Solar Power, The Evolution I have seen.

[RE]

Nice one.   Good choice.
RE

For my area perhaps. Cold winters that reduce mile/kwh by -20%, but not that bad, but the traction control on electrics is awful. You get stuck pulling into your driveway if there is a little bit of snow slime there. So not optimal for any snow slick conditions. So perhaps REALLY not optimal for your clime. A 3 season car in Alaska probably.

Not a very good choice here for sure, and the penetration so far as I have observed is not very good.  Cold weather battery performance also depends on how cold for how long it actually gets.  Typical winter temps in the lower 48 of 20-30F might give you -20%, but a month solid of sub-zero is another can of tuna entirely.  Heating the cabin while using the vehicle takes a shit load of the juice as well.  We also set a new snowfall record this year, so performance on slippery roads is a big factor.

"3 season" also gives false impression that it would be good 3/4 of the year, but winter conditions exist here in fall and spring as well.  Nov-Mar can all be ugly, so it's almost 1/2 the year it's not a great choice of vehicles.

I doubt they will ever make much sense up here, unless you can afford both types.

RE

[TDoS]

People do not believe in anything unless they have a reason.  And when they want something bad enough the reasons they find depart from reality.

It sounds as though you have just provided the causal mechanism for all the peak oil claims of the early 21st century. Bravo Sir!

[18hammers]

My panels, the most recent are at least 12 or more years old, likely in the 15% efficiency range. I got to look over some of these new bi facial panels that appear to be the new hot thing. The first thing I noticed was the size, something like twice or more bigger, maybe 2.5 times the size but to my surprise not heavier than my old ones, very thin aluminum frame and the glass must be thinner. They claim something like 20% efficiency from these. I am impressed, greater wattage for materials used. I just adjusted the settings on my Mppt controllers taking roughly 3000 watts off line until next oct. don't need the power from them, I just use my panels with the pwm controllers now, wind turbine now has the phase wires shorted until next winter. No point letting it wear the bearings when I don't need any power from it. 

[K-Dog]

People do not believe in anything unless they have a reason.  And when they want something bad enough the reasons they find depart from reality.

It sounds as though you have just provided the causal mechanism for all the peak oil claims of the early 21st century. Bravo Sir!

I can agree with you.  But claims go both ways.  So which is easier to find?  Someone who says the world is getting warmer because that is what the world wants to do, with nothing to do with humans.  And that wee have oil enough for 500 years.  Or someone who says this shit is going to be so hard to get in twenty years that our society must collapse and people will starve.

Which is the more popular delusion?  If you are having trouble.  I suggest door number one.

M. King Hubbert however is in a class by himself.  He was the leading American geologist.  He also was not wrong.  What blew most peak oil claims up is that the proponents were too attached to a single peak.  They were enamored with the simplicity and did not look deeper.  The truth is that the amount which can be extracted has increased with advancement of technology and the state of the art.  This moves the peak but does not turn the idea of peak oil into bullshit.  Reality actually suggests the ride down the peak will resemble a Seneca cliff.  When the state of the art is lost it does not come back.

A doomer with a scientific bent, and that fully describes me, realizes that things are working out exactly as we thought they would twenty-five years ago.  The timeline is working out different, and that is all.  That does not mean much to me.  Just because people can't predict exactly when something is going to happen does not mean it will not happen.  Collapse happens like the Iceland volcanoes erupt.  You will drive yourself crazy following 'predictions' of eruptions which are sure to happen.  Check every day, and after a few weeks of no eruption you will think the volcano will not erupt.  You have sour grapes.  Then the volcano erupts  Like it did twice last year. 

So it is with collapse.

[RE]

OK Doomsteaders with Solar PV setups here (NH & 18H), there is now a new "Ultimate" system addition you need to make your setup 100% self-suffient on an annual basis.  In addition to your batts, you need to install an eloctrolyser, compressor, storage tanks for H₂ and a H₂ fuel cell for your LDES seasonal differential.



Bonus here is you can also run your tractor and pickup truck on the hydrogen as well with an ICE that takes H, which I think one that uses wood gas would work with minor modifications. Together with your low power mini EV car or trike scooter, you'll have your transportation needs covered as well as home power needs.

Besides the fuel cell all the rest of the equipment you can put together DIY from off the shelf components available at Home Depot.  For the fuel cell generator, I have found models for around $2500 selling on alibaba, and I think you could do even better than that.



Be the first on your block to have the Full Monte of Juice Independence!

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/01/new-approach-shows-how-to-power-homes-eclusively-with-hydrogen-solar-and-batteries/

New model shows how to power homes exclusively with hydrogen, solar, batteries

RE

[K-Dog]

The truth about hydrogen has been known for quite a while.  But.............

[RE]

The truth about hydrogen has been known for quite a while.  But.............

