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Remember: We need most of our energy in the winter, for heating, when there is less sunlight. I'm a huge fan of solar, but until we have things like flow batte
by gwbas1c 5y ago
Remember: We need most of our energy in the winter, for heating, when there is less sunlight.
I'm a huge fan of solar, but until we have things like flow batteries, it's only a partial solution. (A flow battery would allow stockpiling charge during the summer to use in the winter.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_battery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_battery
- thehappypm 5y agoIs it true that “most” energy is used for heating? I don’t think that’s the case.
- megaman821 5y agoIf we are talking about just residential climate control, yes. If you include water heating with that even more yes. People don't think about the energy intensity of heating much since most people heat by burning things (natural gas, propane, coal or wood), as opposed to using electricity. Electricity is more efficient but not always as cheap as burning things.
- hebrox 5y agoWith a heatpump it can be as cheap.
- thehappypm 5y agoSo, no. “Most” energy is not used for heat. I imagine the biggest single draw is transportation.
- megaman821 5y agoIf you are expanding this to include more than just residential, then still most energy is used for heat. Almost all industrial uses are heat based. Locomotion is number two.
- hannasanarion 5y agosheesh. 2002 called, they want their fossil fuel talking points back. A: Nobody is proposing making the grid 100% solar all the time. B: there is no need for new magical technologies to make energy storage feasible. There are dozens of different battery technologies that scale well, including iron-air and zinc-hybrid, and grid-scale pumped hydroelectric storage has existed for over 100 years but has never been prioritized because emissions have historically been an unaccounted externality of generation.