What's the most chilling thing you've observed underwater? By "chilling," I mean: some really weird-looking, previously unknown creature, remains of the Titanic, a squid attacking an ROV, etc. By "observed" I mean either directly, by video, or by evidence (e.g. ROV with large sucker marks)
In southern CA, you'll see plenty of warehouses with white roofs and PV mounted on top. With an air gap, the PV provides further shading.
PV is relatively low on the net-payback list, but the experience curve marches on- the more we install now, the closer we get to grid-parity economics.
The following paragraph is vague, but it looks like homeowners get a cut of the value of electricity generated.
I know that for my Freewatt system, I paid for the system, but I get credit for the electricity generated under net metering laws (or at least I would if I had the generator part; so far I only installed the boiler and am saving funds for the generator piece). I pay for the gas, too, but I'm using that gas very efficiently, so I make a profit on the electricity.
The economics aren't great, in terms of ROI (the capital costs yield energy savings), but they're not bad, either.
1) These peaks are significant (at least in the U.S.), in terms of the size of the peak, but the duration isn't all that long (assuming that these things are used as the peakiest of the peakers). And I presume they have a mode that sheds the heat outside- this loses the CHP part of the equation, but this should be a small part of the work cycle (these things should run most of the winter and a few 10's of hours in the summer). You could even do trigeneration (where you generate electricity plus cooling), but I suspect the thermodynamics won't work for these units.
2) It's burning natural gas, so it's easy to be clean. The cost-competitive part comes from CHP: traditional electricity generation wastes 2/3 of the input energy as "waste" heat; these don't (as long as they put in 80+% of their hours during heating season).
I have a system in my basement that's 1/2 way to CHP now (it's an integrated engine plus boiler; I just have the boiler part so far). See Freewatt. The pure economics of adding the generator are kind of blah, but it is more energy efficient, and that has value to me.
My kids' public school doesn't stifle my kids' curiosity. Their teachers encourage their curiosity. And I play learning games with my kids, too. Public schooling does not preclude informal education.
Rubin Unteregger: Yes, thatÂs the plan. The source code of this wiretapping trojan will be published in the upcoming days. There won't be problems about copyright, because ERA IT Solutions let me keep it.
I use DropBox for backup and synching. It's ~$10 a month for 50GB of space. I back up generic files (a couple GB) and our photos (many GB). I self-encrypt anything really sensitive (eg copies of tax returns with SSN), in case someone were to hack DropBox or my account.
For those of us for whom no longer find designing, implementing, and maintaining a home backup system captivating, DropBox (or similar) is the way to go- set it and forget it. I also like how it keeps our various family computers nicely in sync.
- Don't confuse the scientists and the advocates (yes, the Venn diagram does overlap). Some advocates make insane claims. I stick with the science. Starting with the 1896 paper "On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground", by Svante Arrhenius.
- The 1934 issue was for the US, not global data. The U.S. makes up what pct. of global land area (hint: it's much less than 100%). Sloppy on your part.
- No one argues that mankind is solely responsible for climate variability. That's the lamest strawman around, and represents either dishonest or incompetent thinking. The argument that is made is that human impact is now as large, and will become larger than, modern sources of climatic variability. Re: recent trends, see the flippin' original link- we're in a solar minimum, for starters. You keep talking about cooling. Where's your data?
- You play the "I'm a victim" card exquisitely. Honest debates on science and policy are welcome. Ad naseum repetition of debunked data points, without even the pretense of providing supporting data, is annoying.
There are plenty of yeah-buts about these numbers, but you can't yeah-but a 70% performance gap. And I've got (proprietary) data that documents just how inefficient our buildings are compared to e.g. Germany. The gaps are insane, and are a textbook case of market failure (information gaps between developers, owners and tenants, etc.)
There's a lot in ACES aside from the swiss cheese cap & trade that will help. A lot.
Dude- you use 2500 kWh a MONTH? In MAY? Yes, you are correct, you could be more energy conscious!
According to the EIA residential consumption survey,, the region with the highest electricity consumption is the South (due to A/C); a typical house there uses about 15,000 kWh / year.
15k is an average of 1250 kWh per month, but of course there's a strong seasonal component. If you're using 3500 kWh a month, though, consider an energy audit (often free or cheap through your utility) or turning off the 24/7 toaster, or something- you're throwing money out the window, even at $0.05/kWh or whatever you're paying.
And your calculation doesn't take into account increases in energy prices. How much will electricity prices increase over the next 20 years? Who knows? There are lots of reasons to expect higher prices, though. But solar avoids that- if one finances solar with fixed interest on your loan, congratulations, it's a great hedge on energy price variability.
Slashdot Mirror
What's the most chilling thing you've observed underwater? By "chilling," I mean: some really weird-looking, previously unknown creature, remains of the Titanic, a squid attacking an ROV, etc. By "observed" I mean either directly, by video, or by evidence (e.g. ROV with large sucker marks)
It's really Gauss who is Tesla's bitch...
I love that the record is 100 Tesla. No scaling prefixes necessary.
As a lifelong Masshole, right back at ya.
If you're going to (somewhat cleverly) slip an ad for your stuff in here, you may want to make sure the URL doesn't 404. Here you go
Mod points, where art thou?
Why either / or? I suspect we'll need both.
In southern CA, you'll see plenty of warehouses with white roofs and PV mounted on top. With an air gap, the PV provides further shading.
PV is relatively low on the net-payback list, but the experience curve marches on- the more we install now, the closer we get to grid-parity economics.
