The world’s power grids are failing as the planet warms

Rooftop solar panels should be offered for free by either the local government or the power company at this point.

To be fair this is just if you pay professionals to do it. They charge astronomically out the ass for labor for no reason. The actual cost of the equipment is surprisingly little if you buy it yourself, and installing it is very straightforward and easy you do not need to be particularly intelligent or skilled. I've done about five different systems at this point, two on RVs and three on houses. One of the houses and one of the RVs was my own and the rest are friends that I have helped set it up.

For example with a goal of about 20k spent This bundle gets you 12Kw of inverter output and 30Kwh of batteries for 11k. Then just grab two Of these solar panel pallets for 28Kw of panels. Or Alternatively go smaller with just one pallet and save a bit. Then ofc you will get the 30% federal tax credit on top of everything.

Ask any installer for a similar sized system and it's almost certainly going to be 80k+ at minimum. The only part you may definitely want a professional for is if you plan on roof mounting them, have a roofer come help install the framing so you can ensure no leaks. But for ground mount (or if you are familiar with roofing) even that's not needed.

The actual electrical works is very straight forward. Everything is very clearly labeled, the documentation is very explicit about what goes where. On the solar panel side you're literally working with DC so you're literally only dealing with positive and negative. Even on the AC coupling side when you're talking about an off-grid inverter you're not back feeding into the grid so it's very straightforward. Your house grid goes into the input, and your output on the inverter goes to your panel.

The only stuff to watch out for in the NEC is rules about where your secondary panel for the solar output can be placed, has to be a certain distance from the ground, has to have a certain amount of clearance around it on all sides, has to be accessible, stuff like that but it's all fairly easy to just look up thankfully

Not sure what the price is elsewhere, but I got 6.4 kW solar panels and a 10kW battery backup last year, and the cost was $33k USD. This was in U.S. Midwest (Colorado) and with a local (not National) Solar provider.

I paid cash to avoid the 6% rate loan and additional fees, and I received a $9k tax credit for it this year, bringing the total cost down to $24k. I think this is an expense beyond many Americans, especially since this system could take over a decade to pay for itself, if it does at all.

No point here, just figured I’d point it out so people are aware of the cost. And bear in mind, this is a small system, in a small (just over 1k sq/ft) home.

This is becoming an issue in Australia, we have high solar uptake but a lot of systems were installed before batteries were readily available earlier on or without batteries to save outlay. The result is that there is more energy on the grid during the day while nobody is home and the grid highly utilised at night, but there is less people paying utility fees & usage so the grid will soon become underfunded for repairs and expanding infrastructure.
Its not a problem yet but there will be policy and taxing changes in the near future to account for this (similar to fuel exercise tax being shifted from being tacked onto the fuel prices to instead be some tax or licence fee as we shift to electric/green tech vehicles)

We always have done that and due to use who knows how many species are already extinct! Thing is after we ar out nature will come back and other species will rise up from the ashes!

The destruction of the human species is a farce. The destruction to the rest of the ecosphere we're responsible for is the real tragedy.

nope i'm not in the US but the area i live in had rarely blackouts, but i assume 90% humidity and 30°C could be a cause

Indeed, the whole paper straw thing is ridiculous. But let's not forget that poor sea turtle that they pulled a plastic straw out of its nose. Yeah, that was a random one-off, not very likely to happen again anytime soon. If anything, they need to be more worried about fish, dolphins and turtles getting hung up in lost fishing nets...

Back to the stupid straw thing, someone on that other site that we don't tend to speak of mentioned a perfect solution. Use a Twizzler candy, they're hollow and edible once you're done!

There are so many problems with that article it isn't even funny.

Here are a few:

1. It references the UK. The US and China are the biggest polluters. Meaning most cars are charged using fossil fuels and coal.
2. The article states it is a challenge to convert the DC from the car to the AC if the grid.
3. It seems to completely forget that a car has to be charged before it can discharge. The author seems to think thinking can solve it all.
4. A car that is used to charge the grid is LOSING the charge it needs to drive, which is the primary purpose of the car.
5. No matter how you slice it, some car owners simply can't use an electric vehicle. People who live in apartments for instance.

The answer isn't electric cars. The answer is LESS cars.