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You got me curious. In 2020 (the latest year with data), per-capita electricity consumption in the Philippines was 897 kWh[1] and the average household size was

You got me curious. In 2020 (the latest year with data), per-capita electricity consumption in the Philippines was 897 kWh[1] and the average household size was 4.1 people.[2] This works out to 10.1 kWh/household/day. In that same year, the comparable number for the US was 29.3 kWh/household/day.[3] [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236746/consumption-of-electricity-per-capita-in-the-philippines/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236746/consumption-of-e... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298672/philippines-average-household-size/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298672/philippines-aver... [3] https://web.archive.org/web/20220101185903/https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3 https://web.archive.org/web/20220101185903/https://www.eia.g...

nomel 4y ago
So, one would cover around 16 houses. That’s some incredible tonnage. I wonder if cemented rubble, in a steel housing, could be used.
- schiffern 4y ago
  Hard to say. We're trying to compare the instantaneous flywheel power rate with the average annual household usage. During peak times (when a flywheel would need to discharge), by definition households are using more than average. But it's also true that less than 100% of the electricity demand needs to be time-shifted.
- kerpotgh 4y ago
  [dead]
- ben_w 4y ago
  I doubt it. The energy is stored as rotational kinetic energy, which means you do better by spinning as fast as possible rather than being as massive as possible (just as linear KE = 1/2*m*v^2, rotational KE = 1/2*I*ω^2), which in turn means you care mainly about high tensile strength.
  - mncharity 4y ago
    For perspective, this spinning car-mass has the energy of a fighter-jet-speed car. You could get that energy from mass instead of velocity ... from say a walking-speed supertanker. [] Google does "32 kWh to Joules", and https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy .
silisili 4y ago
I'm not sure per capita is a great metric here. Metrobank gives an 'average' of 200kwh/month that I feel is a mean. I would wager the median is lower, still. The point not being to throw stones, but to say what sounds like little power to Americans could actually do good for a lot more households than it sounds like. https://www.metrobank.com.ph/articles/learn/how-to-save-on-electrical-bills https://www.metrobank.com.ph/articles/learn/how-to-save-on-e...
- schiffern 4y ago
  Both should be statistical means, right? I'm not sure how they arrived at 200 kWh/month instead of 305. Maybe they used numbers from ~a decade ago? Mistakenly using US household size?
  - silisili 4y ago
    I assumed from the few articles that I read, maybe incorrectly, that per capita was taking entire country energy usage and dividing. Which would count stuff like the giant air conditioned shopping malls all over that people hang out in to cool off. The Metrobank article was from 2022, and I feel they are using average household bill. But even that kind of mean is misleading. A single household with central AC would exceed typical US usage, meaning it's negating like what 8 houses? My wife's family lives in the Visayas and pays like 8 to 12 USD a month in electricity. That's a house averaging 5 or 6 people. Even still, they are used to dealing with load shedding and blackouts. And they are one of the few families with a small TV, even. In bigger cities like Manila and Cebu, usage is probably a ton more.
    - schiffern 4y ago
      Ahh, I see what you mean now. Per-household residential electricity consumption, vs per-household total electricity consumption. Correct, I've been using the latter. I can see arguments for both numbers, depending on your goal. Total electricity gives you a "household size slice" of the total economy, which may be more relevant. On the other hand, conceptually the residential number gives you the actual consumption of an actual average single-family house (with the hitch that they're mixed in with 'units' in multi-unit dwellings).

nomel 4y ago

So, one would cover around 16 houses. That’s some incredible tonnage. I wonder if cemented rubble, in a steel housing, could be used.

schiffern 4y ago
Hard to say. We're trying to compare the instantaneous flywheel power rate with the average annual household usage. During peak times (when a flywheel would need to discharge), by definition households are using more than average. But it's also true that less than 100% of the electricity demand needs to be time-shifted.
kerpotgh 4y ago
[dead]
ben_w 4y ago
I doubt it. The energy is stored as rotational kinetic energy, which means you do better by spinning as fast as possible rather than being as massive as possible (just as linear KE = 1/2*m*v^2, rotational KE = 1/2*I*ω^2), which in turn means you care mainly about high tensile strength.
- mncharity 4y ago
  For perspective, this spinning car-mass has the energy of a fighter-jet-speed car. You could get that energy from mass instead of velocity ... from say a walking-speed supertanker. [] Google does "32 kWh to Joules", and https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy .

silisili 4y ago

I'm not sure per capita is a great metric here. Metrobank gives an 'average' of 200kwh/month that I feel is a mean. I would wager the median is lower, still. The point not being to throw stones, but to say what sounds like little power to Americans could actually do good for a lot more households than it sounds like. https://www.metrobank.com.ph/articles/learn/how-to-save-on-electrical-bills https://www.metrobank.com.ph/articles/learn/how-to-save-on-e...

schiffern 4y ago
Both should be statistical means, right? I'm not sure how they arrived at 200 kWh/month instead of 305. Maybe they used numbers from ~a decade ago? Mistakenly using US household size?
- silisili 4y ago
  I assumed from the few articles that I read, maybe incorrectly, that per capita was taking entire country energy usage and dividing. Which would count stuff like the giant air conditioned shopping malls all over that people hang out in to cool off. The Metrobank article was from 2022, and I feel they are using average household bill. But even that kind of mean is misleading. A single household with central AC would exceed typical US usage, meaning it's negating like what 8 houses? My wife's family lives in the Visayas and pays like 8 to 12 USD a month in electricity. That's a house averaging 5 or 6 people. Even still, they are used to dealing with load shedding and blackouts. And they are one of the few families with a small TV, even. In bigger cities like Manila and Cebu, usage is probably a ton more.
  - schiffern 4y ago
    Ahh, I see what you mean now. Per-household residential electricity consumption, vs per-household total electricity consumption. Correct, I've been using the latter. I can see arguments for both numbers, depending on your goal. Total electricity gives you a "household size slice" of the total economy, which may be more relevant. On the other hand, conceptually the residential number gives you the actual consumption of an actual average single-family house (with the hitch that they're mixed in with 'units' in multi-unit dwellings).