The article you linked to links to another relevant article:
Here's the plan for recycling these (at least, First Solar's) puppies
First Solar has this covered (for their own CIGS panels)
The following paragraph is vague, but it looks like homeowners get a cut of the value of electricity generated.
I know that for my Freewatt system, I paid for the system, but I get credit for the electricity generated under net metering laws (or at least I would if I had the generator part; so far I only installed the boiler and am saving funds for the generator piece). I pay for the gas, too, but I'm using that gas very efficiently, so I make a profit on the electricity.
The economics aren't great, in terms of ROI (the capital costs yield energy savings), but they're not bad, either.
1) These peaks are significant (at least in the U.S.), in terms of the size of the peak, but the duration isn't all that long (assuming that these things are used as the peakiest of the peakers). And I presume they have a mode that sheds the heat outside- this loses the CHP part of the equation, but this should be a small part of the work cycle (these things should run most of the winter and a few 10's of hours in the summer). You could even do trigeneration (where you generate electricity plus cooling), but I suspect the thermodynamics won't work for these units.
2) It's burning natural gas, so it's easy to be clean. The cost-competitive part comes from CHP: traditional electricity generation wastes 2/3 of the input energy as "waste" heat; these don't (as long as they put in 80+% of their hours during heating season).
I have a system in my basement that's 1/2 way to CHP now (it's an integrated engine plus boiler; I just have the boiler part so far). See Freewatt. The pure economics of adding the generator are kind of blah, but it is more energy efficient, and that has value to me.
Hi,
My kids' public school doesn't stifle my kids' curiosity. Their teachers encourage their curiosity. And I play learning games with my kids, too. Public schooling does not preclude informal education.
From TFA:
Rubin Unteregger: Yes, thatÂs the plan. The source code of this wiretapping trojan will be published in the upcoming days. There won't be problems about copyright, because ERA IT Solutions let me keep it.
Maybe Linus wanted a new maintainer. It's hard to fire people from volunteer posts, so one must resort to other methods...
If I were him, I would've resigned in Welsh, just to screw with people.
I use DropBox for backup and synching. It's ~$10 a month for 50GB of space. I back up generic files (a couple GB) and our photos (many GB). I self-encrypt anything really sensitive (eg copies of tax returns with SSN), in case someone were to hack DropBox or my account.
For those of us for whom no longer find designing, implementing, and maintaining a home backup system captivating, DropBox (or similar) is the way to go- set it and forget it. I also like how it keeps our various family computers nicely in sync.
Here's a better chart
Does it strike you as interesting that human civilization and culture flourished during the prolonged stability of the last 10k years or so?
Same "debate", different forum.
- Don't confuse the scientists and the advocates (yes, the Venn diagram does overlap). Some advocates make insane claims. I stick with the science. Starting with the 1896 paper "On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground", by Svante Arrhenius.
- The 1934 issue was for the US, not global data. The U.S. makes up what pct. of global land area (hint: it's much less than 100%). Sloppy on your part.
- No one argues that mankind is solely responsible for climate variability. That's the lamest strawman around, and represents either dishonest or incompetent thinking. The argument that is made is that human impact is now as large, and will become larger than, modern sources of climatic variability. Re: recent trends, see the flippin' original link- we're in a solar minimum, for starters. You keep talking about cooling. Where's your data?
- You play the "I'm a victim" card exquisitely. Honest debates on science and policy are welcome. Ad naseum repetition of debunked data points, without even the pretense of providing supporting data, is annoying.
I am shocked, shocked that the WSJ opinion page would not have kind words for cap and trade.
Nice linkage to Che. You might want to catch up on the climatology research a bit.
Yeah, 2008 was really cool, being hotter than any year before 2000 save (super-hot) 1998
Check out the solar irradiance graph in that article. Wanna bet what'll happen when that sucker turns the corner and heads back up?
Cap & Trade = End to profligate waste.
The US economy generates less than $2000 per metric ton of CO2 emissions
Germany is at $3400. Denmark is at $4500.
There are plenty of yeah-buts about these numbers, but you can't yeah-but a 70% performance gap. And I've got (proprietary) data that documents just how inefficient our buildings are compared to e.g. Germany. The gaps are insane, and are a textbook case of market failure (information gaps between developers, owners and tenants, etc.)
There's a lot in ACES aside from the swiss cheese cap & trade that will help. A lot.
Dude- you use 2500 kWh a MONTH? In MAY? Yes, you are correct, you could be more energy conscious!
According to the EIA residential consumption survey,, the region with the highest electricity consumption is the South (due to A/C); a typical house there uses about 15,000 kWh / year.
15k is an average of 1250 kWh per month, but of course there's a strong seasonal component. If you're using 3500 kWh a month, though, consider an energy audit (often free or cheap through your utility) or turning off the 24/7 toaster, or something- you're throwing money out the window, even at $0.05/kWh or whatever you're paying.
Brian
Low up-front in MA, AZ, CA: SunRun
Bulk purchase groups: 1BOG
I'd say the same for electricity prices...
Problem solved.
And your calculation doesn't take into account increases in energy prices. How much will electricity prices increase over the next 20 years? Who knows? There are lots of reasons to expect higher prices, though. But solar avoids that- if one finances solar with fixed interest on your loan, congratulations, it's a great hedge on energy price variability.
Affordable solar for little money down
If you live in CA, MA, or AZ, and have a roof with decent sun exposure, please check SunRun out.
I've got nothing to do with them; I just think they have a winning method of making the cash flow of solar very attractive.