Posted on 12/25/2021 8:03:33 AM PST by Chad C. Mulligan
Let the krauts freeze in the dark.
“… and nuclear because of Fukushima.”
Yes, Germany fears an earthquake followed by a tsunami.
I have solar on the roof (12KW). I have a 96% efficient gas boiler which I try to use when the temperatures get below about 35°F, before the temperatures get that low in the Fall and Spring I use a Whole house heatpump. Recently however when I saw that gas prices would be rising I bought two little (one 9000BTU and one 12000BTU) mini-split heatpump units. They are supposed to be efficient to temperatures well below 0°F and continue producing heat albeit not as efficient into the very low minus 20’s which we hardly ever reach. I’m in my 7th decade of life and have only see the very low minus 20’s twice.
My little mini-splits only pull a couple hundred watts each and just use 120V, much cheaper than my 96% efficient gas boiler. While together they are less than two tons, I pretty much run them all the time once it turns cold and they carry the majority of my heating load. I did it for the security of my heating system if the crap hits the fan with my substantial solar, battery backup and generator I expect I will be able to stay warm.
There are many ways people can prepare for catastrophic emergencies but as a rule they don’t. That is what “normality bias” is all about. Most people think that the way it is is the way it will always be.
I can see where some people might not be able to go whole hog and put solar on the roof with battery backup but anybody could afford to get a couple of kerosene heaters and store several 5 gallon cans of kerosene. For that matter most people could afford to purchase a 5KW portable generator for under $1 a watt and keep a supply of several days or weeks of gasoline on hand to charge a small battery bank to keep lights on and keep the freezers cold by just running it several hours a day.
I don’t expect to ever have to depend on my solar/generator system except in a storm, but if I ever have to I’m ready.
I have an electric hybrid hot water heater that uses the conventional electrical elements and a heat pump. Operating costs are considerably cheaper than an electric water heater. I don’t have access to gas.
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I haven’t done that yet but am considering it. Is recovery time halfway decent?
How about 2 million illegal aliens coming across our Southern border in less than a year and no end in sight? Or anywhere from 12 to 30 million illegal aliens in our country now? We are being invaded on a daily basis.
Still, this does not explain why it would not work when the temp drops below freezing, as the ground still would be 55 F and we only would have to make up the differential of what we want.
Recovery is no problem. There are plenty of options and settings to get whatever you want. And you can even use the internet to change settings. On a 50 gallon HWH, operating costs are about $150 annually. My HWH cost $1700 plus another 1K to install. Expensive, but it is worth it over the long term.
Have they tried God’s Blessing — LNG?
Forests of wind turbines and oceans of solar panels.
When Germany was finally reunified it was created in the spirit of West Germany. How ironic if they end up as the East Germany puppet of Russia.
“Heat pumps suck and I live in coastal NC. We replaced one unit with gas heat….”
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They sure do… INDOOR winter wind chill from heating with a heat pump sucks. We switched to natural gas as soon as they finally extended the supply pipes to our neighborhood. Worlds better.
Wait till Putin shouts:”Achtung Panzer!!”
No Patton anywhere around.
You might want to do a little more research on ground temperatures.
Putin may just let loose operation Barbarossa in reverse.
They definitely do a superb job on technical matters!
How about having a demented fool “leading” our country? THAT is the true game changer. Without him there can be solutions to our problems.
The most efficient generation of electricity using fossil fuels is from via natural gas. 38% efficient oil is 31% efficient and coal is 29% efficient.
We also encounter transmission and distribution losses in the electrical grid of about 8%.
Thus the following is the amount of energy delivered to your home for use as electricity.
1. Natural Gas 38-8 =30% T
2. Oil 31-8 = 23%
3. Coal 29-8 = 21%
4. Nuclear 33-8= 25%
Those pesky little laws of Thermodynamics will kick your ass every time.
A modern natural gas home furnace can get 97% efficiency. If you want to heat your home and have natural gas it is the only logical way to go.
When the wind does not blow the windmills do not turn.
When the sun does not shine those solar panels do not work.
We need to expand nuclear power and continue to use fossil fuels as needed.
Old hat of a propaganda story. Europe and the left in Germany have been trying to destroy Germany for much longer. SCNR
But back to topic: Interestingly the Dutch administration has done a U-turn on the subject of nuclear power: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/03/nuclear-power-is-back-on-the-political-agenda-with-a-right-left-divide/
Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call to other Euro governments, including Berlin.
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