No joke being a firefighter - in California, the wildfires moved so fast that people escaping burnt in their cars. Holy shit.
Heat wave coming
- Thread starter lenny
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I think I told you the story years ago when I was lifelined out of a runaway fire, and got a flame haircut…..I can’t be certain but I’m pretty sure ,at the spot I was clipping on to the helicopters tether….I left a little puddle that would not have burned.
The pilot went against direct orders on how to approach the muster point, I was located at, just to get to me in time…..he flew me into base camp , dangling in mid air thirty feet under his Helo….blasting CCR’s “Green River” over his loud speaker.
I still get the chills when I hear that song.
Every region has their own comparative advantage. In BC, Manitoba and Quebec, that is hydro power. It makes no sense for the province to invest in solar for the near term, given the current technology and BC's climate. Since you love your tax money so much, I'm sure you are aware of how little money you pay for your electricity compared to other parts of the country and the world. All other forms of energy aside from those that are very niche to their region (e.g. run of river) that can only generate a miniscule amount compared to what is needed, are simply not efficient. BC Hydro is a crown corporation, meaning the money they make goes into your pocket.
Electrical load has gone up, but I don't think it is at an increasing rate. I am not a betting man, but I would be willing to bet very large sums of money that there is zero chance that an average house will require 400 amp service in 10 years. Energy management (especially in BC) is going to shift away from simply delivering the load. There are other ways to manage it. Honestly, I could go on for a while, but I'm not sure if there's much discussion to be had here.
Infrastructure isn't ready for solar panels to feed energy back into the grid - so while you can use it when it's available, you can't sell excess back to Hydro yet. Until that is addressed, I don't know if Hydro would allow such installations due to safety concerns, unless you can segregate it entirely from Hydro's service. Solar technology has advanced but it's nowhere near ready for residential use yet. I don't think we're going to even sniff it in the next 5 years. I'd say 10 years perhaps for some kind of initial rollout. I'd keep an eye on Tesla's solar roof, but that project is FUBARed right now. They were only able to deliver a tiny fraction of the demand at a price that isn't even within reach for the top 20%.
If you want to save the environment, change your diet.
Can’t wait to have some carnal sweaty sex with an amazing provider this week… Mmmm
Sounds like you are ok with the status quo. I know we get cheap hydro compared to other parts of the country. But in other parts of the country, the electrical system is set up to take extra from solar power producers (eg. built house that sells hydro back to the electric company).
Here in BC it is limited because of politics and the vast amounts of energy hydro produces in BC. Notice that they are building Site C, for future energy needs?? Why not give people a break and let them sell back to BC Hydro. Mostly because of the competition; if people go off grid in BC, where will BC hydro make money.
The future of energy is electric. Either from renewables like solar and wind, and there is also hydrogen or even Nuclear (better nuclear plant designs that are alot safer than enriched plants like 3 mile island). But to produce hydrogen it take electricity to separate O2 and H2. That takes energy. Solar, Wind, hydro or nuclear.
Any type of economy in the future will require energy. Since we are bad on fossil fuels due to CO2 emissions electricity is it.
For technology available right now, there is the electric car. Might not go as far as a gas engine. There are designs in for new batteries and new materials for batteries, that will give better and longer charges of the battery for a electric car. But the convivence you have today, you will still want tomorrow.
For that you need electricity.
My house has 200 amps. Add in convivences like dishwasher (20 amp), stove/oven (40 amp), hot water heater (30 amp), , electric heat, AC (big one in summer), a hot tub (50 amp), a steam room (steam generator is 40-50 amp) and there is gonna be little amps for car charging. Recharging phones and ipad etc, (most people don't calculate that ). Also tools in the garage. table saw, band saw, dust collector also add up. Now you aren't gonna use all these items at the same time. That pretty much is the limit of an 200 amp panel, if I want to slow charge car batteries. And the more people in the family the more you use all your electrics.
But a electric car charger will come in about 12 amps over 12 hours. See ref below. To charge faster it draws more power. According to ref that is 4 hours. To charge faster it will require 3 phase power. Industrial grade connection.
http://www.evelectricity.com/chargi...designating,able to charge at the 12 amp rate.
Ultimately people will want to charge their cars like they do at a gas station, a quick 5-10 min stop.
Now imagine if you had solar and a bank of batteries that could do all of the above for your normal house hold needs and fast car charging. The energy from the sun is free. Solar panels have come down in price and in the future will be cheaper. Batteries will store more energy. Paying 600,000.00 to 800,000.00 for a house, you could add on 30/40 thousand for a good solar system and batteries. If they last 15 years, that is 2700/year for all your electrical needs. About 260/month.
