the more I read up on it the more I agree the most optimal power distribution system is AC for long-range/grid power, but I also think that for studios/tinyhouses (basically <1000 sqft or so) it'd be more efficient to use a DIY powerwall and just run as much as possible off of direct current 'cause the wire losses in such a compact build are negligible.
and also
ALSO
we SERIOUSLY need to start using heat recovery systems more extensively.
like
think about how much waste heat a typical air conditioner just fukkin' dumps outside. now think about how much you'd save if you were dumping even a fraction of that heat into your hot water tank.
energy-efficient construction and home design isn't hard.
it's just expensive because sustainability isn't profitable.
take a second and think about how much energy humans use to heat things up, and how many uses we have for hot water.
and sure, we already have solar hot water heaters and heat pump heating and cooling as technologies, but there are SO many other ways to capture and store heat for later use that just need to catch the fuck on.
gonna build a home with a small server room? run the heat output from that room directly to wherever you put a heat pump hot water heater.
fireplace? strap a couple thermoelectric generators to the sides to shove power into your battery bank, and if you get the watercooled kind? hey, free hot water too!
MAKE THAT ENERGY YOU SPEND WORK AS HARD AS IT CAN BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HOME.
@LexYeen it's always beautiful and inspiring to see efficient energy use, it's amazing what's possible. but it's depressing how little it seems to factor into mainstream building construction
@alyx can't sell the latest and greatest marketing bollocks if the consumer never needs to replace the old one
@LexYeen it's true. i studied carpentry for two years and one of my realizations was how the U.S. building industry is hyper-focused on "products"
products products products. special product tape, special product wall foam, special product fasteners
and most of it struggles to achieve the same longevity and energy efficiency as comparatively ancient technologies like building with cob
@LexYeen there's this amazing YT video of an amish community -- everyone came out to help -- raising a huge barn in one day. really neat stuff.
@alyx oh yeah, amish barn-raisings are a thing to behold and definitely the sort of community-building I think a proper solarpunk community should try to inspire.
@alyx or even amish carpentry techniques executed with modern tools, yeah.
fuckin' consumerism I swear to $deity