Definitely it has its deficiencies.  Vehicles will need to be designed with much larger fuel tanks and will have less range and performance.  The H-ICE variation really is only useful for heavy equipment where you need the torque.  In automobiles, going electric with a fuel cell makes much more sense.  As a fuel for aviation it looks close to useless, except of course if Hindenburgh-phobia can be overcome and we bring back dirigibles. 

However, IF enough of the necessary infrastructure could be built for the distribution and IF enough renewable energy production facilities making Green Hydrogen came online and IF enough affordable cars running either on traditional Li-I batts or H fuel cells could be built by say 2050,  then there is a SLIM hope that we can keep the dieoff down to maybe just 50% of the population rather than 95% and have a technofuturistic utopia instead of becoming stone age hunter gatherers after the collapse. 

Think positive!

RE

[K-Dog]

The truth about hydrogen has been known for quite a while.  But.............

Definitely it has its deficiencies.  Vehicles will need to be designed with much larger fuel tanks and will have less range and performance.  The H-ICE variation really is only useful for heavy equipment where you need the torque.  In automobiles, going electric with a fuel cell makes much more sense.  As a fuel for aviation it looks close to useless, except of course if Hindenburgh-phobia can be overcome and we bring back dirigibles. 

However, IF enough of the necessary infrastructure could be built for the distribution and IF enough renewable energy production facilities making Green Hydrogen came online and IF enough affordable cars running either on traditional Li-I batts or H fuel cells could be built by say 2050,  then there is a SLIM hope that we can keep the dieoff down to maybe just 50% of the population rather than 95% and have a technofuturistic utopia instead of becoming stone age hunter gatherers after the collapse. 

Think positive!

RE

Think positive??  You still have not figured out where you are going to get the free juice for making hydrogen.  And when you find your free energy source remember 20% of your power is lost in conversion.  50% if you make it yourself.  But that won't matter because you found free energy.

Robots who mine asteroids for metals can bring some hydrogen back from space too.  The sun is made of it.  A big  spaceship can land on the sun and get some.  We can call her the Solar Express.


Wherever you find your energy source you can use the empty space to sequester CO2.  It the math equations don't balance take psychedelics until it does not matter, when 2 + 2 = 5 you will be in the sweet spot.

And if you solve the technical problems and have your holy dispensation to violate the laws of the universe, inquiring minds would like to know how capitalism which is only a reactionary political force that responds to 'markets' can do the mojo.  Capitalism is incapable of pulling itself up by its bootstraps to create a market where one does not exist.

I suppose the conventional way of developing all this on the public dime, and then giving it to a billionaire for a song or for free. (Russian oligarch style.) could do it.

Hydrogen is a thought-stopper.  Hydrogen tech exists so you don't pay attention and for no other reason.  I say that with confidence because Hydrogen is only a transport mechanism like the wires on a power pole.  Hydrogen is not a source of energy.  You cannot make an energy source because it always takes more energy to make an energy source than you get from using it.  This is a law of the universe and you can't dance around it.

You have to find pure hydrogen for it to be an energy source.  The nearest source of hydrogen is 93 million miles away down a deep gravity well.  Imagining hydrogen as the power of the future is every bit as deluded as thinking you can collect the CO2 in the air and turn it back into gasoline.

Clean CO2, the power of the future.

Scientists at Dreamland University have found a way to turn CO2 in the atmosphere into methane.  This makes CO2 the new freedom molecule.  How is this done?  Professor John Legpuller and his team have ...

Same equation different numbers.

[RE]

You still have not figured out where you are going to get the free juice for making hydrogen.

From all those wind farms, solar pv farms, hydro plants, tidal generators, geothermal plants & micro nukes they have on the drawing boards.

RE

[RE]

Despite the problems with lower energy density and greater storage capacity required for Hydrogen powered vehicles identified in the video Kdog dropped on, clearly there is enough room on Garbage Trucks to fill your H tanks and still have enough room left over to haul away the trash.

This may seem small, but there are a LOT of garbage trucks on the road in every community.  They are also commonly used for snow removal.  Obviously also, trucks which haul trash can haul just about anything else that is a solid, so it has even wider application.  Tanker trucks also are a likely application.

Yea, either the carrying capacity of the truck will be a little less or the truck will need to be a little bigger or it will need to refuel more often, but it can still do this essential part of maintaining our current type of civilization. IF (it's a big if) enough of the various renewable energy production facilities are built and if there are enough electrolysis plants built along with them, just about all the transportation currently done using FFs could be done with H.  The main exception is Jet Aircraft, which probably is not practical, but that is not an essential system, except for Billionaires who would commit Seppuku if you took away their private jets since life would not be worth living.

So despite the Negative Waves from Kdog, I remain a strong advocate for H production from renewable energy sources.

https://electrek.co/2024/05/07/americas-first-hydrogen-garbage-truck-arrives-in-las-vegas/

America's first hydrogen garbage truck arrives in Las Vegas