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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?

#191

Post by namibj »

noosphr wrote: post #127
ramidarigaz wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Whenever you do the real world calculation for what an electric cars CO2 profile looks like it turns out to be the same as a gasoline car unless your country is majority nuclear. Not at all true: https://www.carboncounter.com/ US-specific but you can even pick a state and it will use the generation mix of that state

You charge your car at night. At night the sun doesn't shine. The mix is mostly coal or if you're lucky mostly gas. This is the type of bullshit I mean by doing real world calculations.

Maybe today, but basically everywhere south of Canada solar is so high ROI that it's just a question of time before sunlight hours have electricity so much cheaper that the primary daytime parking locations become the favored (slow-)charging spots.

For you to prefer charging there your employer only has to charge you less during the day than your utility charges during the night, so the day/night rate arbitrage can easily pay for the metering hardware and installation (at the next opportunity to install without having to dig the parking lot up just for the chargers), with the rest being profit to incentivize the managers to install/offer this.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#192

Post by eru »

nomel wrote: post #164
eru wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. Sounds more like you guys should be lowering barriers to entry, not setting up a global non-profit cartel.

True. I suggested global because it allows for scale with copy/paste designs, where things like nuclear could actually become viable. Where I am, we have a solidly aligned state government. There's no concept of consequences for anyone in power. They're paid by the local companies to pass laws to make competition legal. Some are investors. All corrupt. That's what you get with a solid political alignment.

Vote with your feet (and wallet), and support anything that makes people voting with their feet easier.

It's the McDonald's theory of policy: you don't vote on their burgers at the ballot box, you just go to Burger King or get a doner kebab, if you don't like it.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#193

Post by zparky »

zahlman wrote: post #183
londons_explore wrote: post #181

Interestingly, the latest generation of LED lights are so efficient that it makes little financial sense to bother having a light switch. 330 lumens per watt from recent Phillips bulbs! The cost of having an electrician wire that switch is probably more than a little 2.5 watt light will use in it's lifespan - particularly when you account for the fact lights in hallways are probably in use most of the time anyway. Ad…

What if you want to turn it off to have darkness?

engineer vs end user

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#196

Post by b40d-48b2-979e »

dmd wrote: post #195
b40d-48b2-979e wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're trying to converse with a LLM. It's made up.

jfc. What is the point? What do people get out of doing that?

I don't know, but HN in particular has an AI-sycophancy problem where I see this most common versus other link aggregator sites.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#197

Post by Otterly99 »

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…

Thanks for sharing this.

I also was under the impression that queries cost were mostly meaningless, but it seemed only is true for fresh sessions and short queries. I have to say, the result is less dramatic than I expected but still more significant for heavy users (such as myself).

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#198

Post by lesuorac »

eru wrote: post #149
NortySpock wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!"

I love Technology Connections, but he has no idea what discounting is in economics. Or at least he writes his videos as if he doesn't.

What discount rate are you using?

Solar has one of the lowest capital costs [1] so the discounting works in it's favor. And then the non-discountable operating costs also works in its favor since the fuel supply (light) is free.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source#...

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#199

Post by lokar »

bethekidyouwant wrote: post #165
lokar wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I charge during the day, from my rooftop PV panels. Over a year we are net negative on grid consumption.

This means you don’t take your car to work, which isn’t typical

I produced over 400kWh last week, in February.

Re: Does that use a lot of energy?

#200

Post by Leno1225 »

noosphr wrote: post #168
alexfoo wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pumped hydro is one solution. You bank the excess wind/solar using gravitational potential energy and then draw on that whenever you need to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station

Yes, we just need to build the mountains first.

Yeah, or water towers. No need to play god here.
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