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How many to power an Anandtech user's house?
By GoatMonkey on 5/14/2007 8:54:36 AM , Rating: 2
I'd like to know how many of these panels it would take to fully power an average Anandtech user's house. Considering that the site is populated by mostly computer geeks we tend to have more than average amounts of electronics and computer equipment.

It's probably safe to say that Anandtech users have more than 1 computer, or at least a computer and a game console. Currently most enthusiast computers use at least a 500W power supply. Then you have a display for each, big speakers for games, various peripherals (cameras, printers, routers, etc.). Of course, we have home theater systems, maybe an HDTV if were lucky.

Then of course, you have all of the standard stuff usually in a house like air conditioning, refrigerator, stove, etc.

My rough estimate says that if you keep all of these things running, you would need at minimum 50 of these panels, probably more than that actually.

With each of these panels being roughly 6' x 4', and getting 50 panels, would cover an area of 300' x 200'. That's pretty close to the dimensions of a football field.

Also, being computer geeks, many of us live in the city in apartments/condos, or in the nearby burbs. Those places are not going to have the space to fully run all your gear from these panels.

Yes, I realize that people don't really run all of their stuff at once, and that you don't necessarily need to power everything for this to be a benefit. I'm just saying, still not the most practical thing, but it's great that they're working on it.




By Ringold on 5/14/2007 5:59:04 PM , Rating: 2
Well, in theory, all of that really does run about all the time.

Many geeks apparently dont turn their computers off when they walk away even if they aren't running something like F@H -- which would mean nearly full-load non-stop if they did.

The AC is usually on all the time, though some people go to the trouble of programming their AC controller to allow it to get warmer (or stay colder) whilst most occupants are off to work, school, etc.

The refrigerator BETTER be on all the time, and it consumes a lot of energy. Hot water heater, much the same story.

Of course, there are a few things that consume monsterous amounts of energy, like drying clothes, that only occur while people are home.. but those things probably tend to be done closer to night after people come home, too.

I'm not disagreeing with anything really, though. Just saying, a homes consumption probably is relatively steady.

