Our Dozens Of Linux Benchmark Systems Still Burning Around 3000 kWh A Month

[duby229]

American energy consumption has actually been going down in recent years, and it's mistake to focus on residential consumption anyway. Industry is where most energy use/pollution comes from. And if you want to fix that, the place to focus is China, not the US.

I'm not sure what to think, on one hand people want cheap products, on the other hand they want all the power for themselves. America and Europe already had their industrial revolutions, it's time to let China have theirs. I don't think it's fair that countries that have already gone through that progression are trying to hinder other countries from going through it. The best thing that individuals can do no matter where they are is to buy locally made products.

[Nobu]

I'm not sure what to think, on one hand people want cheap products, on the other hand they want all the power for themselves. America and Europe already had their industrial revolutions, it's time to let China have theirs. I don't think it's fair that countries that have already gone through that progression are trying to hinder other countries from going through it. The best thing that individuals can do no matter where they are is to buy locally made products.

Nothing wrong with that--let them have their revolution. They could do it more efficiently though..."we have the technology."

And, fwiw, only things I leave on are the ceiling fan and my PC sometimes. AC is set to 76F (Would set it higher, but it's an inefficient window unit, mounted in the wall of my apartment). I have a floor lamp with a 17W LED bulb that puts out 1520 Lumens and a slightly less efficient one under the stove. Don't use the ceiling light, because they put the switch across the room from the door, and it probably has a 90w bulb (it's big enough, anyway). Fridge seems half-decent, but the stove is super old and the seal is broken. Anyway, I pay about $35/mo now for electricity, but I think that's for the average used by the apartments...I'd have to check my contract again. Thankfully, a couple 3m wall hooks, a cheep curtain rod with a wood dowel inside, and a couple black media panels keep my room nice and dark and not too hot during the day--or else I don't think that AC unit would ever turn off...

Edit: I mean, shit, they're the ones manufacturing most of the efficient stuff we use in the first place.

[smitty3268]

Yes, it makes sense that China would use a lot of power, but they are putting out a ton of pollution right now. More so than previous industrial revolutions, just because of the scale current machinery can operate at.

Anyway, I think this chart is pretty interesting. It's got a lot going on, but what i take from it is that the US really needs to move away from coal power (which has been slowly happening) and reduce what is used by transportation - again, that's been slowly happening. Note that the residential side of things is fairly small, and even if you multiply it for the inefficiency of electricity production it's still only about 30% of the total.



Oh, and here's a more recent one, showing some of the more recent shifts:

[akincer]

Still too much of an upfront cost... Last I looked for a basic system the upfront cost would be 10~20k USD minimum, albeit tax deductible, but still don't have that extra money for upfront investment.

There are companies that will do what's called a PPA. They front the money, take the tax credits and then sell you power at a reduced rate. At the end of a set period (often 10 years) you have the option to buy the system for a reduced rate. It's a great way to lower your power bill without fronting the cost.

Alternatively, if you have home equity, you can do a loan and trade your power bill for a note payment. Again -- depending on your per kwh cost, you're looking at worst essentially paying double or two and a half times your power bill for 5 years (standard HELOC loan term). Then it's all cheddar after that. This is based on 10 cents per kwh prices. Scale your numbers based on your local costs.

This also depends on what your local utility company is willing to let you do.