From @kmfdm284.bsky.social 1995 album, Nihil. Released in 1995.

This is stuck in my head on repeat as of late.

(Apologies for odd formatting. Speech to text while walking the dog is a fickle mistress)

It is located in the basement and so they already dehumidify that space. I didn’t have to do much other than look up their rebates after showing them the relevant clip from your video.

Thanks for making topic, approachable, and digestible for the layperson.

Weirdly, I find some comfort in skepticism. For too long, the message had been “trust me, bro” from Authority figures. Healthy skepticism tempered by an open mind is how we make legitimate progress.

It’s the “get off my lawn” skeptics that worry me.

I guess my intuition knew this, it’s just putting into words and THINKING about it more critically cements it.

It’s easy to take for granted the fact that thinking critically takes time and effort.

Thanks ADHD!! 🫠

Fossil fuels make it to my door with 100 energy and then produce 2000 energy of work, but that energy is gone from the system forever.

I don’t really like this analogy either, but hopefully it illustrates the point.

Another way to look at it, solar at least slows the bleeding

Correct. I actually just got onto to write what you did in a slightly different way. Compared to fossil fuels kind of breaks the analogy.

If we look at energy usage as a system more broadly, solar panels would take out 1000 from the system to produce, but it would add 900 back in, for a net -100.

I guess it’s actually more abstract. If it takes 1000 energy to get a solar panel installed on my roof and it only produces 900 energy over its lifespan then it’s still a net -100 energy.

The cost of each unit of energy is what things like subsidies fiddle with.

It would be great to quantify the energy, not just the cost. Consumer costs can include things like subsidies that hide their true impact. (See fossil fuels)

If the net energy production does not exceed the energy required to produce, you don’t really save anything.

I’m confident we will get there over time and we will become more efficient in production. It’s just a hidden cost that most don’t realize (and those cynical that do love to point out)

I would shy away from it. Not that it isn’t true, but it’s not your schtick. A vague “what others would have you think” would be sufficient IMHO.

I’m all for green energy and electrification (I drive an electric car) but I do worry about the hidden costs; mining, manufacturing, transportation, etc

One part of me: That’s interesting AF. I totally want to watch it! 😎

The other part: I’ve ridden on those. Do inREALLY want to know how the sausage is made?!? 😬

Do the zoos switches not just turn on and off the circuit they are connected to, if the controller is down?

If you have smart bulbs, then that may be true. Stop buying smart bulbs 😁

All of my bulbs are plain old LED bulbs. If the controller dies, the switch still turns on and off.

Flash your lights when the temperature reads 69° (nice!)? You can do it.

Plus, HA lets you integrate with things you may not think to put in the same ecosystem. Think gas meter, Alexa, wall switches, an thermostat. All in one place.

One app, not 10 different ones. Plus, you can automate them together. If you want Alexa to announce if you have a gas leak? Easy.

I’ve been using the GE Z-Wave wall switches since at least 2015. They were ~$30 per switch and ~$80 for the Mi Casa Verde bridge/controller.

Tariffs have killed the pricing on the switches, but you can dip your toes in ZWave for probably around $200 for HA hardware and some switches.

“Identify and minimize dependencies” is a valid and understandable way to think about this stuff. I often think of my childhood of simple and unconnected things and then find myself looking at hurricane lamps and cabins in the middle of the woods some hours later.

A strange dichotomy. 😁

I think it’s easy to undervalue that reassurance (especially when sleep-deprived). I sure did until I had it.