Spotted_Lady@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
Well, those technologies can only partially address the heating issue. For instance, there is a low-tech way to use solar energy in the winter. You can directly recycle aluminum cans to produce a collector to assist on sunny winter days. You'd need some means to shut it off when it cannot help. And wind can still charge battery banks to produce AC from a power inverter and drive heating appliances.
I think donating solar cookers to places like Darfur is somewhat of a hack. The reason to donate those is that it reduces the need for the women to gather firewood at night when the soldiers who have turned that area into a virtual prison are most likely to commit rape. That is only a hack since really, the junta needs to be abolished.
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
If you check the quote (somehow its showing up rather low res unfortunately), the German chancellor said : "100% renewable". I agree with you, renewables are excellent when mixed with traditional power like nuclear. But 100% renewables... yeah, I don't know what he is smoking.
Solar heating is brilliant for homes. Does not work for apartment buildings, and likely why it hasn't been implemented at an urban level is due to transmission loss and impracticality. Best case I know of large scale solar heating was in a remote German village where they installed a giant parabolic mirror, to catch the rare sunlight they got over a mountain that blocked most of it. As I remember, it was extremely expensive, but the only option for them.
Spotted_Lady@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
If I remember right, the huge mirror was more for psychological reasons than for energy per se. Even if you take vitamin D capsules and artificially add UV rays or even good lighting at all, there are wellness benefits to natural sunlight that you can't effectively reproduce.
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
Yes, I think you are right. Was like 7-10 years ago. I vaguely remember they were very happy to finally get some sunlight.