England cutting back air conditioning during heat wave

[ArMaP]

Have you not played disyworld? A planet simulator based entirly on the color of flowers to control the environmental temperature. The darker the flowers, the higher the temperature. 

No.

Solar farms are just like covering the Earth with dark colored panels. Dark colored panels get hotter and give of that heat. 

And if the panels weren't there, what would happen? When the light hits the ground it's also converted in heat. If you follow any kind of motor racing you will know that the difference between air temperature and track temperature can be as high as 15º C or more.
Solar panels convert part of the energy into electricity (although not much, their efficiency is low, around 20%), so that part is not converted into heat.

As I have already said, they are making their own global warming predictions come true.

Global warming has been used as a political and social weapon, but it's real.

[andy06shake]

Have you not played disyworld? 

The daisyworld simulation?

I seem to recall it on the old Amiga in SimEarth.

[BeyondKnowledge]

No.


And if the panels weren't there, what would happen? When the light hits the ground it's also converted in heat. If you follow any kind of motor racing you will know that the difference between air temperature and track temperature can be as high as 15º C or more.
Solar panels convert part of the energy into electricity (although not much, their efficiency is low, around 20%), so that part is not converted into heat.


Global warming has been used as a political and social weapon, but it's real.

You are correct in the comparison of solar panels to paved road surfaces. The fact they are both dark makes them both heat up. Now the light that is converted to electricity is not the part of the spectrum that makes the panels heat up. So the 20% less heat is wrong. 

Solar panels are dark to absorb light. Covering the countryside with collar panels is like paving the whole are over. Same heat buildup with no benefit of being driven or parked on. 

Yes, the climat changes in rythems longer than we notice. They are not human caused but the current trend to darken the surface of the Earth is trying to change that. And I am not even getting into the metal contamination caused by those solar cell installations, 

There are lots of renewable energy projects that are worse for the environment than burning fossel fuel. Humanity just doesn't realize this yet.

[BeyondKnowledge]

The daisyworld simulation?

I seem to recall it on the old Amiga in SimEarth.

I remember it on my first ibm compatable laptop. It was the time of the Commodore Amiga though. So it was probably on that platform too. 

In one mode, you had a number of different colors of daisies and nothing else. Make it too light color or too dark in the wrong regions and climate would go bad in ether direction. You could end up cooking the planet or freezing the planet.

[bastion]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/an...r-AA26x3nA
The English government telling people they can't use their air con during a massive heat wave is a bit much. At the very least they could set a temperature for when it could be turned on/off. Sounds like it's going to be a long summer across the pond!

No one here in the UK has aircon at home apart from multi-millionaires. We've never needed it or experienced regular 20C+ nights hence the concern and red alerts for over 40+c/100+f weather as of recent. Aircon doesn't work well over here as even in 100f+ it's rarely below 85%; the whole reason why mid 30s/high 90-100s heat poses such a healthrisk is 99.9%+ homes have never had aircon.

GBNews was the only UK based site to peddle the ridiculous claim apart from the equally clutch pearling express - it's completely undestandable for those outside the UK falling for the clickbait but obvious nonsense to anyone living in the UK.

[ArMaP]

You are correct in the comparison of solar panels to paved road surfaces. The fact they are both dark makes them both heat up. Now the light that is converted to electricity is not the part of the spectrum that makes the panels heat up. So the 20% less heat is wrong. 

I never thought about which wavelengths are converted, thanks for pointing that.

Solar panels are dark to absorb light. Covering the countryside with collar panels is like paving the whole are over. Same heat buildup with no benefit of being driven or parked on. 

You are ignoring the benefit of producing electricity.

Yes, the climat changes in rythems longer than we notice. They are not human caused but the current trend to darken the surface of the Earth is trying to change that. And I am not even getting into the metal contamination caused by those solar cell installations, 

The truth is that we really don't know how much of the change is caused by humans, it can be a lot or almost nothing, we don't have any real way of making real comparisons to know it.

There are lots of renewable energy projects that are worse for the environment than burning fossel fuel. Humanity just doesn't realize this yet.

There are also lots of good and relatively cheap projects, like wave power.

[vonclod]

After reading the article, I have this to say:
1 - It's not the government that is telling people "they can't use air con";
2 - It appears that the building regulations promote passive cooling, they do not force it;
3 - The article has several "reportedly", "suggest" and "allegedly";
4 - The original source appears to be behind a paywall.

So, it looks like this is just one of those "wishful thinking news", when those publishing it wanted it to be true, even if they think it's not.

PS: air conditioning in large cities is really a problem, as all the hot air extracted from the houses is sent to the streets, increasing the temperature in what are already "heat islands", as cities tend to keep hot temperatures longer than smaller villages.

Where I live..British Columbia, by laws here are mandating air conditioning in at least one room as mandatory, landlords have to ensure there is one cooling room. Over 600 people died about 5 years ago during a "heat dome"

[BeyondKnowledge]

I never thought about which wavelengths are converted, thanks for pointing that.


You are ignoring the benefit of producing electricity.


The truth is that we really don't know how much of the change is caused by humans, it can be a lot or almost nothing, we don't have any real way of making real comparisons to know it.


There are also lots of good and relatively cheap projects, like wave power.

You are ignoring the benefits of fossel fuel producing electricity. 

But are these good and cheap projects dirtier for the environment in the long run? Many are. Solar and wind are destroying the environment by mining the materials, contaminating the areas of installations, and disrupting the animals and people that live nearby.

[ArMaP]

You are ignoring the benefits of fossel fuel producing electricity. 

I'm not, but as we were talking about the heat produced, you have to admit that thermal power plants are, by definition, big heat sources.

To me, the best way of trying to solve this problem would be to try to find another way of converting all the energy stored in fossil fuels without having to burn them.
I don't know if it's possible.

But are these good and cheap projects dirtier for the environment in the long run? Many are. Solar and wind are destroying the environment by mining the materials, contaminating the areas of installations, and disrupting the animals and people that live nearby.

I'm sure they are not as "eco friendly" as the promoters say, as they usually ignore the long run effects or how "eco unfriendly" the production of those systems may be, but some are not that bad.
Wave power, for example, it's not that expensive and doesn't have any big impact on the environment. Near Oporto, in Portugal, they have an installation projected to produce 1 MW installed on the breakwater of the Douro river mouth.

The problem, as usual, it's not that there aren't alternatives, it's that some people choose the alternatives that will give them more money, in one way or another.

[Owlwatcher]

Fortunately it won't be a sustained heat according to longer range forecasts.