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The main thing I'm looking at is eliminating CO2 emissions as best I can. I'm not in control of them all, but where I am in control I'm working to eliminate. Bo
by sxates 5y ago
The main thing I'm looking at is eliminating CO2 emissions as best I can. I'm not in control of them all, but where I am in control I'm working to eliminate. Bottom line is that we need to get emissions to zero as fast as possible. With that in mind, the energy cost of new appliances that are run on renewable energy pays dividends before those appliances are at end of life, and existing working gas appliances fall into a sunk-cost fallacy IMO.
It doesn't matter if I have 1 GW of solar and batteries and EVs and the whole grid is converted to renewables and I only eat vegan from my own back yard, etc. If my home furnace runs on gas it's emitting CO2 to run. There was literally an exhaust pipe running out the side of my house for the furnace, water heater, etc. The only way to eliminate those emissions is to eliminate the appliance.
I don't know what the break even cost on all this stuff is, because I frankly don't care. I did do the math on the heat pump water heater vs. what we were paying for the gas water heater (there was a time where the water heater was the only gas thing running), and the new water heater saved us about $30/mo in energy costs just comparing gas to electric. And with solar panels the savings over a gas heater are even greater. I figure break even on a very high end water heater is <4 years.
[edits because I mixed up answers to another comment]
- bool3max 5y agoWhy do you personally care about eliminating CO2 emissions?
- UncleMeat 5y ago
- throwawayboise 5y agoGranting your premise, it's still not a problem upon which individual actions like this have any impact whatsoever. What OP does with his house, heating it with gas, electric, wood, or coal is not going to matter one bit on a global scale.
- UncleMeat 5y agoThere are almost zero people on the entire planet whose personal impact is noticeable at this scale. But so what? We need both individual and policy action. “At scale, nobody notices the harm I’m doing” can be used to justify all manner of antisocial behavior. I don’t buy the argument.
- refurb 5y agoExistential? As in humans go extinct? I’m going to have to ask for a source.
- ryukafalz 5y agoIn addition to the obvious point mentioned in a sibling comment (existential threat to humanity)... Switching to zero-emissions alternatives now means less adjustment later when the polluting versions are (hopefully inevitably) banned.
- tekknik 5y agoWhen they are banned however there will likely be incentives, cheaper prices and better technology. Switching now makes even less sense.
- Zerverus 5y agoTragedy of the commons right there.