Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by tick_tock_tick on Thursday August 10, 2023 @02:10PM
(#37079672)
> natural gas has to be removed from the market as the supply of gas is finite
I'd drop this argument your other points are good but while gas might technically be finite it's not on any timescale that matters here.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by hinkley on Thursday August 10, 2023 @04:13PM
(#37081141)
It's also, head and shoulders above all other fossil fuels, highly amenable to being synthetically produced using renewable resources.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by mschuster91 on Friday August 11, 2023 @01:58AM
(#37085553)
... which is still insanely wasteful because methane synthesis from scratch is just 50-60% efficient, and capacities are going to be limited - we need all the synth-fuel we can get for long distance air flight and transoceanic ships because these two usecases can't reasonably be shifted towards electric propulsion.
Making synth-methane just to burn it in a stove which loses a lot of heat to the environment compared to an induction stove.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by bluGill on Thursday August 10, 2023 @03:22PM
(#37080565)
If you worry about electricity going down you can buy a portable generator powerful enough to run at least some of the stove. Odds are you have never had your electric stove using the full power it can in theory consume (all burners on high and the oven heating), so long as your actual use is less than the stove needs this works.
Heat pumps are great, but it sometimes gets cold enough where I live that they are less efficient than a modern gas furnace. (not every year, but still often enough that I need to plan on those days or my pipes will freeze)
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by hinkley on Thursday August 10, 2023 @04:13PM
(#37081147)
Induction stoves want a 220V 40A service.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by bluGill on Thursday August 10, 2023 @04:42PM
(#37081507)
Then want 220V, but the amp depends on how much you are using. One burner on low will use less power than all burners and the oven all on high.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by rootusrootus on Thursday August 10, 2023 @09:35PM
(#37084049)
Yeah it's hard to really push amps unless you actually use every last burner. My cooktop technically wants a 50A circuit, but what I have available is a 40A circuit and it has never been any issue. I'd basically need to have all five burners going, and probably near or at their maximum setting. Not an issue I've run into, which is why I'm being kinda lazy about upgrading the wiring and breaker to 50A.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by mschuster91 on Friday August 11, 2023 @01:51AM
(#37085509)
I don't live in a house, but in an apartment. Running a gas grill works - it's the same stuff that the gas stove is burning - but running a generator indoors is just asking for getting killed off by CO poisoning.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by pictureofabear on Thursday August 10, 2023 @07:59PM
(#37083338)
Banning natural gas appliances doesn't stop natural gas production. It's a byproduct of oil production. Fly over any oil field, and you'll see natural gas being burned as a waste product everywhere. Only when natural gas prices go up do oil companies start capturing it to sell.
Re:Microgrids Are Giving Power to the People
by mschuster91 on Friday August 11, 2023 @01:54AM
(#37085531)
The thing is, when we start closing down oil fields, there also won't be any gas any more, and synthesizing it is incredibly energy inefficient - particularly if you just burn it.
Two things here. For one, natural gas has to be removed from the market as the supply of gas is finite, it's bound to raise in price anyway due to CO2 taxes, it emits toxic particulates associated with lung disease, it's more efficient to run a heat pump than burn any kind of fossil fuel, and it's a major fire/explosion hazard particularly when maintenance is neglected.
The other side is, if you're worried about electricity going down, you can always grab a gas cylinder for a camping stove and live off of that for a week and more - personally, I have an Enders Explorer portable grill that can double as a stove and two 5kg cylinders of gas, mostly to run outdoor BBQs but also usable in case of a prolonged grid outage.