|
|
Post by triitout on Nov 20, 2022 3:39:22 GMT
|
|
Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390 
|
Post by Jem on Nov 20, 2022 17:06:38 GMT
I can only read the headline and first few lines before it starts to grey out - I think a subscription or registration is required?
I would be keen to read it though. There has got to be lots of progress made in this area of housing and self sufficiency. I can't understand how they cant make roof slates solar now at least, without the need to add them later to an already existing roof.
And we are going to need to grasp he nettle of local/community/houshold water recycling very very soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by triitout on Nov 20, 2022 18:24:04 GMT
Jem, I just did a copy and paste from my Bloomberg Green newsletter. It's not the whole article but pretty much the whole story. Water appears to be a huge issue out west with the Colorado River drying up. Jim would know more about that.
Bloomberg
By Todd Woody
Is this the future of single-family housing?
At first glance, Durango at Shadow Mountain looks like just another cookie-cutter subdivision of new homes sprawling across an arid valley in Menifee, California, a growing exurb 90 miles outside Los Angeles.
Walk into a $577,990 model home on Hopscotch Drive, though, and the possible future of low-carbon, climate-resilient housing comes into view. In the garage, a sleek white battery stores electricity generated by the 16 rooftop solar panels, alongside an electric car charger and an electric heat pump water heater. Out back is a heat pump that warms and cools the 2,906-square-foot house, and an induction stove sits in the open-plan kitchen. Altogether, these appliances will reduce energy consumption up to 40% in Durango compared to a conventional home, according to builder KB Home.
A model home in the Durango development in Menifee, California. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg
But what you can’t see is what could truly transform the energy system. The 78 homes under construction at Durango are connected to form a microgrid, a self-contained power system that can operate independent of California’s grid if it fails. Another 141 homes being built in an adjacent subdivision, Oak Shade at Shadow Mountain, will be connected in a second microgrid. The two developments will share a 2.3 megawatt-hour “community battery” to provide additional power in the event of an outage.
While other Menifee residents are subject to rising electricity and natural gas prices, homeowners at Durango and Oak Shade will effectively be power brokers. Technology from SunPower, which is supplying both the solar panels and batteries for each house, can automatically maximize energy production and reduce costs. When a Durango resident commutes to work, for example, SunPower can turn down their thermostat and put appliances in economy mode. When that same resident gets home and utility rates spike, the house can draw on the solar electricity stored in its battery, or sell that power back to the grid. A smart panel also lets homeowners choose which appliances to power in a blackout.
KB Home executive Scott Hansen stands in front of the Durango model home. Photographer: Kyle Grillot
Some residents will have another option if the power goes out: using their car to charge their house. Ten homes across both developments will come with bi-directional chargers that can transfer electricity from an EV battery to the house, and those homeowners will be able to lease Kia EV6 crossovers from South Korea that have bi-directional batteries. Kia’s US EV6 models have battery capacities ranging from 58 kilowatt-hours to 77.4 kilowatt-hours — enough to keep a home powered for hours or even days.
“In California, when it's really hot and there are fires, you're threatened with the power turning off,” says Dan Bridleman, senior vice president for sustainability, technology and strategic sourcing at KB Home. “We felt like there was probably an affordable way to build resiliency, not only at the house level but also into the community.”
Read and share a full version of this story on the web.
Like getting the Green Daily? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to breaking news on climate and energy, data-driven reporting and graphics and Bloomberg Green magazine.
Worth your time
At COP27 this week, representatives from nine countries sat down to dinner. This was no panel discussion or policy debate —
|
|
|
|
Post by wheelson on Nov 20, 2022 19:20:16 GMT
First, I’ve always had a huge interest in alternative energy, and amassed a small library of books such as The Low Cost Energy Efficient Shelter, that was in the mid-1970s, post that energy crisis. Although I never succeeded in going all in, I’ve tried to follow those goal whenever possible.
Unfortunately, I think the problem lies in that part of the book title “Low Cost”. I own a home built around 1920 and making it totally energy efficient as in zero carbon would be technically and financially impossible. I would also guess that a huge number of homes in the USA and elsewhere would fall into that category. What we need is new and exciting technology not only for new but existing construction. Make it an Energy Challenge Competition with a huge monetary prize. And make existing technology an affordable ally, not enemy, while always moving forward. “Build a better mousetrap . . .” is the way. Gearing up for WWll and the space race should have taught us it can be done.
