It's solar panels, to save you the click.

I'm not surprised because I was aware that the main reason for the Amish opposition to technology is technology's effect on Amish social life, and solar panels have a little effect on that.

Effect on social life, & systems which create dependency. Being unbeholden to other forces.

The other recent-ish round of stories is Amish adopting ebikes. Part & parcel right? What good are solar panels without tech to use them; what are the panels for?

Also worth noting Amish tend to be fairly decentralized; what gets accepted or rejected is a fairly local decision.

What good are solar panels without tech to use them; what are the panels for?

Heating and cooling?

From the article and comments following they have been using solar panels since the 1980s.

For lighting, controlled feed lines, power tools, amplifiers, power side of ad hoc phone systems, etc.

It's about being self reliant.

Let’s update the headline. I seem to recall clickbait is banned on hacker news.

They've also been into e-bikes for a while now, too. 2021 article: https://amishamerica.com/amish-e-bikes/

It's interesting that they dive into the climate change and health aspects of kerosene lamps but don't bother interviewing any Amish to see if that is actually the reason for switching. I would intuitively think that it is because they don't want to continue buying ever more costly kerosene.

> I would intuitively think that it is because they don't want to continue buying ever more costly kerosene.

Most likely, but that doesn't generate clicks and get you into all the right private events.

The Amish have something to teach those of us who work in tech. Specifically, that it’s beneficial to take a look at new technology and decide whether it fits with how you want to live your life. There are many things about Amish culture that warrants criticism, but that aspect deserves consideration.

Just depend on the tightly interconnected global trade and manufacturing pipeline needed to bring those Chinese solar panels to the middle of nowhere!

At this point Ford trucks are even more justifiable

Except once you have your Ford truck, you have to depend on outside parties to fuel it. At least with solar, once they have the equipment, it's not dependant on outside forces (except the sun)

this article is fluff, that exploits Lancaster tourist take on the amish to clickbait into strange and deceptive conclusions.

there are two important points, ordnung is on per community basis, and second point is that the technology is exclusively used to facilitate business. (with the usual disclaimer that ordnung is often violated, for personal sinful reasons, like making personal, superficial calls on business cellphone, or taking business truck on personal trips).

therefore nobody "runs diesel for light" as a substitute for kerosine lamps, unless in gross violation of ordnung. those are not going anywhere. diesel, John deer tractors, ford trucks, cellphones, and now apparently solar panels are used in some communities to make farming work more effective with a smaller numbers in a community. Lancaster might afford to till soil with drafting horses, because they have large resource surplus, but smaller communities often rely on machinery to give them economic advantage.

from this perspective there's nothing special about the solar panels. they are a calculated and controlled addition to an existing roster of technological allowances.

The Amish are not a monolithic group, which technologies they use is up to each community and church. The core idea though, that they should carefully study technologies and its effects before adapting them is sound. If we were less willing to adapt automobiles over streetcars and walking, tearing up our cities and paving it over with parking lots, how different would our society be? Would it be better or worse?