Anyone electrifying?

[rusty ol ranger]

Get enough people together and you will.

Unfourtantly im a dying breed. Even among gearheads. Thats why i get salty sometimes. Im not a rollover and conform, follow the crowd type of guy. Combine that with my opinionated nature, and i rub people the wrong way.

Trust me, its not just trucks. Its politics, society, everything.

 

[stmitch]

Impoverished people living in impoverished nations are going to be able to purchase solar panels or a wind generator? If it is some kind of public funding that is going to provide energy, traditional methods are much cheaper and more reliable. It's a stretch to compare an very simple windmill water pump and an electric wind generator that is quite complex and very expensive. If there ever is going to be any help for these people, simple is best. That has been historically demonstrated, especially in the agricultural field. There are some groups that have realized that, and they are engineering very simple and reliable ways for communities to do things, such as easier ways to dig water wells with available resources.

Agreed that simple is best. Do you have a source to support the claim that traditional energy methods are cheaper than renewables in these cases? I'd believe that they can be more reliable, but cheaper would be a surprise to me.

 

[RonD]

Solar panels are good for 25 years for sure, but 35 years would be my guess for current "good" models
And they just generate less power after 25 years, 10% less, not a big drop

Yes, making them is a negative effect on environment, but 0 effect after 3 to 6 years of use, then its all positive if they are being used to prevent other negative environmental impacts, like burning natural gas, oil fuels and coal

After the pollution we created with fossil fuels and plastics over the last 100 years to bring up the environmental impact of making solar panels or wind turbines or batteries is the height of folly
We already know we F@#Ked up big time, i.e. "don't shit where you eat", well that ship has motored off(not sailed, lol)

And what other countries, or people do, is not in your control, only what you do is in your control
If someone throws their trash out the window on the side of the road, should you do the same?
Its a personal choice, simple decision, and it does change the world for the better if you don't and for the worse if you do

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Agreed that simple is best. Do you have a source to support the claim that traditional energy methods are cheaper than renewables in these cases? I'd believe that they can be more reliable, but cheaper would be a surprise to me.

I think you would have to look at output per dollar spent.

 

[Snoranger]

Here’s the thing Rusty… you’re not rolling over and taking anything.
Gasoline will be available until the day you, me, anyone we know dies. It’s not going anywhere. It may get more expensive, but we have no control over that. There’s no reason to get worked up over the push for more EVs.
You have your ideas and needs in what a truck must do, great. Other people have their ideas and needs in what a truck must do, great. That’s why there are so many different options. You can literally tailor your truck to fit your lifestyle and your budget. There’s no need to tell other people they’re wrong because their truck doesn’t fit your lifestyle. They aren’t wrong, and neither are you… you both have different needs in a truck.

You don’t like EVs, fine don’t buy one. No one is making you buy one.(ignore California!) Yes there’s a big push to put more EVs on the road, but ICE vehicles aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. There’s no need to get all defensive and fight against EVs. Just share the road… that’s not rolling over and taking it. That’s minding your own business. You want to be left alone and allowed to live your life the way you want to?? Respect is a 2-way street, give the EV owners and crew cab truck owners the same respect you want.

 

[Snoranger]

Agreed that simple is best. Do you have a source to support the claim that traditional energy methods are cheaper than renewables in these cases? I'd believe that they can be more reliable, but cheaper would be a surprise to me.

The only thing that makes traditional energy cheaper is that we’ve been doing it this way so long. There’s less need for innovation. It’s tried and true.

 

[stmitch]

The only thing that makes traditional energy cheaper is that we’ve been doing it this way so long. There’s less need for innovation. It’s tried and true.

In general I do agree, but if we're starting from scratch in developing nations, I'm not sure that's even true. It takes a lot to build a powerplant and all of the transmission infrastructure. I'd love to see a cost breakdown of that approach vs equipping a small village or each house with some renewables.