Bikes and e-bikes should be an incredibly large part of this efficient new world.
Best,
John “wheelson”
|
|
Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
|
Post by Jem on Nov 20, 2022 20:52:28 GMT
Jem, I just did a copy and paste from my Bloomberg Green newsletter. Many thanks. I''l give that a read and might even find a bit more if I Google later. |
|
|
|
Post by oldroadietehachapi on Nov 21, 2022 20:58:14 GMT
As California goes, this is not all that exceptional for new construction. Solar panels and being "electrical ready" is currently required for all new construction. Appliances in new construction must only be electric as of 2030. House wiring must provide for electric cars and so on. What is special is the common backup grid and each house having a backup battery system. This is an interesting idea; lets see what happens. As for water, Menifee gets most of its water from the Colorado river. California has an enormous water infrastructure that benefits major urban areas. We here in the country must help pay for that infrastructure, but receive no direct benefit.
As for my house; it was built in 1989. Like John, to convert my old house to modern alternate energy (get rid of my natural gas appliances) would be very costly. Since I do not have air conditioning, my electric bill is small, averaging less than $100 per month. My frugality in power usage excludes me from receiving income tax credit for solar power (funny, they only reward the bad actors). California has a program to subsidize solar conversions, but they require a contract stating the house will only be sold to a buyer with low income.
Cheers Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by wheelson on Nov 21, 2022 21:50:33 GMT
Here in Western Pennsylvania, there is abundance of natural gas as well as coal. The tendency is to move away from coal but it is still mined and sold overseas. Natural gas and nuclear produced electricity seems to be the transition vehicle to get to the clean stuff. We have an abundance of wind turbines on most of the ridges heading east from our area and have had them for many years. Solar seems to be getting more popular and is springing up on quite a few homes around the area. No solar “farms” to speak of yet.
My hope is to move steadily forward while not leaving ourselves vulnerable to shortages, which have a negative effect on the clean movement.
One on-topic idea I have is to install solar heating collectors on my (ingested) salt box style garage (the long side sloping roof faces due west) and have shop space for my bike endeavors in our colder seasons (lower 30sF today).
Best,
John “wheelson”
|
|
|
|
Post by triitout on Nov 22, 2022 1:47:08 GMT
The Mrs and I have tried to embrace the practical upgrades as needed and that made good sense economically and environmentally. The process is one of running the numbers, blending them with dreams of being part of positive change and finally marinating them in our gut feelings about taking a leap of faith. I can report that our modest 1950's, 1700 square foot house is going in the right direction. After our new roof went on in 2016, we were finally seeing that solar panels were going to make sense. Five plus years of generating 90-100% of our electric usage is awesome. We are rapidly closing in on the break even point. The old oil burner is near the end so we've now decided to move forward with air source ducted heat pump for heating and cooling and another one for hot water thanks to generous rebates from the local utility along with reduced kWh rates and the 2023 tax credit under the new IRA bill. The idea of being free of heating oil contracts and their volatility and present very high prices will soon be over. I'll take my chances with kWh pricing from my utility being more stable for the electric needed beyond what I'm producing. Down the road, I'll post up on how that turns out. I wish I had a bigger roof for more panels! I've eliminated gasoline as well for all my local driving when again I was able to use utility rebates and tax credits to buy a 2017 Nissan LEAF shortly after the solar panels went on. Excellent for local driving but definitely not a road trip car. Bonus....using an inverter allows you to use the LEAF traction battery for limited home power in case of a blackout. Progress and change are incremental. Last bit will be replacing our 20 year old Honda with another EV for the Mrs daily driver. As we are not getting any younger, I'm jumping in to the deep end of the pool while I can. It's a liberating feeling to be able to plan and execute these changes.  Edit: I guess Viscount bicycles felt pretty revolutionary, and bold when they first came out which is what attracted me to them in the same way as fossil fuel free home and transportation changes do today. Nothing's changed! |
|
|
|
Post by brianbutler on Nov 22, 2022 13:54:15 GMT
Most of the current ideas to conserve energy feel like tinkering around the edges. Real solutions are probably too painful to implement on a short time horizon - things like stop driving everywhere; live in smaller, more centrally located housing; eat a vegetarian diet; fix things instead of throwing them away; stop buying things you don't need; sharply reduce high-speed travel for pleasure; be dirtier and wear dirtier clothes; etc. In other words, adopt a lifestyle similar to that found in places that don't use much energy. Those are all things you can do without government intervention, which is good because even suggesting a political solution would probably trigger a civil war.
