times per week). Every 1c/kwh revenue higher is $6300/acre profit,

                      Since ethanol is just a gift to farmers/rural land owners. Giving them 2%/financing rate as the gift and 4c/kwh in revenue is the same profit per acre, and at 5c/kwh, massively higher ($6300) profit. For US car drivers, instead of paying $0.12/mile (a 25mpg gasoline car will use 5.4 gallons ethanol/100 miles at $2.20/gallon). 18c/kwh charging for EV means $0.05/mile. Massive cost reduction already, but tariffs and other BS removal can provide significantly more value for farmers and drivers.

                      S This user is from outside of this forum
                      S This user is from outside of this forum
                      stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net
                      wrote last edited by
                      #30

                      God, fuck ethanol. Last I checked it literally took 1.5 gallons of oil/gas to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. It turns more fuel into less fuel and pisses away soil fertility doing it.

                      I read an article some time ago arguing the purpose of ethanol (and ag subsidies in general) is, consciously or unconsciously, manifest destiny - we have to have a "use" for all the land we stole, we have to do something with it even if that something is a complete waste, because otherwise, people might start asking why we don't give it back. Seems more likely to me all the time.

                      H C 2 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • negativenullN negativenull

                        Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

                        greenrg@slrpnk.netG This user is from outside of this forum
                        greenrg@slrpnk.netG This user is from outside of this forum
                        greenrg@slrpnk.net
                        wrote last edited by
                        #31

                        Ooh nice! Does he have other videos like this or is it all computers and stuff?

                        S prodigalfrog@slrpnk.netP HarkMahlbergH N bdonvr@thelemmy.clubB 6 Replies Last reply
                        0
                        • greenrg@slrpnk.netG greenrg@slrpnk.net

                          Ooh nice! Does he have other videos like this or is it all computers and stuff?

                          S This user is from outside of this forum
                          S This user is from outside of this forum
                          subtracty@lemmy.world
                          wrote last edited by
                          #32

                          He has a lot of videos focused on home appliances. Some that come to mind are toasters, dishwashers, heat pumps, and an entire series on Christmas lights. Breaks everything down with lots of tips for better home use (because no one reads the manuals on thise things).

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • greenrg@slrpnk.netG greenrg@slrpnk.net

                            Ooh nice! Does he have other videos like this or is it all computers and stuff?

                            prodigalfrog@slrpnk.netP This user is from outside of this forum
                            prodigalfrog@slrpnk.netP This user is from outside of this forum
                            prodigalfrog@slrpnk.net
                            wrote last edited by
                            #33

                            He hasn't done any videos on computers, AFAIK. His channel covers a wide range of topics, from washing machines, car blinkers, heaters, refrigerators, to christmas lights. You can see his backlog here.

                            W 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • greenrg@slrpnk.netG greenrg@slrpnk.net

                              Ooh nice! Does he have other videos like this or is it all computers and stuff?

                              HarkMahlbergH This user is from outside of this forum
                              HarkMahlbergH This user is from outside of this forum
                              HarkMahlberg
                              wrote last edited by
                              #34

                              I highly recommend the series on the CED and the downfall of RCA. He's also got a number of videos about various cameras which are also great!

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • negativenullN negativenull

                                Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

                                D This user is from outside of this forum
                                D This user is from outside of this forum
                                doomsider@lemmy.world
                                wrote last edited by
                                #35

                                Great video. Completely breaks down the argument. You already knew this of you had been paying attention. Oil/gas for electricity generation in any form is DOA. It is insanely more expensive than solar + battery.

                                Not to mention destructive to the environment and politically fraught with issues.

                                To think if our government went all in it could provide dirt cheap limitless energy that would not cause lung disease or wars is staggering.

                                muusemuuse@sh.itjust.worksM 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • negativenullN negativenull

                                  Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

                                  P This user is from outside of this forum
                                  P This user is from outside of this forum
                                  pedz@lemmy.ca
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #36

                                  As someone not from the US, I can't say how much I appreciate the last part of his video. As much as I understand why YouTubers want to "keep politics out of entertainment", it's disappointing and makes me lose interest in some US content because it seems like they are ignoring what's going on around them.

                                  And about the batteries, that's unfortunately an argument I sometimes hear from skeptics. "What are we going to do with all those batteries?" they ask. I explain that they can mostly be recycled and like to ask what are we going to do with all the CO2 in the air, but apparently it's different. Ironically one of those persons is my father, that has a cabin with a solar system that I installed for him. He originally bought a generator but since it's very noisy to run only for some lights, he prefers using the battery bank powered by a few solar panels on the roof. I'd show him this video but he doesn't speak English and it's probably a lost cause anyway.

