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mschuster91today at 11:52 AM2 repliesview on HN

> idk like turning the heat way up during the day

That is something you can reasonably do, but it's only useful in winter.

> or using high power appliances more during the day

Well, given that people have to work during the day, I doubt that that will work out on a large enough scale. And even if you'd pre-program a laundry machine to run at noon, the laundry would sit and get smelly during summer until you'd get home.

The only change in patterns we will see is more base load during the night from EVs trickle-charging as more and more enter the market.


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bruce511today at 1:06 PM

I've got solar. We switched things like pool pump, hot water and so on (things already on timers) from night to day.

Dishwasher can also gave a programmed start, so that can also shift from after-dinner to after-breakfast.

I also work some days from home, so other activities can be moved from night to day. We use a bore-hole for irrigation, laundry in the morning etc. Even cooking can often be done earlier in the day.

Aircon is the least problematic- when we need it, the sun is shining.

So yes, habits can shift. Obviously though each situation is different.

infectotoday at 12:04 PM

At least in the US there is a push to make electric appliances smarter already. So for example, the electric hot water heater responding to the strain on the grid. The same could happen for AC, heat, EVs and other higher load appliances. At scale that can help out the grid immensely either in times of peak load or dip in demand.

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