At the beginning of this year, I decided to replace all car trips of less than 10 miles with cycling. It turned out to be a miserable failure. I think I replaced two trips in total. I might try to reflect on why it did not work and modify the goal to something that could work. Or maybe work on some of the ideas mentioned above.
Brian
|
|
Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
|
Post by Jem on Nov 22, 2022 20:22:33 GMT
Most of the current ideas to conserve energy feel like tinkering around the edges. Real solutions are probably too painful to implement on a short time horizon - things like stop driving everywhere; live in smaller, more centrally located housing; eat a vegetarian diet; fix things instead of throwing them away; stop buying things you don't need; sharply reduce high-speed travel for pleasure; be dirtier and wear dirtier clothes; etc. In other words, adopt a lifestyle similar to that found in places that don't use much energy. Those are all things you can do without government intervention, which is good because even suggesting a political solution would probably trigger a civil war. At the beginning of this year, I decided to replace all car trips of less than 10 miles with cycling. It turned out to be a miserable failure. I think I replaced two trips in total. I might try to reflect on why it did not work and modify the goal to something that could work. Or maybe work on some of the ideas mentioned above. Brian I think you are absolutely spot on there Brian. I'm resisting giving anything more than that , as I've witnessed many a nice forum in up-roar over politics.  |
|
|
|
Post by brianbutler on Nov 22, 2022 22:05:56 GMT
Most of the current ideas to conserve energy feel like tinkering around the edges. Real solutions are probably too painful to implement on a short time horizon - things like stop driving everywhere; live in smaller, more centrally located housing; eat a vegetarian diet; fix things instead of throwing them away; stop buying things you don't need; sharply reduce high-speed travel for pleasure; be dirtier and wear dirtier clothes; etc. In other words, adopt a lifestyle similar to that found in places that don't use much energy. Those are all things you can do without government intervention, which is good because even suggesting a political solution would probably trigger a civil war. At the beginning of this year, I decided to replace all car trips of less than 10 miles with cycling. It turned out to be a miserable failure. I think I replaced two trips in total. I might try to reflect on why it did not work and modify the goal to something that could work. Or maybe work on some of the ideas mentioned above. Brian I think you are absolutely spot on there Brian. I'm resisting giving anything more than that , as I've witnessed many a nice forum in up-roar over politics. I'm not particularly political, at least not particularly partisan. I just think the changes necessary to reduce energy use enough, whether those changes are advanced politically or personally, are grossly underestimated.
Maybe we should think about how to use all the heat accumulating in the oceans and atmosphere to our advantage. After all, we seem to want more energy and that's where it is! Imagine how much electricity could be generated by harnessing a hurricane. The details are left to the reader as an exercise.
Brian
|
|
|
|
Post by oldroadietehachapi on Nov 23, 2022 0:54:48 GMT
My main hope for a clean future is fusion power generation. If we put the same effort into its development as we did the Manhattan project, I think it would not be far away.
Cheers Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by triitout on Nov 23, 2022 2:13:38 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by oldroadietehachapi on Dec 13, 2022 14:56:22 GMT
|
|
Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
|
Post by Jem on Dec 13, 2022 21:51:24 GMT
Jim -They are leading with this on UK news programmes today. First time they got more power out than they put in. So, a significant event. However , it's a long way off being workable they say. |
|
|
|
Post by oldroadietehachapi on Dec 13, 2022 23:44:33 GMT
Some estimate the first fusion power plant in about ten years; I hope so.
Cheers
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by triitout on Dec 14, 2022 1:59:42 GMT
Some estimate the first fusion power plant in about ten years; I hope so. Cheers Jim The sooner the better! Let's hope for exponential speed innovation rate to take it to the commercial application level. |
|
