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I‘m curious, Texas seems to get a lot of sun - how common are private solar installations on the roofs? Combined with a battery you could lower your electricity

by ndr42 2y ago

I‘m curious, Texas seems to get a lot of sun - how common are private solar installations on the roofs? Combined with a battery you could lower your electricity bill and would be safe from this kind of problem. In my neighbourhood in northern germany about 5% of the houses have them. They pay for themself in about 5-10 years. edit: spelling

blantonl 2y ago
Solar installations in suburb cities in Texas are extremely common.
wannacboatmovie 2y ago
Are you suggesting that the vast ghettoes and low-income areas in Houston all install solar panels and Tesla Powerwalls? Many people in hardest-hit areas struggle paycheck to paycheck- if they're working at all.
- ndr42 2y ago
  No I do not. I was not aware of the vast ghettoes. But some kind of middle class has to exist as the article headline talks about air conditioning - in Germany air conditioning is not common even in the upper middle class - this may be different in the US - idk.
  - laweijfmvo 2y ago
    in the US many people expect their houses to always be between 68 and 72 degrees fahrenheit (or some other ridiculous numbers), year round.
  - nemomarx 2y ago
    Air conditioning is very common and very cheap here - you get little window units for a few hundred and such.
  - chasd00 2y ago
    “Vast ghetto” is a bit extreme but a lot of the gulf coast is very poor indeed. Texas has plenty of very poor neighborhoods as does Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida right in prime hurricane paths.
  - vel0city 2y ago
    It turns out the climate of Houston and Germany are pretty different. Who knew.
  - Falkon1313 2y ago
    Germany is way farther north though. Houston is further south than Israel, about the same latitude as Kuwait City and the Sahara Desert. The temperature averages 20-30°F warmer than Berlin (33-40°C), or put another way, Berlin's record high temperatures are a typical day in Houston. Also very humid since it's right near the ocean. Comparison charts:https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~75981/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Houston-and-Berlin https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~75981/Comparison-of-... So yes, air conditioning is very common there, even if you're poor that's one thing you will try to find a way to get. In the ghettos it's normally an old window unit, not central AC. Also shotgun shacks, which are houses setup with a straight-through floorplan so that if you open the front and back doors the whole thing becomes kind of a wind tunnel. Not as good as AC, but better than nothing. In those neighborhoods, you'll also often see people (especially elderly and children) hanging out at the neighborhood church or mom and pop store, where there is air conditioning, if they don't have AC or it isn't working.
- galdosdi 2y ago
  This is what financialization is for -- allowing homeowners to get "free" panels in exchange for paying back out of the savings over the years. Leasing panels is not uncommon. If these kinds of services don't exist in enough quantity, government subsidy could help.
  - akira2501 2y ago
    > allowing homeowners They don't own the homes. They likely rent them. > government subsidy could help. More government money going directly over the people who most need it into the hands of the people who least need it. The property owner class redirects another crisis to their benefit.
    - galdosdi 2y ago
      The landlord could put panels on it, and pass the lease fee on, and advertise the house as, eg "$1000 a month plus $100 FLAT FEE ELECTRICAL! You never pay more than $100 per month for electric AND IT'S STEPS AWAY FROM EVERYTHING" or some such
collinmcnulty 2y ago
Solar installations are common and growing. I put one on my Houston roof this year. However, battery backups to allow you to keep the lights on with your solar when the grid is down are much more expensive. Many people have gotten gas backup generators in the past few years instead.

by ndr42 2y ago

blantonl 2y ago

Solar installations in suburb cities in Texas are extremely common.

wannacboatmovie 2y ago

Are you suggesting that the vast ghettoes and low-income areas in Houston all install solar panels and Tesla Powerwalls? Many people in hardest-hit areas struggle paycheck to paycheck- if they're working at all.

ndr42 2y ago
No I do not. I was not aware of the vast ghettoes. But some kind of middle class has to exist as the article headline talks about air conditioning - in Germany air conditioning is not common even in the upper middle class - this may be different in the US - idk.
- laweijfmvo 2y ago
  in the US many people expect their houses to always be between 68 and 72 degrees fahrenheit (or some other ridiculous numbers), year round.
- nemomarx 2y ago
  Air conditioning is very common and very cheap here - you get little window units for a few hundred and such.
- chasd00 2y ago
  “Vast ghetto” is a bit extreme but a lot of the gulf coast is very poor indeed. Texas has plenty of very poor neighborhoods as does Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida right in prime hurricane paths.
- vel0city 2y ago
  It turns out the climate of Houston and Germany are pretty different. Who knew.
- Falkon1313 2y ago
  Germany is way farther north though. Houston is further south than Israel, about the same latitude as Kuwait City and the Sahara Desert. The temperature averages 20-30°F warmer than Berlin (33-40°C), or put another way, Berlin's record high temperatures are a typical day in Houston. Also very humid since it's right near the ocean. Comparison charts:https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~75981/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Houston-and-Berlin https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/9247~75981/Comparison-of-... So yes, air conditioning is very common there, even if you're poor that's one thing you will try to find a way to get. In the ghettos it's normally an old window unit, not central AC. Also shotgun shacks, which are houses setup with a straight-through floorplan so that if you open the front and back doors the whole thing becomes kind of a wind tunnel. Not as good as AC, but better than nothing. In those neighborhoods, you'll also often see people (especially elderly and children) hanging out at the neighborhood church or mom and pop store, where there is air conditioning, if they don't have AC or it isn't working.
galdosdi 2y ago
This is what financialization is for -- allowing homeowners to get "free" panels in exchange for paying back out of the savings over the years. Leasing panels is not uncommon. If these kinds of services don't exist in enough quantity, government subsidy could help.
- akira2501 2y ago
  > allowing homeowners They don't own the homes. They likely rent them. > government subsidy could help. More government money going directly over the people who most need it into the hands of the people who least need it. The property owner class redirects another crisis to their benefit.
  - galdosdi 2y ago
    The landlord could put panels on it, and pass the lease fee on, and advertise the house as, eg "$1000 a month plus $100 FLAT FEE ELECTRICAL! You never pay more than $100 per month for electric AND IT'S STEPS AWAY FROM EVERYTHING" or some such

collinmcnulty 2y ago

Solar installations are common and growing. I put one on my Houston roof this year. However, battery backups to allow you to keep the lights on with your solar when the grid is down are much more expensive. Many people have gotten gas backup generators in the past few years instead.