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We're going to max out the power in 2026.

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    #32
    ELM327
    Registered Users Posts: 21,367 ✭✭✭✭ELM327


    Max power in 2026?
    If we just stopped being such a backward hellhole and embraced nuclear and off shore wave energy this wouldnt be an issue


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    #33
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,018 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    I suspect in a generation most private dwelling houses will be able to dispense with a mains electricity connection completely.

    Even on a cloudy day, there is more than enough photons of energy hitting your roof to provide energy for everything in your house. It's just a matter of converting this energy to electricity more efficiently than to date.

    The battery tech (though surely in its infancy) already exists and will improve massively in a generation.

    The grid will still be required for industry but it will be under much less load than today. That's my prediction anyway.


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    #34
    Bdjsjsjs
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 82 ✭✭Bdjsjsjs


    murphaph wrote: »
    I suspect in a generation most private dwelling houses will be able to dispense with a mains electricity connection completely.

    Even on a cloudy day, there is more than enough photons of energy hitting your roof to provide energy for everything in your house. It's just a matter of converting this energy to electricity more efficiently than to date.

    The battery tech (though surely in its infancy) already exists and will improve massively in a generation.

    The grid will still be required for industry but it will be under much less load than today. That's my prediction anyway.
    I don't agree. Also I just cant see how using home batteries can be considerer cleaner then a grid.
    It would be very cumbersome expensive to disconnect form the grid right now.


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    #35
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,463 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    lucernarian wrote: »
    Multiquote replies are so hard to read, so forgive me if I don't reply in kind. The point about interconnectors was reliability issues seem to impact them in a particular way - and such long distance links and reliability issues with them have been at the source of the world's most severe blackouts and energy crises (California, the East US/Canada blackouts etc).

    Every source of power has it's own pros and cons.

    Moneypoint was shutdown for much of the last year due to issues with the turbines. Something that can impact any thermal plant. Nuclear plants can be shutdown if safety issues are discovered or if temperatures of the output water are too high. Wind not blowing, too cloudy. Hydro if water levels in dams are too low.

    And that is leaving out any environmental impacts.

    That is why you can't rely on just one type, you need a nice mix so you have backup options. Adding interconnectors improves that mix and gives you more options. It isn't perfect, but then non of them are.

    BTW the US setup is a whole different crazy setup that doesn't really apply to European setup.


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    #36
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    The best solution to supply problems is to use less power. Practical superconductivity plus the use of graphene would be a genuine game changers. Plus switching off the heaters, lights, computers and banning bitcoin mining of course :)


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    #37
    The J Stands for Jay
    Registered Users Posts: 5,650 ✭✭✭The J Stands for Jay


    L1011 wrote: »
    The total usage from plugged in phone chargers and standby devices in an average house would be the equivalent of having one old fashioned lightbulb left. It's overstated

    I think you might be overstating it there. The lightbulb would be using.more.


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    #38
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,652 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    McGaggs wrote: »
    I think you might be overstating it there. The lightbulb would be using.more.

    True. The parasitic use is that minor and not worth worrying about yet people obsess over it.


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    #39
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,018 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    Bdjsjsjs wrote: »
    I don't agree. Also I just cant see how using home batteries can be considerer cleaner then a grid.
    It would be very cumbersome expensive to disconnect form the grid right now.
    I'm talking about one generation from now. It is not practical yet but just one generation ago nobody even had photovoltaic panels on their roofs. Nowadays they are a commodity item.

    There's no reason to think we won't develop greener, cheaper batteries in the coming decades.

    In a certain number of years it will seem quaint that we could not harvest the many kilowatts of energy striking our roofs and instead generated electricity at distant power plants and troubled ourselves with distribution over a complicated and in many countries unreliable grid instead.

    It will be no different to how we think about people using gas lighting in their houses a century ago.


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    #40
    nthclare
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,316 ✭✭✭nthclare


    Oh how I remember living in Kerry in the early 80's, and the power fluctuations light's dimming , power outages and we had to get used to power cuts.

    Oh they'ed say, Tarbert is switched off again.


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    #41
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    1979 was when the last local area got power and that was in the Reeks I think while people in Dublin were buying microwave ovens (the posh ones!).


