Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 1001 posts

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#161

Post by treeman79 »

danielheath wrote: post #139
abetusk wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did qualify that this was not including labor and the other hardware and electronics needed for such a system. The (relatively) high cost is most likely because of labor and (in my opinion) inflated hardware costs of battery and solar panels. Labor is a massive expense and can't be discounted but one could imagine a solar panel "kit" that just includes the hardware that you can install yourself. One could also imag…

> Labor is a massive expense and can't be discounted but one could imagine a solar panel "kit" that just includes the hardware that you can install yourself. Installing high-wattage DC lines without any training at all is a great way to get house fires. Also, I haven't got whole lot of un-shaded roof space. I don't understand why commercial solar isn't even bigger than it is - are they waiting for prices to come down…

Was in a mega rental house and my wife burned her hand on the wall. Someone prior had done some diy electric work. The diy gas lines is what got us in the end.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#162

Post by bilsbie »

abetusk wrote: post #28

Energy? I feel like it's been talked about a lot but maybe not? Solar panels are dropping in cost at an exponential rate [0]. As of this writing, consumer "new" panels are $0.75/W and used are at around $0.30/W right now (I won't give a link as a Google search will do). Battery technology is also dropping at an exponential rate. I believe, with a little effort, one can purchase batteries at about $0.08/Wh. Taken toge…

> Taken together, one can purchase a 30KWh (daily) solar panel and battery storage system for about $4,200

I haven’t researched it but I feel like I’d have pay 20-40K for such a system. What gives?

Is it all just labor and regulations? Why can’t we solve that?

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#163

Post by throwaway787544 »

The stumble over abandonment of ICE vehicles.

By 2030 (8 years from now) at least six manufacturers will have stopped making ICE vehicles entirely, and India claims it will ban the sale of ICE-only vehicles. By 2040 (18 years from now) over half of all new cars sold will be electric, and the UK and France claim they will ban the sale of ICE-only vehicles.

However, there's still not a plan that makes all that sustainable, as we need 30% more grid capacity, an insanely higher number of chargers (1 out of 4 are duds) / service companies / land, China still controls most of the resources for production (of raw resources, manufacturing, & assembly) and now they want the chips too. And the climate picture isn't great either, with not enough new clean energy capacity going online, and only 8 million barrels of crude will be displaced by the estimated number of new EVs. Even with all of this new work, there will be only a small reduction in carbon emissions.

Basically there are so many things that can go wrong in the next 18 years, and so many things we don't even have a plan for, that all the estimates we've been given will result in dysfunction, increased prices, and soaring secondary markets. A lot of people are going to make money just from preparing for things to go wrong.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#164

Post by csunbird »

danielheath wrote: post #139
abetusk wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did qualify that this was not including labor and the other hardware and electronics needed for such a system. The (relatively) high cost is most likely because of labor and (in my opinion) inflated hardware costs of battery and solar panels. Labor is a massive expense and can't be discounted but one could imagine a solar panel "kit" that just includes the hardware that you can install yourself. One could also imag…

> Labor is a massive expense and can't be discounted but one could imagine a solar panel "kit" that just includes the hardware that you can install yourself. Installing high-wattage DC lines without any training at all is a great way to get house fires. Also, I haven't got whole lot of un-shaded roof space. I don't understand why commercial solar isn't even bigger than it is - are they waiting for prices to come down…

Land is expensive. I am actually surprised why the companies don't lease home solar panel kits, e.g. you sign up and they install at minimal cost, and you pay for the electricity generated by the solar panels, but at a reduced rate compared to the grid. The ownership of the panels stay with the company leases them.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#165

Post by sethjr5rtfgh »

YossarianFrPrez wrote: post #66

I don't know about "big" in terms of a viral hit, but in terms of what will change in our day-to-day experience... Here are some wild guesses, mostly along the theme of a societal conversation about and re-thinking of "sustainability" on nearly all levels. * Robotic carts that follow you around when shopping in dense, pedestrian oriented areas and/or stores. Might go hand in hand with the rapid normalization of e-bik…

Some/most of those things aren't a reality because they don't make sense economically.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#166

Post by mcv »

saberdancer wrote: post #149

Russia will collapse.

I fear this is a definite possibility, and it's terrifying. Because the main thing that Russia has, their only real claim to being a major power, and the only reason why they've been able to get away with their invasion, is their nukes. And if the country really collapses, who knows what will happen to those nukes?

I don't mean to upset anyone, and I think the chance of collapse is small, but it's not zero.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#167

Post by kvothe_ »

mikewarot wrote: post #94

Deglobalization -- In the US, we're about to be forced to rebuild all the manufacturing we outsourced since the 1970s. It's not going to go well for thos countries dependent on imported food or energy. It's possible a billion people will face famine in the next year or two as a result of the loss of grain from Russia and Ukraine, along with the loss of Fertilizers (or being priced out of them) Energy Blindness -- We'…

unlikely we'll rebuild locally. We will outsource it to a friendlier country with cheap labor. In 50 yrs the cycle will repeat. (Probably South America.)

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#168

Post by CoastalCoder »

sacrosanct wrote: post #4

Clean Energy, Water Desalination, Nigeria's crackdown on anonymous SIM cards, Monkeypox, Separation of Church & State in a post-Roe world, Computer chips made out of light, The managed decline of Britain, Crackdowns on E2E encrypted messaging apps, Quantum-resistant cryptography, Tesla cars charged by burning coal.

Billy Joel should update "We didn't Start the Fire" with your list.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#169

Post by benstrumental »

philwelch wrote: post #136
656565656565 wrote: post #135

Population control? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_population_planning We will have no choice eventually.

If we have to introduce population control it will be to increase the population. All developed countries are below replacement.

Until per capita carbon emissions are below zero, falling population is a good thing.

Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?

#170

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

We saw a post the other day about using DALL-E and GPT-3 in conjunction with one another. I think more of these systems working together is going to revolutionize basically everything, especially when democratized with cheaper consumer hardware.
Post reply on HN