Another winter solstice successfully handled. Tomorrow will have more sun.
Today is the shortest day of the year, with the sun at its lowest angle at noon. Using only photovoltaic solar power, today I get the least potential for energy. It’s less cloudy than usual, so I’ll get some power, but a tall building a block south of mine blocks the sun for most of the morning. Actually, low buildings do too.
Here’s a schematic illustration:
Here’s a more detailed drawing. I looked up the peak angle for New York City on the winter solstice: just under 26 degrees. I didn’t realize it was that small a number.
I was surprised to find that on the summer solstice, the sun only peaks at just below 73 degrees. I thought it was closer to overhead.
To clarify, PV solar is not clean, green, or renewable, even if cleaner than fossil fuels, nuclear, or most current alternatives. What is clean, green, and renewable is not doing things that pollute or deplete. I do a lot that pollutes and depletes, including posting on this blog, though a lot less than before, which has improved my life. It’s crazy to see how much people use new technologies in ways that end up worsening their lives, like flying, doof, and artificial intelligence. They get the momentary jolt, then don’t notice the ongoing dependence.
Anyway, despite the short days and low angle, I’ve been using little enough energy and enough sun is forecast the next few days that this morning my batteries were full enough to run the pressure cooker. I cooked my first food in at least a month. Plus I had a bunch of potatoes and amaranth, which, as far as I know, require cooking. I’m not complaining about the salads and cereals I’ve been eating all this time. I find them incredibly delicious.
The last paragraph prompted me to look up if I can eat potatoes without cooking them and fermenting may be an option. It looks like I can ferment amaranth too. I’m learning to ferment more all the time.
Tomorrow will be longer, with the sun at a higher angle (though likely colder)
Anyway, tomorrow will be longer. The sun will be at a higher angle. The weather will stay cold for a few months. In New York City, the average coldest day of the year is January 24th, when the average low is 27 degrees, so I still have a month of the temperature dropping, and about two months before it’s back up to today’s average.
But hands-on practical experience has taught me what all those “environmentalists” don’t learn from flying around the world, reading books, and lecturing people. I learn how to survive and thrive will less energy. I find how to get more power without carrying all this equipment to the roof or local park.
And I appreciate what I have more. I’m not sacrificing. I’m living more fully.
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