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hx8yesterday at 9:19 PM2 repliesview on HN

I honestly don't think I would be comfortable off grid without 4x+ that size. Of course, environments vary so significantly that these numbers don't translate well when discussing them without geographic context.

My primary concerns would be consecutive cloudy days, and winters with very short days. While my actual heating/cooling needs are more mild than global averages, I think the combination of short daylight hours and increased heating needs makes off-grid solar unviable for climates closer to the poles, especially those not near sea level. I do think relaying on propane or wood for heating might make off grid viable for these locations, but that introduces questions of scalability and increased carbon footprint.

There is some argument that burning wood should be considered carbon neutral if the trees are replanted and used as a renewable resource (Carbon is released to the air, and then captured by the next tree in a cycle), but the land intensive approach wouldn't scale to meet the heating needs of a significant portion of the population. Additionally it ignores the carbon required to grow, harvest, process, and transport the trees or the alternative uses the wood might find elsewhere.

My point is for others to take their local climate into consideration before thinking that 5kw/14kWh would be enough for them to go off grid.


Replies

londons_exploretoday at 12:37 AM

I think it entirely depends if you want a 'just works' solution or you're willing to adjust your lifestyle day by day based on availability of sunlight.

Merely a 10 watt panel in the Netherlands has been fine whilst camping for weeks, but obviously I have to severely compromise on modern life - 10 watts powers a lamp for a few hours in the evening and a phone charge each day.

sneakyesterday at 9:54 PM

In these sorts of rare situations it is of course possible to run a generator to charge everything up. Off-grid doesn’t mean on an island.

The insane energy density of fossil fuels means this is an excellent “emergency” back-up plan should the sun not shine often enough.

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