Public Address | Cafe | Cracker: Audience wanted for lively TV discussion

Damian Christie

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:24:01 +1200

Or is the idea to have solar on 100% of roofs? I'm down for that

Yeah, sorry, that's the idea – to have 100% of roofs having solar panels on them. Not that we can supply all NZ's energy needs with sunlight. Few issues on the frequent cloudy days... :)…

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:32:26 +1200

half a kva of solar can be had for about $2k

Can you recommend some suppliers – is that NZ or overseas sourced?

I've been looking at the idea of a portable solar rig to take to festivals and so on – basically a battery/inverter setup and panels that can…

Rob Stowell

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:03:37 +1200

David Mackay calculates an average of 13kWh/day in Britain for a person who can find 10 square meters of equator-facing roof. That will go some ways towards powering your house, but will never cover 100% of our energy needs.
Sounds pretty good to me! And that's Britain... (We use about…

Martin Roberts

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:05:58 +1200

despite their cycle paths and public transport

Maybe they don't hang their laundry outside.

Martin Roberts

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:43:57 +1200

Isn’t this a matter of maths, not opinion?

Cost is certainly a factor, but may change. So may efficiency. You're still stuck with the upper bound of how much solar power falls on each square meter of kiwi soil.

David Mackay calculates an average of 13kWh/day in Britain for a…

Damian Christie

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:37:55 +1200

"Back In Wellington", sorry, should read.

st ephen

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:21:15 +1200

Thanks for that link. Looks like we're doing better than Denmark and the Netherlands, despite their cycle paths and public transport...

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:18:42 +1200

Not in Auckland, I'm afraid.

st ephen

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:10:39 +1200

I couldn’t find CO2 per capita numbers for Auckland – if you have them please post.

Sorry, I don't have them either but (as your linked article pointed out but then seemed to forget) using estimates based on a production rather than consumption approach is silly; the reason that western…

Martin Roberts

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:09:05 +1200

It's easy for a city to show low emissions if they're importing everything they consume from some other place that cops the emissions incurred in production.
If you only include emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel use (eg. ignore methane from agriculture) then Spain and NZ come out about the…

Damian Christie

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:00:48 +1200

If in the future, we have PV that’s too cheap to meter, we’ll be able to restore wind farms and dams back to their original state. Until then, we should just get on with it.

So you'll be coming along to the show on Sunday then? :)

Don Bain

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:16:41 +1200

Talking of Solar heating and since hot water is a major percentage of household energy use. This link shows how a simple water heater can be made for far less than the expensive panels...

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/solar-technology/how-make-simple-solar-spa-heater-your-roof/

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:51:52 +1200

Auckland versus Barcelona

I couldn't find CO2 per capita numbers for Auckland – if you have them please post.

My point is that if we had 15 million people all living in existing urban areas then our CO2 numbers would be a lot better.

The problem with I have with…

Damian Christie

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:11:47 +1200

At least under currently available technology, solar makes more sense as an assist to (water) heating than as a main source of electricity.

I was talking this through with a mate who's very involved in solar, he says that with the costs dropping as much as they are for PV,…

Kumara Republic

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:03:14 +1200

I probably shouldn’t, but I do love the stat about how dangerous solar energy is compared to other forms of energy, in terms of deaths caused

I wonder if it’s from the same people who think the internal combustion engine will have a 1000-year reign.

linger

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:49:17 +1200

At least under currently available technology, solar makes more sense as an assist to (water) heating than as a main source of electricity.
(The economics are a little more persuasive in say, Arizona.)

Decreasing energy use per capita by increasing the number of people doesn’t seem an ambitious target, nor…

st ephen

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:00:02 +1200

Barcelona carbon emissions p.p. = 3.4 tonnes, NZ approx 18t
Weird comparison – surely Auckland versus Barcelona would be more relevant? It's easy for a city to show low emissions if they're importing everything they consume from some other place that cops the emissions incurred in production.
If you only…

Graeme Edgeler

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:45:17 +1200

I probably shouldn't, but I do love the stat about how dangerous solar energy is compared to other forms of energy, in terms of deaths caused.

Coal is generally most dangerous, and nuclear least, but solar is up there because of all the deaths of installers falling off roofs.

Sacha

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:18:06 +1200

That logo is soooo how a broadcasting engineer would imagine the future. :)

Damian Christie

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 09:25:23 +1200

I think the problem in much of the developing world isn’t a lack of technical knowledge on how to farm effectively, but rather economic and social conditions that militate against doing that.

I don't know about "much of the developing world", but one concrete example I can give is what…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:59:10 +1200

should we look to [ solar, presumably PV ] virtually untapped, right on our rooftops?

Well, you can look up the numbers. Indicates that solar is at least 50% more expensive than wind/hydro/geothermal and maybe double. Specific NZ figures would differ from these, but are certainly calculable.

Isn't this a…

andin

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:16:42 +1200

should we look to an abundant resource virtually untapped, right on our rooftops?
Yes, and could we get rid of the elecricity market free-for-all while we're about it.
What if we made a concerted effort to eliminate every opossum, rat and mustelid not just from outlying islands, but from the…

Public Address

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:16:42 +1200

Discussion from blog post.