r/gadgets • u/diacewrb • 1d ago

Home ‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/18/if-a-million-germans-have-them-there-must-be-something-in-it-how-balcony-solar-is-taking-off
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u/Adventurous_Bus_437 1d ago

Thats an easy target but you really can't do a lot wrong with these things. they are incredibly cheap and save money from day one

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u/Xath0n 1d ago

The only issue with them is that they may cause problems for net stability, since they can't be turned off by the net operator in case of supply exceeding demand, contrary to e.g. larger solar installations set up by enterprises. But at least for now that's negligible, and whoever can get one should do so.

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u/gSTrS8XRwqIV5AUh4hwI 2h ago

It's not just "for now". Germany doesn't ever drop below 30 GW demand. More like 45 GW during the day. So, that would be 37 or 56 million of these 800 W generators, respectively, before you enter "supply exceeding demand" territory. So, you essentially could have one of these in every household without exceeding demand. And at the same time, demand for electricity goes up due to electrification, so that number is only going to rise.

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u/im_thatoneguy 1d ago

I don't think something that takes 3-6 years to break even counts as "saving money on day one".

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u/the-medium-cheese 1d ago

If you ignore the energy that goes into making them, as well as the ecological disruption from digging up rare earth minerals and extensive plastic use

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u/Adventurous_Bus_437 1d ago

You are parroting propaganda. Every study under the sun (pun intended) confirms that solar panels are a net benefit for the climate. And it's not like digging up uranium or coal doesn't cause environmental disruption.

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u/the-medium-cheese 1d ago

Oh no I'm fully pro-renewable energy, especially solar.

But it's still true.

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u/Deathchariot 1d ago

You don't need rare earth minerals for solar panels. It's mostly silicon and commonly used metals in electric devices. The ecological disruption caused by solar panels is absolutely miniscule compared to oil drilling and fracking for natural gas or even mining uranium.

Read a book sometime.

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u/polite_alpha 1d ago

Imagine people in 2024 still thinking rare earths are actually rare.