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    #42
    easypazz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,346 ✭✭✭easypazz


    murphaph wrote: »
    I suspect in a generation most private dwelling houses will be able to dispense with a mains electricity connection completely.

    Even on a cloudy day, there is more than enough photons of energy hitting your roof to provide energy for everything in your house. It's just a matter of converting this energy to electricity more efficiently than to date.

    The battery tech (though surely in its infancy) already exists and will improve massively in a generation.

    The grid will still be required for industry but it will be under much less load than today. That's my prediction anyway.

    From what I have seen pv panels and batteries get cheaper and cheaper each year.

    Eventually houses may have enough power from pv to go off grid handy enough for about 9 months.

    In the harsh winter months we may see people just use a petrol generator or maybe a wind turbine to boost their battery so going totally off grid will be an option for more and more people.

    The key to it all is better batteries.


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    #43
    Bdjsjsjs
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 82 ✭✭Bdjsjsjs


    murphaph wrote: »
    I'm talking about one generation from now. It is not practical yet but just one generation ago nobody even had photovoltaic panels on their roofs. Nowadays they are a commodity item.

    There's no reason to think we won't develop greener, cheaper batteries in the coming decades.

    In a certain number of years it will seem quaint that we could not harvest the many kilowatts of energy striking our roofs and instead generated electricity at distant power plants and troubled ourselves with distribution over a complicated and in many countries unreliable grid instead.

    It will be no different to how we think about people using gas lighting in their houses a century ago.

    Well the technology doesn't exist so yeah I don't agree at all. We can't assume something new will be generated. We'd need a miracle to able to have PV producing all electrical needs in a Irish winter.


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    #44
    easypazz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,346 ✭✭✭easypazz


    Bdjsjsjs wrote: »
    We'd need a miracle to able to have PV producing all electrical needs in a Irish winter.
    We dont need to produce the electricity in winter. We need better batteries so that it can be stored from the summer.

    Batteries that can also be recharged by diverting a simple wind turbine system into them.

    Say a rural road has 10 houses over a 1km distance, one turbine helps recharge 10 batteries.

    Or an apartment block has a bank of pv on the roof feeding all the batteries, along with some wind turbines.

    In extreme winter scenarios a petrol or diesel generator kicks in to boost the battery.


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    #45
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,018 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    Bdjsjsjs wrote: »
    Well the technology doesn't exist so yeah I don't agree at all. We can't assume something new will be generated. We'd need a miracle to able to have PV producing all electrical needs in a Irish winter.
    The technology does exist today if you can pack enough PV on your roof and buy a big enough battery, even for winter BUT it's not yet cost effective to go off grid. As the technology improves and reduces in cost (PV panels cost a fraction of a decade ago and are multiples more efficient but there is still huge scope to improve efficiency further).

    Some day it will be cost effective. That day is rapidly approaching IMO as there has never been a greater focus on battery technology and renewables generally.

    In one hour more solar energy hits the surface of the earth than the whole world consumes in one year.

    We have a giant limitless fusion reactor sending us free energy on a massive scale. Even on cloudy days you get about 10% of the energy of a clear day which is still more than enough if the PV panel is efficient enough.


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    #46
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    ELM327 wrote: »
    Max power in 2026?
    If we just stopped being such a backward hellhole and embraced nuclear and off shore wave energy this wouldnt be an issue

    We're gonna need a time machine too... To go forward to get the wave tech, and to go back to start building the nuclear plant...

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



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    #47
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEE13B0NZSHRdKI2AexQWeKwqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowyNLTATDN-jUwjbOhAQ?hl=en-IE&gl=IE&ceid=IE%3Aen

    Probably gonna be large objections to the French interconnecter, well to the converter station at any rate, not really sure how big and intrusive a facility that'll be..but we do seem to have an object first (and then indignant later) kind of thing going on,

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



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    #48
    Bdjsjsjs
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 82 ✭✭Bdjsjsjs


    easypazz wrote: »
    Say a rural road has 10 houses over a 1km distance, one turbine helps recharge 10 batteries.

    Or an apartment block has a bank of pv on the roof feeding all the batteries, along with some wind turbines.

    In extreme winter scenarios a petrol or diesel generator kicks in to boost the battery.
    Sounds like a highly inefficient solution, especially given the grid is already present.


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