zbrozek

9 ms·

91.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Construction is expensive but at least not difficult. Entitlement and permitting are the real nightmare here. It's why we basically don't build anything.
92.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Duh? Cost of living here is spiraling out of control and housing is the biggest line item. But it's going to take something big and heavy (like federal intervention) to fix it.
93.
by zbrozek 2y ago
As we can see from the interconnection queue, gas-powered generation will continue to go up . It just isn't going to go up as fast as it has in the past, and that growth is thoroughly overshadowed by growth from solar and wind. If we
94.
by zbrozek 2y ago
The article is about the US, so I'm limiting my scope to that market. I would need to do more research to competently talk about the rest of the world. There is definitely inertia in construction; it takes many years to design, permit,
95.
by zbrozek 2y ago
That's certainly true, but the grandparent was suggesting that there was little demand elasticity. My personal micro-economic experience leads me to think otherwise.
96.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Unfortunately $0.20/KWH hasn't been a thing for a long time. Since January 2017, in fact. Here's a graph that I made: https://zlnp.net/serve/pge_rates/pge-electric-rates-tou.png Here's the hist
97.
by zbrozek 2y ago
And we're all commenting on an article about how growth is picking up again and we're finding it difficult to rise to the challenge. We've only recently found non-industrial (thus easier to permit and therefore possible to gr
98.
by zbrozek 2y ago
That's beside the point and misses it entirely. Solar and wind are the cheapest thing to build right now, so it's not going to be coal going forward. We have an absolutely enormous interconnection queue because it's impossi
99.
by zbrozek 2y ago
In much of California, electricity prices are high enough that you shouldn't get an EV and you shouldn't electrify your space or water heating because gasoline and natural gas are cheaper per delivered utility. When my marginal co
100.
by zbrozek 2y ago
That's sort of my unsaid point - we've made it politically infeasible to build much of anything in the United States. You can see it in everything from a local planning meeting when someone tries to build a fence or house all the
101.
by zbrozek 2y ago
China electricity production from 2000-2020 overlaid on US electricity production from 1950-2023. Seems like it is definitely possible to achieve a steeper slope. https://zlnp.net/serve/us_vs_china-electricity_productio
102.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Also it's more-or-less the same pressure. It's the cold supply pressure pushing water out of your tank or through your tankless water heater.
103.
by zbrozek 2y ago
There are better and worse plastics for this, though you're right that it is always a consideration. TPU and PET self-adhere extremely well if you need strength in that axis.
104.
by zbrozek 2y ago
These days I bet Klipper doesn't care about how many axes are simultaneously moving.
105.
by zbrozek 2y ago
I have yet to hear a good explanation of why the odometer isn't sufficient. Either the cost to manually read is outrageous or there's nefarious secondary purpose.
106.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Exactly, and there is plenty of unmet demand from people who can afford high prices. It makes sense to build the most profitable thing you can sell.
107.
by zbrozek 2y ago
Builders build bespoke one off things for crazy people. Developers build bulk housing to try and make a profit, and they maximize FAR.
108.
by zbrozek 2y ago
You may have noticed a broad swell in house prices across the nation as the pandemic freed folks to work remotely. 10% vacancy is generally considered ok. 5% is what New York state defines as an emergency. Even Buffalo is at 4.9%. The sho
109.
by zbrozek 2y ago
You build the biggest thing you can within a parcel because there is plenty of demand at the top of the market. Want more, smaller homes? Reduce or eliminate minimum lot sizes, setbacks, constraints on number of units, and process required
110.
by zbrozek 2y ago
I love your website. It's clear and to the point. I immediately knew what your product did; thank you.
111.
by zbrozek 3y ago
If they're estimating costs up to 50% of building new corridors to reconductor existing ones, it seems pretty likely that wading through an enormous amount of nonsense is involved.
112.
by zbrozek 3y ago
That sounds like we're short millions of units nationally, not just in a few cities.
113.
by zbrozek 3y ago
Rental vacancy in Buffalo is 4.9%. https://www.rate.com/research/buffalo-ny Better than NYC, but still low. For reference, the state defines anything below 5% vacancy as a 'housing emergency'.
114.
by zbrozek 3y ago
The article didn't say that at all. And vacancy rates in NYC aren't 30%. They're ~1.4%. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/nyregion/apartment-vacanc... I'm not claiming that this kind
115.
by zbrozek 3y ago
It's surely a drag, but I think we don't know how big of a drag it is. My expectation is that it's small. What are the overall vacancy rates? Single digit percent? If yes, then it's not a big impact.
116.
by zbrozek 3y ago
Yes, you read correctly. They refused to provide service at the nearest corner of the property (where it would be a short drop from a pole) and insisted that it be at the primary dwelling. That was going to be more than some maximum distanc
117.
by zbrozek 3y ago
A lot of European cities own the conduit and then lease space in it to private companies. It's not exactly the same, but a good approach all the same.
118.
by zbrozek 3y ago
Comcast wanted $210k-$1000k to hook up my house inside of city limits, on a public street, where all other homes on that street already had service.
119.
by zbrozek 3y ago
That's not what Euclid v. Ambler did, however. We had controls on legitimate health and safety concerns (e.g., pollution) prior to that ruling. The ruling dramatically increased the scope of police powers expressly and specifically aga
120.
by zbrozek 3y ago
We would do well as a nation to overturn Euclid v. Ambler. That Supreme Court decision was a mistake.

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