Today you can have all the convivences you have on a sailing ship as you have in your home for household (cooking and cleaning and AC ); running off a bank of solar panels.
I hate myself for responding to someone who has shown time and time again that he simply ignores valid discussion points and pushes his own narrative... but what can I say, I'm a bit of a masochist.
Also LOL WTF 600-800k for a house? Are you a time traveler? Or are you from some parallel universe?
The first seven words in my post were LITERALLY "every region has their own comparative advantage". What works for them doesn't work for us because the market (surprise! including you!) would rather pay less money for electricity!
Saying that our energy source here is limited because of 'politics' is a simply cop-out for something you have no explanation for. Again, you have ignored valid discussion points: the technology isn't available yet, let alone a suitable climate. Give me what you're smoking if you think technology and infrastructure is readily available to sell back to grid. You really think people will spend 20k-50k for technology that can only intermittently support a fraction of their energy needs? Even with the most affordable technology assuming it can support my entire load (guarantee it can't in Raincouver) the payback period is over 40 years! Please stop talking out of your ass. There's no "break" for people selling back to BC Hydro. I can tell you with 100% confidence that BC Hydro would be more than happy if residential customers go off grid. BC's energy demand can only be met within the province in the next ~10 years and then BC has to look at alternative methods. Residential customers are obviously charged less than commercial and industrial customers, so if there's a shift away from residential demand due to customers going off grid. It benefits BC Hydro in the long run. So, no, the energy source isn't limited in BC because of politics. It's because hydro power is the cheapest source for consumers.
Are you serious? This is like saying water is wet. This sentence might've meant something in the year 1900, if not earlier.
So you basically just argued my point for me and said 400A service is not feasible in 10 years then? Nobody uses them at the same time, let alone wonder about AC, hot tub, and a steam room for an "average house". You seem to confuse reliance on electricity with the consumption of electricity. Although correlated, they aren't the same thing. Technology advancement means electronics are produced more efficiently. Smart homes with integrated time-of-use is a thing for the future (already is for some techies) - in BC I'd guess we're 5-8 years away from that now that we have the infrastructure to implement it, though it's been in discussion for many, many years already.
Hard disagree. Nobody is going home to do a quick (level 3) charge. That's like going home to take a shit only to go back out. Just like public washrooms, there needs to be charging infrastructure, and the province is slowly acclimating to it (both private and public).
Keep dreaming (especially for Vancouver/BC) for all the reasons I have already stated (battteries won't do shit here for obvious reasons). Also, you've seem to assumed that the cost of the solar roof is for the versions that are meant to supplement the main source (utility) while assuming that it is capable of supplying your entire demand. The technology that can support off grid consumption is much more than 30/40k, let alone needing enough sun for that. Move to an ultra sunny place, and then maybe that can be reality in 5-15 years. Nowhere even close to feasible in Vancouver.
Also LOL WTF 600-800k for a house? Are you a time traveler? Or are you from some parallel universe?
No you cannot. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is and go off grid then?
You know BC is alot bigger than just the million dollar and above houses in Vancouver. House prices are different all over the province and the more you pay for a house like over 1 million-- maybe you the buyer should say alternate form of power should be included.
Canadian Provinces Average House Prices April 2020
| Province | Average House Price | 12 Month Change |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | $736,000 | + 7.6 % |
| Ontario | $594,000 | – 3.2 % |
| Alberta | $353,000 | – 7.5 % |
| Quebec | $340,000 | + 7.6 % |
I grew up in the Okanogan(semi desert region), it is quite sunny there. Yes it rains on the coast, but even on cloudy days solar works, just not as efficiently. Germany is not a sunny country either, yet they have lots of solar.
You seen to think solar only works if the sun is shinning, solar panels work in the presence of light from the sun. You can also go for wind power too.
In BC you are limited to how much you can sell back to BC Hydro, should you decide to add more capacity(like double or triple) and try to make money from your installation.
As for selling back electricity; people in Ontario have been selling back to the government there for years. The technology does exist and has existed for some time to sell back into the great big government grid.
