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Absolutely. DAM construction is essentially sequential. You can't build the top without completing the bottom. Manufacturing hot water tanks is trivial and highly parallelized. Thousands of manufacturers for parts, all of whom can contribute to the demand.
It looks trivial if you've never done it. If you actually try you'll see that manufacturing a safe, quality product at scale while turning a profit is extremely difficult.
Virtual battery, there is an interesting project to do a similar thing with aluminum smelters where you heat them and operate at full capacity off-peak and then during peak electricity usage you run slower. Since a smelter consumes so much power this can significantly level the grid usage.
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Slightly smarter timers could fix this problem. Raise the tank to 140+ once a day, probably at 4am, and work that into the energy storage regime...
Another issue arises in that the bacteria can propagate throughout the system, repopulating the heater. Some have checkvalves, but I'm no plumber. I urge great caution, although I'd wager you'd be fine, so long as you remain healthy.
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Yeah, timer or grid controlled water heaters are old and busted (especially with bacteria concerns due to a lack of in tank convection). New hotness are heat pump water heaters that are very efficient and can even add cool air to a conditioned spaces by their inherent operation. Electric vehicle charging orchestrated as large aggregate loads are what replaces “the humble water heater.” Tankless heaters are great if y…
Heat pump water heaters do seem promising... But many water heaters live in cold basements... Classic tanked electric is so cheap to make & operate, I have come to think they may always be with us. (Though certainly a heat pump water heater is an easy choice in the right climate)
"This approach can be deployed far faster than dam construction" Can we really manufacturer that many hot water tanks in less time than building a damn?
That 10% is 1 million out of 10 million.
I guess the lead time on water heaters is short enough to hand wave a yes.
"This approach can be deployed far faster than dam construction" Can we really manufacturer that many hot water tanks in less time than building a damn?
But with the water heater solution, every time a water heater is replaced, we get the partial benefits immediately.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another issue arises in that the bacteria can propagate throughout the system, repopulating the heater. Some have checkvalves, but I'm no plumber. I urge great caution, although I'd wager you'd be fine, so long as you remain healthy.
Per wikipedia, it can form biofilms on pipes that will slough off. But the heater is still hitting high enough temperatures to kill it.
If you do the "bare minimum 140f once a day" method, you have to flush all the hot lines with this for long enough to kill it.
All this also presumes correct thermostatic calibration and generally even temperature distribution in a system planned to age with minimal maintenance.
The process isn't instant, you also have to ensure the hot water hits all the lines down the way at the appropriate hold temp and, well, hold it there for long enough.
These outbreaks still occur today. Not a huge problem, but why design such a well controlled hazard back into your potable water?
Virtual battery, there is an interesting project to do a similar thing with aluminum smelters where you heat them and operate at full capacity off-peak and then during peak electricity usage you run slower. Since a smelter consumes so much power this can significantly level the grid usage.
The article just wanders aimlessly between lies.
Pumped Hydro dams are tiny compared to hydro-power or water dams and are beautiful, the same size as solar or wheat farms. A cool seawater based one in Japan - https://www.google.com/search?q=okinawa+pumped+storage+&tbm=...
A good example of a government doing something that worked is the Australian government which wanted to spend money fighting the global financial crisis so insulated homes. Unfortunately deaths from the scheme, which were at the same rate as normal but became larger in number stop people talking about it much.
This tale of heat pump water heaters stopping a dam is rubbish. Where is the mathematics?
Heat pumps are awesome however, go to Technology Connections, not this to learn about them - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J52mDjZzto