7 ms·

Give me a break, Walter. I explain that you're viewing this from within a bubble, and your response is to insist that you're not in a bubble because you, person

by bryans 5y ago

Give me a break, Walter. I explain that you're viewing this from within a bubble, and your response is to insist that you're not in a bubble because you, personally, haven't lived somewhere without fixed rates? That's the definition of a bubble argument and self-centeredness. If you really think your ideas are unique and revolutionary and "correct," then I recommend going down to your local utility and pitching them heated rocks, instead of trying to convince the internet that you're right about everything -- see how long it takes for them to stop laughing. As an aside, my father invented, developed and sold a heated rocks system over 40 years ago. It definitely worked, but the concept itself proved to be too inefficient, impractical and non-scalable, and because of that it never got adopted beyond a few off-the-grid folks. So, when I say that your ideas would only work in very specific circumstances, that's based on actual historical information, not some imagined universe where the entire world is exactly the same as you, personally, have experienced.

WalterBright 5y ago
> you, personally, haven't lived somewhere without fixed rates? That's the definition of a bubble argument and self-centeredness. So, the 5 states and 2 foreign countries I've lived in are a self-centered bubble? I'll turn that around. Where in the US are variable, minute by minute electricity pricing which can be remotely queried? > see how long it takes for them to stop laughing First they ignore you, then they laugh, then they race to implement it. What I see in this thread is "electricity rates are fixed 24/7, that's the way they've always been, anything else is inconceivable". Frankly, why should the utility care? They'd probably profit quite a bit from massive government money to develop grid storage batteries. It is typical for solar heated homes to use rocks/concrete for heat storage. Traditional adobe homes with thick earthen walls also are very, very good at being a heat sink and source, making the home comfortable. As mentioned elsewhere, I have a Swedish masonry fireplace which uses masonry to store the heat and slowly release it. It's a simple heated rock system. The Swedes have used that design for centuries. As for your father's invention, I have no idea what went wrong with it. Perhaps a couple manufacturing engineers having a look could improve it quite a bit. After all, rarely does the first iteration of a concept be very practical.
- bryans 5y ago
  You're proposing nothing but hypotheticals based on what a utility SHOULD care about as opposed to what they ACTUALLY do. And it's an exhausting amount of mental gymnastics. As for my father's invention, the reason it didn't catch on was for the same reason that piles of rocks don't actually scale -- it's incredibly inefficient, as is every other rock-based thermal storage. Just because it's a functional method of accomplishing a task, doesn't mean it's the best method, and what you've repeatedly asserted is that YOUR idea should be the best method simply because you say so.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > it's incredibly inefficient Explain. > what a utility SHOULD care about as opposed to what they ACTUALLY do. Obviously, as the grid supply dynamics change, what they traditionally did no longer works.
- lambdadmitry 5y ago
  I invite you to come up with a "heated up pile of rocks" solution for those places: https://i.redd.it/5bgjdbyj08sz.jpg https://i.redd.it/5bgjdbyj08sz.jpg https://i.redd.it/hu4ljikj0ej31.jpg https://i.redd.it/hu4ljikj0ej31.jpg https://i.redd.it/gonyuxg5cr401.jpg https://i.redd.it/gonyuxg5cr401.jpg Most people on this planet don't live in HVACed single family houses. That's what the grandparent meant by your "bubble".
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > Most people That still leaves billions of people. What's your solution? Rolling blackouts? > those places Many multi-unit buildings have central heating. Which means central thermal mass "batteries" are more cost-effective on a per-unit basis.
    - bryans 5y ago
      Walter, you are making up science in your head that does not actually exist. I would highly encourage you to do some actual research before you continue to make these incredibly uninformed comments. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29186001 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29186001

by bryans 5y ago

WalterBright 5y ago

> you, personally, haven't lived somewhere without fixed rates? That's the definition of a bubble argument and self-centeredness. So, the 5 states and 2 foreign countries I've lived in are a self-centered bubble? I'll turn that around. Where in the US are variable, minute by minute electricity pricing which can be remotely queried? > see how long it takes for them to stop laughing First they ignore you, then they laugh, then they race to implement it. What I see in this thread is "electricity rates are fixed 24/7, that's the way they've always been, anything else is inconceivable". Frankly, why should the utility care? They'd probably profit quite a bit from massive government money to develop grid storage batteries. It is typical for solar heated homes to use rocks/concrete for heat storage. Traditional adobe homes with thick earthen walls also are very, very good at being a heat sink and source, making the home comfortable. As mentioned elsewhere, I have a Swedish masonry fireplace which uses masonry to store the heat and slowly release it. It's a simple heated rock system. The Swedes have used that design for centuries. As for your father's invention, I have no idea what went wrong with it. Perhaps a couple manufacturing engineers having a look could improve it quite a bit. After all, rarely does the first iteration of a concept be very practical.

bryans 5y ago
You're proposing nothing but hypotheticals based on what a utility SHOULD care about as opposed to what they ACTUALLY do. And it's an exhausting amount of mental gymnastics. As for my father's invention, the reason it didn't catch on was for the same reason that piles of rocks don't actually scale -- it's incredibly inefficient, as is every other rock-based thermal storage. Just because it's a functional method of accomplishing a task, doesn't mean it's the best method, and what you've repeatedly asserted is that YOUR idea should be the best method simply because you say so.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > it's incredibly inefficient Explain. > what a utility SHOULD care about as opposed to what they ACTUALLY do. Obviously, as the grid supply dynamics change, what they traditionally did no longer works.
lambdadmitry 5y ago
I invite you to come up with a "heated up pile of rocks" solution for those places: https://i.redd.it/5bgjdbyj08sz.jpg https://i.redd.it/5bgjdbyj08sz.jpg https://i.redd.it/hu4ljikj0ej31.jpg https://i.redd.it/hu4ljikj0ej31.jpg https://i.redd.it/gonyuxg5cr401.jpg https://i.redd.it/gonyuxg5cr401.jpg Most people on this planet don't live in HVACed single family houses. That's what the grandparent meant by your "bubble".
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > Most people That still leaves billions of people. What's your solution? Rolling blackouts? > those places Many multi-unit buildings have central heating. Which means central thermal mass "batteries" are more cost-effective on a per-unit basis.
  - bryans 5y ago
    Walter, you are making up science in your head that does not actually exist. I would highly encourage you to do some actual research before you continue to make these incredibly uninformed comments. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29186001 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29186001