 

[RonD]

Yes indeed, "Give me that old time religion, its good enough for me"
Humans don't adopt or embrace changes easily, its a survival trait

So very valid point that "tried and true" is an accepted phrase
And it does make for more competition and so less costly products
US is the home of the "better mousetrap", Capitalism

I have no doubt better solutions and products will always be on the way

 

[19Walt93]

I don't need more people to start a movement. I do that quite well all by myself, thank you.

Congratulations, everyone should have something they're good at.

 

[oldgeek]

Congratulations, everyone should have something they're good at.

Oh no. Good at? Stand back. I'm a professional!

 

[sgtsandman]

Most decent panels have 25 year warranties these days. Solar panels lose production capacity as they age (median 0.5% per year):

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/51664.pdf

It seems like most of the warranties that I've read cover "Failure" of the panels which is somewhere around 80% of original production capacity. But even at 80% of original capacity the panels would still be producing electricity, so it's not as if they shut down completely and leave you in the dark.

Inverters have shorter lives than panels, but they're less expensive.

Good to know. The information I got was either old or bad then.

 

[superj]

i think that once they get solar, wind, whatever as good as what we have now, it will be fine for everyone. its just not there so people are scared to change to try it. once it feels like the old, no more trouble changing people over.

my neighbors wind turbine was like 9 or 15k to put in, i forget what he said. it worked good for two or three years and than the bearings started freezing up since we live on the ocean. he said it got to be a pain to go up and change the bearings every few months. now his wind turbine is just a fixture in the back yard.

if they weren't so expensive, i would happily put one of those in my yard. maybe even two or three since my yard is pretty decent sized. i would even do the solar panels on the roof with no issues but the dang batteries are my issue. i don;t know what size a person need in the attic to hook all the stuff to but big batteries are really expensive and wiring is going to be even more expensive since i am not an electrician.

i just need some electrician buddies and a solar and wind company wanting to put stuff up for free to use as advertising. than i will be right on board

 

[stmitch]

i would even do the solar panels on the roof with no issues but the dang batteries are my issue. i don;t know what size a person need in the attic to hook all the stuff to but big batteries are really expensive and wiring is going to be even more expensive since i am not an electrician.

i just need some electrician buddies and a solar and wind company wanting to put stuff up for free to use as advertising. than i will be right on board

Most people don't do battery backups (although if you get the right EV, then it can be transportation and battery backup in one). Most people aren't going completely off grid with their solar setups. They're still grid tied and can use the grid for power when the panels aren't making enough, or if the system isn't sized to supply all of your power needs. This also means that any extra electricity the panels generate can go back into the grid, and you can be paid for that power generation (how much depends on where you live). This approach can still be both financially and environmentally beneficial even if you're not 100% off grid.
For example, in summer your AC could be running entirely off solar during the day (when you're using the most energy and the grid sees highest demand) and then go back to grid power at night (which shouldn't be very much because it cools off and you're probably sleeping). I've read some solar owners in Houston that only pay the monthly service fee on their electricity bills each month because getting paid for the extra power they generate offsets the cost of power they use at night. I'd imagine the right roof in Corpus could be very similar.

If you live in the southern half of the US, you probably get enough sun exposure for solar math to work out in your favor (ignoring trees, roof size, orientation, etc).

If you're interested in a rough idea of how solar might work on your specific property, you can enter any address in google maps here to get an idea of the viability:

Project Sunroof

Enter a state, county, city, or zip code to see a solar estimate for the area, based on the amount of usable sunlight and roof space.

sunroof.withgoogle.com

 

[superj]

the guy across the street was getting paid for his extra but he said hte batteries were the most expensive part. i know zero about any of this stuff though. i would totally be down for the no battery's part though. i guess i should call some of those companies that offer to install this stuff for free

 

[superj]

i don't even mind being the test guy for this stuff. i even signed up to be a test guy for some of the va stuff to help out other people in medical stuff.