So you think batteries don't do shit.
https://www.silent-yachts.com/silent80/
If the batteries can make a boat move and provide household load for the boat too (oven , stove top, ac, water-maker (RO machine), lights, hot water heater, electronics for boat and computers and phones, heat and small power tools). I think batteries can handle it. Especially since houses aren't required to move, the batteries will handle a normal domestic load including AC.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/outdoor-living/solar-panels-accessories/solar-panels.html
Canadian tire has solar panels. These are not the best ones out there. https://news.energysage.com/best-solar-panels-complete-ranking/
And yes I would love to pay less for electricity....
You should watch some of those shows of people going off grid. They are not paying 200,000.00 for a solar panels and system (controller, converters and batteries and panels) to supply them with electricity. They are doing it on the cheap.
As for the future of electricity, there is some speculations that with more advance battery tech and lightweight components, they can make an electric plane.
The problem is that the BC government makes you jump thru loops and hoops, all in its own interest to keep BC hydro viable and in business.
https://www.hydroquebec.com/data/documents-donnees/pdf/comparison-electricity-prices.pdf
The cost is that BC is #4 in lowest price after Montreal(hydro), Ottawa, Toronto(souther Ontario is supplied by Nuclear and other types, there is not enough transmission lines from Northern Ontario to southern Ont for its big hydro dams up north) and Winnipeg (hydro). Still don't think you are being price gouged to support the BC government.
BC Hydro has had a net metering program for ages. It works fine for residential. I personally don't think our climate and power economics make it worthwhile, but you can certainly do it.
I was about to say thank you for correcting me and that I was wrong to think that you were talking about 'homes' instead of detached houses, but you plucked random numbers off the internet without acknowledging that they also used the term 'house' meaning 'home'. I'm sure you saw the rest of the data (https://www.livingin-canada.com/house-prices-canada.html), so either you flat out lied and found data to fit your narrative, or you're actually completely oblivious to the realities of living in Vancouver and Canada. If you somehow really think average price of a house in Vancouver is 1.036M, boy do I have something to sell you.
Batteries are worthless here if there's nothing to store (i.e. hardly any generation). Showing me a website of some yacht is completely meaningless. Watching "those shows of people going off grid" is also meaningless if they aren't doing it in BC, and even then, do you think that's practical for the average BC consumer?
You need to start saying things that have substance. You've blamed it on "politics", "loops and hoops", "interests" and "competition". Not a single one of those claims were backed by facts or examples. Again, you're speaking meaningless nonsense because your claims can't be backed.... and that's because your claims are just flat out not true. Again, you've ignored my simple valid point (to nobody's surprise) in that the cost of hydro power is cheaper than any other source of generation in BC. BC Hydro is a net importer (not by much if I recall correctly) of energy, reducing load (particularly peak loads) is a hedge against further infrastructure investment. There are some loads that are preferred, but Hydro isn't losing any sleep on a few residential customers.
I don't get what you're trying to prove by saying cost of electricity is 4th lowest? So now you're saying our utility is well run? Exactly what is your basis for saying that the government is price gouging you? Saying that it's more expensive than Quebec, Manitoba, and parts of Ontario is again... MEANINGLESS without context (cost of generation, amount imported/exported, energy losses for length of transmission, etc. etc.). Is it because of your precious, precious taxes? May I suggest that you move to Texas so you don't have to pay state income tax? But you may have to pay more for electricity and have ERCOT shit all over your supply... but hey, your taxes!
Yes the net metering program was made available with the rollout of smart meters (remember how the radiation gave you cancer?) in 2011/2012. Thank you for pointing that out and correcting me. Looking at the interconnection requirements, I'd say this is far from a DIY project that someone might learn from watching a show... very interesting nonetheless.
We can't really do solar effectively since our latitude is too high. Plus our rainy overcast weather for 5+ months of the year make it a tough proposition. Individuals might do it but you'll never see a grid-scale implementation.
Green River and Run Through the Jungle. Two of the true classics of classic rock!
Fuck man, you going to write a book? The Mild Adventures of Sybian.
So back on the topic of Heat Wave Coming, man that was one hot motherfucker yesterday. I'm at my Lake House on the Central Island. Hit 45 yesterday. Thank god its a chilly 28 right now at 930AM. And thankfully I am at a Lake.
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Yeah ... no. Definitely need a pro doing a grid interconnect. And be aware your power will still turn off when the grid is down, unless you also have battery storage, as the panels have to be disconnected from the grid when external power is down.
Anti-islanding! Looks like somebody knows a thing or two about the subject as well...
Well, so far over 230 dead from heat related causes.
More will be discovered over the next couple of days.
Check up on the old people in your life to make sure they're still around.
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