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Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2021-07-25, 05:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha View Post
Also, that our grid is still based on 1930s technology and assumptions. It is ridiculously fragile, stupidly blind, horribly inefficient, and was never designed for on-demand energy production, storage capabilities, or on-site generation.

So, there's that.

Also, the fact that it's in private hands in much of the US makes it a nightmare for trying to upgrade. "Oh, no, dearie me, we can't do *that*, it might make our profits go down by a percent!" Whine, whine, whine.

Set a new standard. Nationalize what can't/won't meet it, and perform the necessary work.

We're a mid-20th century nation playing at being a 21st century contender.
I was going to post that most of this is extremely moot without a new electricity grid. Except that nowhere in the world that I'm aware of, has a next-generation electric grid in operation. We're building subdivisions here in Canada at a rapid clip, since home selling prices are, well, insane. And none of these homes have a whole home surge protector (see the other thread) not to mention a grid that allows for future electric vehicle needs, among other things.

Can some jurisdiction in North America please build one small community with a next-generation grid already? This is the infrastructure we need.

To my mind, there's no problem with not including solar panels with every new build, since we all know the tech isn't quite there yet. But it's reckless not to mandate that new homes come prewired for panels, battery storage and car charging. The owners can upgrade whenever they're ready. I seriously looked at the Span Panel for my place, but I think I'll pass on opening my electrical system to hackers.

There's a big role for government in setting agendas, standards and building codes, but I think the idea that the Government just needs to nationalize everything and fix it is crazy, given that the U.S. has just had to turn to private enterprise to bail out it's space program, which had been sending astronauts to space in machines that still utilized 5.25" floppy disks. The chance that the Government fixes the grid properly is about the same as the chance they'll pay off the national debt.

It's also important that all this new tech be hardened against EMP blasts, since we've already seen how fragile the grid is to solar storms. Building more weaknesses into millions of more homes is asking for serious trouble.

Finally, there's very good news on the home battery storage front. They had me at "no risk of fire."
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