Some of us wonder why the push for electric-based everything, the push for everyone to have solar panels on their homes, all-electric or electric hybrid vehicles, and digital currency. Is this the new and exciting electric age we’ve just come to live in, or is there a bigger, darker, more sinister motive behind this electric agenda?
We’ve all seen the companies that no longer accept cash after the pandemic. Part of the master plan is to eliminate paper currency and use digital currency as a means of compliance. Or maybe we should just go to bed on time and quit going down so many rabbit holes on Reddit. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the basics.
The Power of the Sun
Solar panels for your home, we’ve all heard this sales pitch. Some of us have gone for it and gotten that loan, and others have not. These can run you anywhere from $14,000 to $20,000. Now, not all solar panels are installed with batteries. Some of you there may have solar panels and already know this, and some of you might not. You can have the panels installed and choose not to have battery storage. However, there are some serious pros and cons to these batteries.
The biggest pro of going without battery storage is that it’s significantly cheaper upfront. A battery solar panel system can cost up to three times as much. However, there are a few drawbacks to be aware of. First, without batteries, you rely entirely on the grid for power at night or during a power outage.
Downside: People are being warned to check their solar energy systems for a specific type of lithium-ion battery that can spontaneously overheat and catch fire. LG solar storage batteries have now been linked to 13 cases of property damage in Australia, including one fire that destroyed a house in Victoria.
Do Solar Panels Give Off Radiation? Inquiring minds want to know. A solar system is a DC system (direct current system) and will, therefore, not transmit any dangerous radiation. The solar inverter will create some electric field radiation, but only that similar to the level of a fluorescent tube. So, I guess whatever your comfort level is, this may be acceptable to you.
The Electric Age is Wonderful
Well, solar power is better for the environment and more convenient. Sure, but what about blackouts and brownouts? Oh, how quickly we forget or don’t bother to think about them because they’ve put another shiny, new thing in front of us, something that makes our fast-paced lives just that much easier.
California and Florida are two of the most likely states to have these power shortages. Suppose you’ve yet to experience a brownout. In that case, some tell-tale signs you’re in a brownout are flickering lights, appliances turning off quickly and then back on again, and intermittent internet connections.
The scariest part of the brownouts is who controls them: the energy providers. As much as the internet would have you believe, it all rests in your hands because it’s your fault this is all happening. Your overconsumption, your greedy nature. They simply shut it down to control you! Partially true.
So, if the energy providers are so concerned with controlling energy consumption to prevent complete blackouts or intermittent brownouts, why would we want everything reliant on electricity? It’s cleaner, you say, more efficient than petroleum or fossil fuels. Oh, to live in this great electric age.
Life Is A Highway
EVs are the future, right? You better hope there’s a charging station every 250 miles on this highway of life. The average total miles one can travel on a single charge is approximately 250-300 miles, for my Canadian friends 402-482 kilometers.
When you find a charging station, the time it will take to recharge can vary. If you are lucky enough to find a Rapid charging station, it will take 30 minutes or less to charge fully. Unfortunately, the likelihood of finding one of those may not be so good. Using a 7kW public charger, you can expect to achieve the same in under 8 hours and around 3 hours using a 22 kW chargepoint.
Now, let’s talk about cost. This part is more user-friendly. The low cost of an average of $15 to $20 is not bad! However, the limited range again leads our minds down a nefarious path toward the road of control. Limit the range we can travel, keep us in areas you want us to remain. Alas, this is a new form of lockdown.
Batteries Not Included
But what exactly are we charging? That energy has to be stored somewhere. Picture the battery of an electric vehicle. The image you’ve conjured likely looks more like a big rectangle rather than a small cylinder. Though your mind may perceive these two types of batteries as vastly different electricity-storing devices.
The typical store-bought battery for your various electronic devices and the battery pack in an EV work on the same general principles. That said, the battery in a hybrid or electric vehicle is more complicated than those lipstick-like cells you’re used to handling.
Battery replacement costs can run on average from $3000 to $22,000 depending on the year, make, and model. Traditional combustion engine battery replacement was expensive at $150. On the plus side, replacement time can be more like 10 to 20 years, but certain factors can impact that lifespan. Battery chemistry, driving habits, environmental conditions, and maintenance practices all affect EV battery life.
You can see how, yet again, this can be used as a form of control between the “haves” and the ‘Have nots.” Without that good credit score, you won’t be able to get approved for the vehicle. Don’t stay in good standing, no battery for you after five years of ownership. Where does that leave you exactly?
Electric Cars are Fire!
EVs have been the subject of some serious controversy. They’ve been blamed for causing severe motion sickness in those who have never experienced it before. Some say it’s caused by the solid electrical current surrounding you throughout your whole drive, and many of us spend a lot of time in our cars these days.
Spontaneous combustion. After Hurricane Ian in 2022, the flooded EVs spontaneously caught fire, requiring fire departments to use ten to twelve times the amount of water to extinguish a fire in one of these self-exploding “self-driving” vehicles. Because of this issue, salvage yards had to sit the vehicles at least 50 feet apart in case they burst into flames to prevent anything around them from catching fire.
If you are still not convinced, who cares? California is banning gas vehicles. California has approved regulations that will restrict the sales of new gasoline cars by 2035, so get on board or else. And we all know what starts in California is bad news for the rest of the country and eventually the world.
The Electric Age is Here to Stay
So, is it the Electric Age or the Electric Agenda? No one knows, but keep asking questions, even obvious ones. “It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” Ram Dass.
