Comment on Haier hits Home Assistant plugin dev with takedown notice
Emma_Gold_Man@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months agoThere are problems they can actually solve, mostly heating and power related:
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In summer, lower the blinds on south facing windows when the sun comes up to reduce solar heating, then raise them in the evening to increase air flow against the window panes. This reduces the need for air conditioning, resulting in a surprising amount of power saved.
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On a home solar system, start the washing machine, dishwasher, and dryer that were loaded in the morning when the batteries reach 80% charge. Allow them to run off the inverter rather than taking the charge/discharge losses involved in battery storage, reducing the size of both battery bank and solar array needed.
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Lower the freezer temperature when there is a power surplus, and raise it back to normal when not so that cooling energy is used when it’s cheapest/most available
If you don’t work from home, you can’t do the second two yourself. They require automation. Reducing baseload requirements and battery storage needs can make a transition to renewable power much cheaper and more efficient. With mass adoption, that extends to power grids and not just off-grid homes, and has significant effects on things like the amount of lithium that needs to be mined or the number of coal and LNG power plants that are needed fo r times that at iff-peak for wind and solar generation.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Emma_Gold_Man@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
Wow, your username really fits.
Actually, it’s a description of some of the issues I’m dealing with right now. And yes, we’re DIYing it with ethernet wired switching outlets on a separate clan and subnet. And yes, we use a chest freezer.
And yes, there are more automatic and passive ways to do some of these things, like planting deciduous trees to shade your south wall in summer but not winter. Not everyone owns their home and land though.