povoq@slrpnk.net

They exists for apartment complexes with individual owners, but it is not something the typical renter would have much experience with.

Extremely misleading headline. They added a well known way to recover some low grade waste heat and claim to save around 15% of the overall electricity use that way.

No it is rigid. Just search for “IBC container” and you will see how it looks under that cover. Those tanks are widely used to transport liquids.

Usually they are there to make sure the (storm water or mixed) sewerage systems get properly flushed. It’s not a ridiculous as it sounds at first.

I always found it strange that there seems little effort to jailbrake smart TVs and install alternative roms on them. Some might even work nicely as home servers while still serving their function as a TV.

By Autistici/Inventati ? Maybe some people from them were involved, yes.

Right AC. Was a typo, corrected now.

As for running nominally 12V stuff directly of a battery… you got lucky with your router then. Ihad the same idea with various mini PCs and ARM SBCs, and the majority absolutely should not be run directly off a battery where the voltage fluctuates so much.

Probably best to use NUT to shut down the servers gracefully if the power outage is too long.

When charging, 12V lead acid batteries have significant higher voltages (>14V), so you basically need a DC to DC converter to make sure you get a stable 12V supply. Some (typically industrial/automotive grade) systems have that built into their internal power supply and can work directly off a 12V battery, but with consumer routers I would assume that not to be the case.

While there is DC power the battery in a UPS isn’t used. It’s not a constant AC-DC-AC conversion, that conversion only happens when there is a power outage.

The problem is that lead-acid batteries are a really shitty technology with high self discharge rates and short overall life span (their only advantage is high burst capacity that’s good for starting motors).

I would look for 12V LiFePO4 batteries in a standard lead-acid form factor that are meant as drop in replacements. Those are somewhat more expensive (like 2-3x the price) but will likely last a quarter century or more.

I am currently using an interim solution where my solar inverter has an seperate emergeny power outlet that works even when power is cut. Sadly it doesn’t switch to battery fast enough (like half a second delay 😓) for it to work as a UPS directly. But in combination with some old regular UPS that have spend batteries that only last a few minutes it works ok. But yeah, not the most efficient option conversion wise, but solar power is free 🤷

Yeah that warranty…

Anyways, solar is a bit unique in that regard, as it isn’t just an general improvement, but actively pays for itself. Heatpumps also fall in that category. Most people realize that if they get such a system for cheap that is actually a discount on the home price and adjust their expectations accordingly. Of course I agree with you that it likely isn’t going to increase the value beyond what it cost to install.

It is possible to install the panels flat onto a wall, but then east or west facing is slightly better as the angle of the sun is lower (same for solar fencing).

The problem with such a setup is mainly that if you are not at the ground floor attaching a panel to the wall higher up is not easy, and drilling the necessary anchors into the wall is likely prohibited if you are only renting.

That said, some balcon less buildings still have a kind of metal fencing in front of full height windows, and you can attach smaller panels to those relatively easily.

Today a DIY system usually means a fully integrated system from a single Chinese supplier: hybrid inverter, BMS and batteries together. That is no hack, and no major difference (other than price) from what a professional company installs.

Having such a system absolutely raises the price of the house sold. Maybe not a full cost recovery, but enough to not make it a total loss if you end up selling before the usual return of investment period.

Sounds like you paid 40k for a system that’s worth around 10k. That absolutely happens with some companies that do the full installation, but it is a total rip off.

Sure, if balcony solar isn’t legal in your place, that is an issue, but more and more places make it legal recently.

As for the realestate market, sure there are conservative realtors that currently undervalue solar systems, but people aren’t stupid. If it makes economic sense to have them in the first place, then most buyers will also make the same calculation and be willing to pay extra, because in the end they will save money compared to a house without solar.

To answer these:

1. Increase in house value due to solar system is likely making this moot.

2. Small “balcony solar” system work fine for renters.

3. See 2. and for larger systems 1.

4. Very unlikely to see a major market unheaval in the next 10 years that would make things cheaper. The real price improvement happend in the last 10 years, and the price difference between LiFePO4 batteries and Sodium-Ion ones will not be large enough for it to matter in small systems.

Why not have something moveable underneath to support it? That string seems impractical in general.

A water cooling block will fit 1U, but you will need to attach the other side of the water cooler outside of the rack most likely. Furthermore, it is unlikely that other people using the same rack space will appreciate you adding water cooling due to spillage risks.

You might be somehow locking your self out with fail2ban.

I believe raised beds for kids have a lot of space beneath them for putting servers. Just make sure they can’t pull the plugs 😜

The rate limit is a bit pointless as the scrapers cycle through IPs via residential proxies and large data centers with many IPs and sadly there is an increasing number of scrapers that seems to be able to solve the Anubis challenge.

Never the less, a nice tutorial for the basic setup that does still help to some extend 👍

Seems to be based on this design: motherearthnews.com/…/solar-food-dehydrator-plans…

Lots of down-cycling though, so it sounds better than it is IMHO.

These m2 adapters are known to overheat, but otherwise they are much more reliable than usb to sata adapters.

Yes, I am aware. But that is not very helpful if you want to host something publicly or even just want it accessible from the random wifi hotspot you might use that more likely than not is IPv4 only.

Like literally all mobile internet connections are behind CGNAT, as is Starlink for example.

For landline internet connections it is indeed uncommon.

If it is really only a private server for your friends, and they are not completely computer illiterate, then a Wireguard VPN or similar seems like the safest option.

But generally speaking it isn’t that big of a deal to temporarily open a port and forward it to a game server if you want to play a round online.

A VPS is not really cost effective for that kind of usage. Maybe one with hourly billing like this: tierhive.com