5 ms·
Missing from your calculus is the cost of creating, cleaning, maintaining and eventually replacing the hardware. None of that is "free" - it is merely externali
by DetectDefect 10mo ago
Missing from your calculus is the cost of creating, cleaning, maintaining and eventually replacing the hardware. None of that is "free" - it is merely externalized to a vulnerable population or to your future self.
- microtonal 10mo agoMissing from your calculus are the healthcare costs of every person in a country breathing in fumes from electricity plants that burn coal and fumes from cars that burn gasoline. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666759220300500 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266675922... (And a gazillion other studies.)
- DetectDefect 10mo ago[flagged]
- microtonal 10mo agoOne should definitely think about the children when choosing coal/gasoline vs. full electric. In fact we did and we have an electric car, replaced our gas cooking top by induction, and our gas-based heating by a heat pump. Last time I boarded an airplane was in 2019 I think.
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- DetectDefect 10mo ago> In fact we did and we have an electric car, replaced our gas cooking top by induction, and our gas-based heating by a heat pump. Last time I boarded an airplane was in 2019 I think. Fantastic virtue signaling. Of course totally devoid of any mention about the individuals picking raw materials for those electric car components though, since they're not "our" children.
- triceratops 10mo ago> Of course totally devoid of any mention about the individuals picking raw materials for those electric car components You think elves drill oil and mine coal?
- nehal3m 10mo agoStrange that in your comment history you're all about the democratization of technology, but you seem to be against solar of all things? Talk about decentralized power!
- DetectDefect 10mo agoThe only thing strange is trolling comment history instead of rebutting the argument made on its own merit.
- boringg 10mo agoNot supporting OP because I think hes backwards on the matter. However in Canada the electricity that is being burned isn't coal based - so you need to compare the actual grid not some hypothetical grid.
- microtonal 10mo agoThat's a fair point, though I think OP's recommendation to switch to solar is also to people outside Canada and most of the world is still burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.
- boringg 10mo agoOP probably shouldn't have been replying to a Canada based question.
- DetectDefect 10mo ago[flagged]
- boringg 10mo agoThe vagueness of your statement makes it impossible to discern any actual point outside of some broad anger/frustration packaged as humor.
- jnovek 10mo agoYou are being very aggressive and confrontational in your comments and people are responding in kind.
- DetectDefect 10mo agoNot really. People are angry because it is likely their first time hearing a contrarian narrative about solar energy, which likely challenges their own sunk-cost fallacy as solar panel owners.
- vixen99 10mo agoEspecially when they are offshored to China. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01308-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01308-x
- cmxch 10mo agoThose costs can be safely deemed as 0, especially when you use Reed Elsevier.
- adrianN 10mo agoPanels have warranties of over twenty years now. They pay for themselves much earlier. You probably have to replace the inverter earlier, but that’s not a huge expense. I don’t know anybody who lives in a place where it rains who cleans the panels on their roof.
- DetectDefect 10mo agoOh, okay. Does a warranty cover sweeping snow off your panels and washing them many times throughout the years? I guess if one does not value time, then solar panels could be considered "free" - but this is a bizarre sacrifice.
- boringg 10mo agoYou don't bother with the snow. Winter is low production energy due to the suns positioning - it melts in the spring and your back to producing. Most solar power is between march - september anyways.
- lostlogin 10mo agoWhere are you getting this maintenance schedule from? I haven’t touched ours, they are clean and have been going fine with zero maintenance, though admittedly it’s only been a year.
- DetectDefect 10mo ago> I haven’t touched ours, they are clean and have been going fine with zero maintenance, though admittedly it’s only been a year. > Where are you getting this maintenance schedule from? The solar panel owner does not know the required maintenance they are now permanently responsible for. Ibid, your honor.
- rsynnott 10mo agoAs above, cleaning solar panels is generally close to pointless.
- munk-a 10mo agoRoof maintenance is a need in Canada regardless of the presence of solar. Solar roofs do demand additional maintenance but the benefits over relying on natural gas for power (which is the alternative in Canada outside ON/QC) is worth it. I will stand by your statement from the philosophical point of view that nothing in life is free and everything has its trade offs - but this is a pretty clear positive. In addition, Canada has pretty decent workplace safety enforcement for the sort of workers that'd be doing the maintenance - it certainly isn't perfect but it is something that Canadians seem to find important.
- account42 10mo agoYeah of course solar is cheap if you get everyone else to pay for it.
- testing22321 10mo agoI’ve had the system 18 months now. I’ve never once cleared snow or washed them. We get tons of snow. Zero maintenance.
- direwolf20 10mo agoSolar panels last practically forever. Despite the official lifetimes of 25-30 years, that was a conservative estimate for budgeting purposes, and they're still working after that time, with moderately reduced efficiency (around 70-80%).
- micromacrofoot 10mo agoI've had my system for 10 years and maintenance has literally been 0. Rain and snow clean the panels. Panels themselves warrantied for 30 years but will likely last longer. Roof-based panels also take on some roof wear, increasing longevity of roofing as well.