[ASalazarMX]

You can't deny that it's borderline foolish to spend much more energy to build a device to save energy, even if you think it could be repurposed in the uncertain future. If we're going to be conscious about our (carbon/pollution/etc.) footprint in this planet, we have to make rational decisions about our consumption. It doesn't mean we can't have fun, we just have to waste less.

[cwkoss]

Energy isn't fungible though. It has a steep decay over time and space.

A watthour next to a hydroelectic powerplant has a very different value that a watthour in an off grid cabin during arctic winter.

Sometimes energy prices even go negative - it would be wonderful if these surpluses could effectively be utilized to manufacture solar.

[qqqwerty]

We are talking about a handful of hobbyists and tinkerers making DIY systems. If they substitute a weekend road trip with a weekend of tinkering with DIY power generation at home, the fuel savings would more than offset the embodied energy of the hardware in their project.

But if everyone on the planet started doing it, I might rethink my position.