Comment on Power is not energy: why the difference matters [Technology Connections]

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sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

Nah, the video is pretty straightforward, but it’s presented in a way that most people would lose interest unless they’re actually into the subject matter. I see three problems with the video:

Power vs energy is fairly simple with a good explanation. Power is simply the speed at which energy gets used up. For example:

That’s extremely intuitive. All a regular person needs to know is that simple concept, plus a way to measure it (the Kill-a-watt example). Boom, 5-10 min video.

But the talking head made it way more complicated by starting with gas. That’s just belabouring the point that you can increase or decrease power, which is already intuitive with batteries or things we can see (wood) or feel (tiredness).

They could then segue into gas, once the power vs energy issue is established. A can of butane is like a battery, and the valve controls how quickly it’s used. We can compare gas and electricity directly because electricity can be turned directly into heat, just like gas can.

And then you segue into heat pumps. Basically explain how your AC/fridge works (i.e. moves heat instead of creating “cold”). Make a demo where you move heat vs create heat and show how much energy is used. As in, heat a room from 72F or whatever to 90F, one using a heat pump and the other using a space heater. Show how temps compare on both sides of the heat pump vs space heater (other rooms shouldn’t change w/ space heater). Then use that to show a real-world example of a house that swapped from furnace to heat pump to really drive the point home that moving heat is more efficient than creating it.

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