Re:The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery
by mschuster91 on Thursday June 13, 2024 @02:54AM
(#40666735)
> Apparently the average American residential electricity use is 10,791 kwh/year, which is ~1,231 watts, whereas the average British home is only 2,700 kwh/year which is ~308 watts. I had no idea that the difference was so large.
Well, American homes aren't built out of brick and concrete like European buildings are, instead they're made out of wood and cardboard which is barely insulating against heat (and doesn't hold up at all to major storms which is why you're seeing so much destruction after hurricanes), so they lose a lot of energy during winter and have to spend a lot of electricity on AC during the summer.
On top of that, their homes are (at least in suburbia) so much larger than European homes. Heat loss/influx is cubic-related to the footprint IIRC, so it makes for much more energy demand as well.
Well, American homes aren't built out of brick and concrete like European buildings are, instead they're made out of wood and cardboard which is barely insulating against heat (and doesn't hold up at all to major storms which is why you're seeing so much destruction after hurricanes), so they lose a lot of energy during winter and have to spend a lot of electricity on AC during the summer.
On top of that, their homes are (at least in suburbia) so much larger than European homes. Heat loss/influx is cubic-related to the footprint IIRC, so it makes for much more energy demand as well.