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Does that use a lot of energy?

hannahritchie.github.io

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Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#91

Post by sien »

0x53 wrote: post #65
philipkglass wrote: post #9

The author Hannah Ritchie works on Our World In Data and also publishes the fantastic Sustainability by Numbers substack. It's in the same vein as the late, great David MacKay's Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air . This tool has its own recent substack post. See the comments too, especially the one by Chris Preist that contextualizes the energy usage of streaming video (a topic that has also been discussed on HN…

And wrote a great book: Not the End of the World

Yep. It's a very good book and well worth a read.

It's interesting to see how upset people are on Goodreads about that book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/145624737-not-the-end-of...

The top reviews are mostly people angry with Ritchie for not being a catastrophist.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#92

Post by scarmig »

skybrian wrote: post #56

I see it has a ChatGPT median query, but for those of us using coding agents this isn't so relevant. Here's a post that makes an estimate: https://www.simonpcouch.com/blog/2026-01-20-cc-impact/ > So, if I wanted to analogize the energy usage of my use of coding agents, it’s something like running the dishwasher an extra time each day, keeping an extra refrigerator, or skipping one drive to the grocery store in favor…

I end up shrugging. For a Claude Code power user, today, a day's use uses less electricity than a morning commute in an electric car. To say nothing of the costs to keep your workstation running, your building heated or cooled, etc. Not quite a rounding error, but a relatively minor component of overall usage.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#93

Post by rtcode_io »

Aa Digital ID is getting forced on the public, it is dangerous, almost traitorous to demand/suggest ordinary citizens need to care about energy efficiency to the point of giving up their freedoms/conveniences!

Focus your thinking on solving/promoting energy production instead!

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#94

Post by MerrimanInd »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #62
dylan604 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Train locomotives have used diesel powered generators that then powers electric motors. Would this be less efficient than battery powered EVs? Or better asked, what would be the most efficient use of gasoline?

Nissan makes a range of these under the e-power branding: https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/INNOVATION/TECHNOLOGY/ARCHI...

In the auto industry these are usually called a series hybrid and there have been a handful. The Chevy Volt (though it had the ability to directly connect the engine to the wheels at highway speeds), and the BMW i3 and i8, the Fisker Karma/Karma Revero. The new Ram Ramcharger truck and the second gen Ford Lightning will also be series hybrids.

It's a really good drivetrain that was unfortunately made untenable for a long time by a combination of regulation and market forces.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#96

Post by keybored »

measurablefunc wrote: post #21
philipkglass wrote: post #9

The author Hannah Ritchie works on Our World In Data and also publishes the fantastic Sustainability by Numbers substack. It's in the same vein as the late, great David MacKay's Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air . This tool has its own recent substack post. See the comments too, especially the one by Chris Preist that contextualizes the energy usage of streaming video (a topic that has also been discussed on HN…

Who pays for their research?

What narratives and framings does a blog post or “visualization tool” serve? What does their overall work? What’s their recurring ideological slant?

Could be wholesome and altruistic. Or it could be something else.

Someone can be an honest ideologue (useful idiot) without being directly funded by someone shady.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#97

Post by Waterluvian »

alnwlsn wrote: post #60

I attached a generator with some supercaps and an inverter to a stationary bicycle a few years ago, and even though I mostly use it as a way to feel less guilty watching Youtube videos, it does give me a quite literal feel for some of the items on the lower end of the scale. - Anything even even halfway approaching a toaster or something with a heater in it is essentially impossible (yes, I know about that one video)…

Any sense what the efficiency ratio was for your setup?

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#98

Post by keybored »

My electricity provider has a rough breakdown. Which I was kind of incventivized to look at because of money. Heating is the big one. The electricity bills are seasonal.

Next.

I can do my laundry at night because the electricity is cheaper.. oh wait I can’t. That’s apparently unsafe. So I have to do it in the evening. Okay. I’m not going to move my whole small freetime evening around to save a buck on the half-evening long wash cycle. So nevermind that.

The nagging about turning off all the lights were always a consumer blaming ritual that doesn’t matter.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#100

Post by NortySpock »

nomel wrote: post #75
alnwlsn wrote: post #60

I attached a generator with some supercaps and an inverter to a stationary bicycle a few years ago, and even though I mostly use it as a way to feel less guilty watching Youtube videos, it does give me a quite literal feel for some of the items on the lower end of the scale. - Anything even even halfway approaching a toaster or something with a heater in it is essentially impossible (yes, I know about that one video)…

Where I am at least, people using less power because power because power need to profit more, is wild . They literally had record profits the last few years, rather than being forced to lay down solar. I think power should be a global endeavor, not some local for profit business with complete regulatory capture that makes competition illegal. Yes I'm angry, because I pay more in electric than most anywhere in the wor…

Energy security is national security.

Cheap electricity means you can do things that made "no sense" with expensive electricity. (e.g. smelt aluminum)

Cheap electricity means you can underbid regions that have expensive electricity...

As Technology Connections said, "Panels that cover your electrical needs for the next 25+ years? In the Midwest, we call that a good deal!"

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