                                  We can only hope that at least a few people can be influenced by this video; both parts.

                                  C muusemuuse@sh.itjust.worksM 2 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • negativenullN negativenull

                                    Amazing video by Technology Connections. It's a long one, but don't miss his 30 minute angry rant at the end.

                                    acargitzT This user is from outside of this forum
                                    acargitzT This user is from outside of this forum
                                    acargitz
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #37

                                    Common sense.

                                    gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.deG V 2 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • P pedz@lemmy.ca

                                      As someone not from the US, I can't say how much I appreciate the last part of his video. As much as I understand why YouTubers want to "keep politics out of entertainment", it's disappointing and makes me lose interest in some US content because it seems like they are ignoring what's going on around them.

                                      And about the batteries, that's unfortunately an argument I sometimes hear from skeptics. "What are we going to do with all those batteries?" they ask. I explain that they can mostly be recycled and like to ask what are we going to do with all the CO2 in the air, but apparently it's different. Ironically one of those persons is my father, that has a cabin with a solar system that I installed for him. He originally bought a generator but since it's very noisy to run only for some lights, he prefers using the battery bank powered by a few solar panels on the roof. I'd show him this video but he doesn't speak English and it's probably a lost cause anyway.

                                      We can only hope that at least a few people can be influenced by this video; both parts.

                                      C This user is from outside of this forum
                                      C This user is from outside of this forum
                                      cort@lemmy.world
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #38

                                      For what it's worth, ALL technology connections videos have manually added English closed captions, not auto generated gibberish.
                                      It's some of the best captioning work I've ever seen. He actually takes the time to sync them to the auto/video, prevents spoiling jokes/punchlines, and adds an Easter egg at the end of most episodes (usually describing the smooth jazz outro).

                                      You might actually have decent luck using the subtitle translation feature built into YouTube, since it (machine) translates the actual words Alec is saying.

                                      C 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • H humanspiral@lemmy.ca

                                        undersells the advantage of solar over corn ethanol land use by a lot. At least 2x. Excluding high energy/equipment cost of fermenting ethanol, overstating mileage, and understating EV mileage. The point of ethanol is purely to pay farmers for useless work, but they can make far more with less work from solar. Corn farmers in US have lost money for 4 consecutive years. Excluding land costs, their costs is $650/acre/year, excluding their time/labour. Cashflow per acre $97 @ $4/bushel. At 2.5 hours/day for $30/hour, profit before rent-equivalent drops to $22/acre

                                        In Nebraska, solar costs $1/watt to install (before recent permitting BS). China costs $0.50/w (no tariffs, cheaper construction services/equipment). An acre in Nebraska can hold 400kw of solar, and produce 630k kwh/year (edit: correction). It breaks even at 5c/kwh with 5% financing of whole installation (with system paid off in 25 years, even though it keeps producing) including $4000 O&M costs (high, because its washing dust and leaves 1-2 times per week). Every 1c/kwh revenue higher is $6300/acre profit,

                                        Since ethanol is just a gift to farmers/rural land owners. Giving them 2%/financing rate as the gift and 4c/kwh in revenue is the same profit per acre, and at 5c/kwh, massively higher ($6300) profit. For US car drivers, instead of paying $0.12/mile (a 25mpg gasoline car will use 5.4 gallons ethanol/100 miles at $2.20/gallon). 18c/kwh charging for EV means $0.05/mile. Massive cost reduction already, but tariffs and other BS removal can provide significantly more value for farmers and drivers.

                                        S This user is from outside of this forum
                                        S This user is from outside of this forum
                                        spaceballstheusername@lemmy.world
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #39

                                        I think there's something wrong with your math did you mean 630MWh/yr?

                                        H 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • greenrg@slrpnk.netG greenrg@slrpnk.net

                                          Ooh nice! Does he have other videos like this or is it all computers and stuff?

                                          N This user is from outside of this forum
                                          N This user is from outside of this forum
                                          netux@lemmy.sdf.org
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #40

                                          Lots of great stuff, lots of retro tech and common how it works stuff. His dishwasher video makes it so there is no reason to wash things by hand pretty much ever.

                                          M 1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          Powered by NodeBB Contributors
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups