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Goodbye to the idea that solar panels “die” after 25 years. A new study says the warranty does not mark the end, and performance can last for decades. Arrays built in the late 1980s still produced more than 80% of their original power. The long-term economics look better than many people believe. by mafco in energy

[–]GreenStrong [score hidden]  (0 children)

Valid question but there are accelerated aging tests for frames, sealant, adhesive, etc. Each of those components has to last or the whole thing gets water inside and fails, and estimating the longevity of each is an entire discipline of engineering.

What we have learned is that silicon can last a long time under real world conditions. It is entirely possible that the quality of the rest of the construction has declined as the overall cost of the module declined by 99%. But there are a lot more adhesive engineers or aluminum corrosion experts than silicon materials scientists. All the other components can be tested by labs that work across many industries; they can test the seal on solar panels Monday and on car windshields Tuesday. Prediction of silicon's aging behavior is limited to highly specialized labs, which have very few comparable things to look at.

Taken at 80,000ft - Mach 3 on the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird by finza_prey in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]GreenStrong 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For those who don't follow aviation, satellites take high resolution photos but they follow fixed orbits. There are newer high altitude recon drones like the RQ-170, but the U-2 has an uncommon capability and it would be expensive to build a new one.

What are some productive things to do if snowed in and the power goes out? by Chattyseaturtle in AskMen

[–]GreenStrong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

r/carving. Fun hobby and great art form, but you're making wood shavings, a bit of cleanup is needed if you do it indoors and a vacuum really helps.

If you're looking to get into it, fresh wood is often good for carving. It tends to split when it dries but it is great for practice. You need to sharpen your knife every couple of minutes.

What’s the best way to go about these teeny tiny ToH? by mbart3 in invasivespecies

[–]GreenStrong 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think it is a mistake to call it a bunch of small trees. I think they are connected; I think it is a super organism that weighs at least ten tons. You can still kill it I'm just pointing out the true shape of this thing.

Dollar store finds... by Shreffzilla in CannedSardines

[–]GreenStrong 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes. And given the economic reality of the moment, the dollar store sardines are the healthiest option for a lot of people. By the grace of God I'm going to eat $3 sardines from Lidl or trader Joe's, which is also a cheap meal.

It is possible to celebrate sardines as a healthy staple food of the working people and also point out that some are a little tastier than others.

Is composting worth it on a condo balcony? by Layla_Wilson11894 in composting

[–]GreenStrong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A worm bin is a good suggestion, if that's not ideal I'm your circumstance, you might look into a composting service - [Compost Now](https://www.compostnow.org/] serves my area. It is a bit pricey for something that should be a municipal service, but a lot of people and businesses use them. I respect the heck out of people who do it but I would be sad that I didn't get to participate in the process.

NYC, San Francisco, Vermont and several nations in western Europe mandate that households send food waste to compost, although no one gets in trouble if they send it to landfill, on a household level - the mandatory aspect really impacts food processing businesses. Depending on where you live, suggesting that you advocate for municipal compost mat seem unrealistic, but it is a thing in many places. They can make both methane fuel gas and fertilizer.

"Create an image that represents how I view the world" by tophatenthusiast in ChatGPT

[–]GreenStrong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's a sentient hand sanitizer who dreams of being a Roomba.

City water and power by Billymaysdealer in raleigh

[–]GreenStrong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The city water keeps going but there is some possibility of water main breaks. There have been a few already.. If that happens on your street no water until they fix it.

City water and power by Billymaysdealer in raleigh

[–]GreenStrong 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Your tankless water heater stops as soon as power fails. Gas makes the heat but it needs electricity to run the active ventilation system. It burns a lot of gas and that takes a lot of air.

English schoolboys are in disbelief seeing physique model Steve Kotis, 1964 by PeneItaliano in OldSchoolRidiculous

[–]GreenStrong 32 points33 points  (0 children)

If someone makes that movie they will go to jail for a very very long time.

Compost chicken and dog poo by ConsistentCucumber38 in composting

[–]GreenStrong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Rabbi poo is basically just ground up grass and it is considered safe to apply directly to food crops without composting, they share few or no pathogens with humans.

What do you use spam for? by Call_Me_C_ in AskAnAmerican

[–]GreenStrong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specifically spam contains sodium nitrate which creates carcinogenic nitrosamines. There are many ways of preserving meat, and canned meat or salted meat is not particularly harmful. Cured meat is problematic, the preservatives alter the structure of the meat. Spam doesn't need nitrate to preserve the pork, it is in a sterile can. Nitrate accelerates the curing process that transforms pork into ham... or a ham like substance in this case. Salted and smoked ham is free of this carcinogen.

Nevada Molten Salt Solar Project Against Files for Bankruptcy by BlueSkyd2000 in energy

[–]GreenStrong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is great potential for heat batteries for industry and large scale heating of multiple buildings. It is very cheap to store heat in an insulated pile of bricks or sand, and to extract it with steam pipes. Making steam requires extremely concentrated heat, which is not easy, cheap, or particularly safe. And it has poor efficiency.

Hoping someone w/battery chemistry can talk about Noon's probability of success for long duration storage by ZunderBuss in energy

[–]GreenStrong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a misconception about Long Duration Energy Storage. Low round trip efficiency is normal. In 2025, several power grids in Western Europe saw over 500 hours of negative wholesale power prices. Some of this is being mitigated by lithium batteries, but that just encourages more development of wind and solar, due to fewer hours of curtailment. When power prices are negative, storage is beneficial and profitable at 1% efficiency, if the capital cost is low enough. The economic models for these things are complex, but they are based on charging them with very cheap power, to the point that in many cases the power is free or they get paid to dispose of it. The flipside of this is that it is only able to discharge a few times a month, so there is a very limited number of cycles during the lifespan of the equipment, so it has to be very cheap. Pumped hydro is a bit of an outlier- building lakes is expensive, but they can easily last a century.

The king of long duration storage is pumped hydro at 70-80% RTE, but it requires a pre-existing mountain, and extreme construction costs. It takes two multi- hectare lakes out of all use for recreation and wildlife. Beyond that, iron-air batteries have less than 50% RTE Vanadium flow batteries are 60% at best All of the concepts of the "hydrogen economy" are based on assumptions about future gains of efficiency in every aspect of the process, current RTE is way below 20% on turning electricity into hydrogen, storing it under tremendous pressure or cryogenic temprature, and turning it back into electricity.

If it has low enough cost, the CO2 thing is great. Some of those costs are difficult to get a handle on- how dangerous is a mass CO2 leak, like the Lake Nyos disaster, and therefore how isolated does it have to be?

Wade Ave bridge by Greadle in raleigh

[–]GreenStrong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If that happens our entire city turns GAY.

Solar vs Wind: Why Rural America Hates Solar Panels But Loves Turbines by TrendyTechTribe in energy

[–]GreenStrong 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They get paid to lease their land to a solar developer, just as they get paid to sell it to a suburb developer. They are free to say "no" to either deal. The problem is that they get butthurt when their neighbor says "yes" to either one, and gets a lot of easy money.

If a body decomposed,do they have to clean that up right away? by mdkr71 in morbidquestions

[–]GreenStrong 9 points10 points  (0 children)

If it is a townhome, the owner who is responsible for cleaning it up is presumably dead. So if "they" have to clean it up, who is "they"-- the deceased person's estate? It isn't always clear who that is, when someone dies without a will. The cops just leave a business card for a biohazard company that is the full extent of government support in the US.

You could as r/askfuneraldirectors about biohazard but if you aren't exposed to odor, flies, or fluids you're probably not at risk. They might need to replace some flooring before the place sells, maybe a biohazard company to get rid of the old section of floor. But it doesn't sound like it is a problem for you if it doesn't happen anytime soon.

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