A friend of mine recently bought a house then ticked off one his "life goal" of getting a solar system. He claims one of his major drivers for getting solar is the sustainability/environment benefits.
I just found out that on the weekend, he cut down a tree that was decreasing the performance of a couple of his panels.
Do you know a bigger hypocrite?
Ah I still like the guy, just disappointed in a lot of his life choices
I wouldn't talk to the guy again… maybe he could redeem himself on his deathbed if he offered an apology to planet earth, that is if the earth is still inhabitable due to his actions.
by getting better efficiency from his panels, he is using less carbon fueled energy from the grid, so it probably balances out as a carbon neutral act with the added bonus of saving money, it's genius
I was going to say that OP should mind thier own business till I read the last line and burst out laughing.
Good one OP
Its the same with all these "Greenies"
They are ALL hypocrites
Congratulations for holding the moral high ground . Champion
Hi, this is said friend, we need to have a little chat.
This question has got me stumped…
This question has leafed me hanging….
Just plant a tree on your property to make up the difference and move on.
Also, odd life goal. Weird friend indeed.
Right? Feel like even with the tree down they're probably still in a net positive position as to their carbon footprint.
How big and old was the tree? Could he possibly have just trimmed it? Anyways, meh - you really do need to keep shade away from standard solar systems or the performance of the panels are only as good as the most shaded panel.
Probably a 50 year old tree. Whole thing is gone.
He has a microinverter setup!
He has a microinverter setup!
bahahaha what a muppet
Genuine question. Why? Is not a microinverter a better way as it would only decrease the output by the panels affected? Or are you saying he is a muppet because of that and did not really need to cut the tree down as the impact would be less keeping the tree (ie the impact of the decreased performance for the part day with shade is less than the benefit of the cooling affect on the house by keeping the tree)?
@Tiller76: Nearly all solar panels these days have bypass diodes which achieve the same result in shaded environments and paired with more efficient string inverters often exceed the efficiencies of micro inverters.
I feel ya. I really do.
My friend is a vegan because he says that he is against animal cruelty but I found out that he flicked the shit out of a mosquito that landed on him.
Should I unfriend him?
Please don't unfriend them. They need you as their moral compass
Only if it was pregnant. Think of the babies!!!!!
Thats one hell of a life goal.
Are people actually this weird or are the trolls just playing the long game with old unused accounts?
Everyone needs life goals. Please share yours with the group
Well my PV generation tracker app says I have saved the equivalent of 530 trees over 3 years. So your friend probably did work for the greater good anyways.
Depends if you used it to mine bitcoin
is this the same as,
people that think they need to go to war to have peace.
maybe more towards the "you have to break some eggs to make an omelette"
Shoul have been factored into the placement and overall output of the panels.
Have trees that shade my panels at various times of the year. Wouldnt cut them down.
Mate's a knob by the sounds.
He's only had the system for a month and spent extra on micro-inverters because of the shading…
I hope he at least burnt it for firewood, and to release some sweet sweet co2
It's understandable that you might be feeling hurt and angry with your friend after they did something that goes against your values. However, it's important to remember that people make mistakes and sometimes do things that are not in line with our expectations or values. This does not necessarily mean that your friendship is over or that your friend is a bad person. If you want to try to save the relationship, it can be helpful to communicate openly and honestly with your friend about how their actions have affected you. This can allow them to understand your perspective and may give them the opportunity to make amends and change their behaviour in the future. It may also give you the opportunity to express your feelings and work through any conflicts or misunderstandings. It's not always possible to repair a damaged relationship, but keeping the lines of communication open and being willing to listen and forgive can often be a good first step.
You should provide online therapy.
i dunno …just looks like copy & pasta from here
this stinks of ChatGPT
The irony that the tree was probably worth 5 x what his solar panels were worth as well as the value of the energy they were going to generate over its lifetime. (From a house value perspective).
Muppet should've located the panels better/trimmed the tree rather than removing it.
I've had solar installed for 5 years and the inverter software is telling me that's equivalent to planting 726 trees. Not sure where you learned math but you're way off on every calculation. Pretty sure it's not the guy who cut down the tree that's the muppet. https://imgur.com/a/mX9Ou1G
It's from a house value perspective… Purely financial.
If we're going by that i've "saved" 800 trees as well by using my system.
Trees of that age can add $20k-$40k to a property's value.
So much so that local councils in the area can and will charge this much if a builder chooses to remove said trees from verges.
310 MWH over 25 years of a solar system @ .25 kwh is $77500.
I still don't see how a 25-40k tree works out to be better "purely financial". Plant another $20 tree somewhere in the yard that won't shade the panels. He's not a muppet.
@David2017: If you think you're getting 25c/kwh for the next 25 years you're sorely mistaken (unless you're using 100% it - again i highly doubt). Also natural solar panel degradation will result in the system generating a fraction of what you're thinking and the grid is being turned off as the system becomes overloaded..
Just look at WA between 2-10c/kwh at which stage you're barely breaking even after 25 years.
Also don't forget your $5k outlay which would come out of it.
Also i don't see how your system could possibly generate 12,500kwh a year unless you're in darwin or alice springs?
@Drakesy: I guess 4/5ths after 25 years is technically a fraction but not what you were going for given your ranty response. Mine is producing around 90% what it was making when it was installed 12 years ago. Produced 186 MWh in that time…how many trees is that?
what a muppet!
I don't know if many of the remarks here are sarcasm but this post did give me a bit of laugh especially the first responder.
I'd just like to point out that my friend has red hair. Does that change anyone's perspective?
maybe should have kept the tree to avoid freckles
….typical ranger!!
Well, now that we know they don't have a soul i guess this behaviour is warranted.
Do I know a bigger hypocrite? Absolutely.
Every human who complains about single use plastics and tries to make out like they're saving the environment, but have never owned anything second hand, update their everything, because it's 2 years+ old etc. These people are the worst. Much worse than your friend. Seems like your friend is just thinking of the long term benefits at the cost of a tree.
Also I have a mate who complains that his tax dollars are going to people on welfare. He literally spent 10+ years on welfare playing xbox and living for free at the parents house.
Don't even get me started on my sister.
yeah…. like, uhm, i buy $300 patagonia hoodys to offset my new iphone i buy every two years. it feels good to able to afford to save the planet from companies that really care for us and our future!!
I love these strawman millennials that boomers always dream up. All the trendy kids in their twenties around me are wearing opshop clothes.
he should just bulldoze the lot and put up some wind turbines instead…
I can see why this has gotten up your nose. I’d be disappointed too. I believe trees - and all living things for that matter - have souls. But that’s a cultural practice of mine which I won’t labour now. I’d ask your mate to plant one tree, maybe more, to compensate. Depending on the age of the tree, it won’t be easily replaced. That’s probably the least he could do.
Was the tree exotic, nationally indigenous or locally indigenous? If not the last option, they've done the environment a favour.
Now let me explain to you conservatives why. Just be aware you'll have to join several cognitive dots. Careful though, when joining said dots, you put yourself in danger of becoming a progressive…
There are so many places we can plant trees such as the thousands of kilometers of government owned planned road easements that will never get a road or have trees planted on them.
Just down the road from me is a easement 6 klms long and maybe 60 meters wide maybe a couple dozen trees and some manuka.
Yet were happy to plant or have trees under power lines close to house and near driveways and intersections which give poor vehicle visibility which have to be trimmed used combustion engines.
Farmers have rising costs so no incentive to plant trees.
The hypocritical left want all native timber logging in Victoria (which is all replanted) banned but there is not enough plantations in the ground in Victoria but guess what because of the green push Australia is now importing around 6 billion dollars worth of raw timber from overseas most of that is clear felled never to be replanted villagers losing their livelihood many species being pushed to extinction.
The ABC in 2019 reported of this timber being imported that interpol says 800 million was illegally harvested as well in those countries for Australia. Australia green movement is actually stuffing the environment and poorer countries.
We need more trees but we need commonsense dont plant near roads, buildings and power lines.
To play devils advocate, trees in urban environments are supposed to offset the heat island effect of 40+C summers.
As for Australian reforested logging, good in principle but there are reports that this isn't actual what's happening in various pockets and it is a bitch to audit.
If it was a gum tree, I don't blame him - they're widow makers and often decimate homes in storms. We're building at the moment and I made sure any gum tree within cooee of our house was torn down for also the same reason (to stop them shading our solar panels) as your friend with weird life goals. I'll replant other less dangerous trees at the end of the build.
How much carbon would that tree have taken out per year vs the carbon saved from the additional efficiencies in his panels?
yeah, person posted on ozbargain about calling out a "friend" as a hypocrite.