There are a lot of things about conservative beliefs that I personally find strange and unbelievable, but sometimes I just wonder if maybe they don’t know anything at all and that’s their biggest problem. People like Jim Hoft, a Twitter personality who calls himself a “Top Choice of the American Truth Seeker,” makes a good case for that.
Hoft is really against the use of solar power, mainly because liberal people are generally for it and not because he understands what it is at all.
A tweet that Hoft has since deleted tags Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and reads, “It’s a bit cold outside this morning in middle America… Aren’t you glad you aren’t heating your home with a solar panel like nitwit Socialist @AOC is demanding?”
He shared some pictures of a weather report showing that temperatures had fallen as low as 24 degrees below zero. Very cold. Not really related to how solar panels work.
A TV host and scientist named Emily Canlandrelli tried to help Hoft out with his misapprehensions, sharing a screenshot of his tweet and writing, “Do Solar Panels work in the cold? YES! Solar Panels work by absorbing LIGHT from the sun, not heat. In fact, the chemical reactions that occur w/i the solar panels are more efficient at cooler temperatures. Also, white snow can act like a mirror to reflect MORE light onto them.”
Important caveat: you're likely to produce less energy in the Winter months because the days are a bit shorter – but that's not because of the cold.
Interested to hear from solar panel owners if they've found their Winter output sufficient?
— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) January 31, 2019
She did add the caveat that the days are shorter in winter, so panels might produce less energy. She asked solar panels users what their experience has been like and those who replied have said they’ve been having a good experience even in cold, snowy weather:
Woah this is awesome. Thanks for sharing
— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) February 1, 2019
Thanks for sharing! Are the winter months sufficient for you or do you need to supplement with other sources?
— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) January 31, 2019
I sized my system so that over the course of a year the total power I use is about what is produced. This is about 12MWh yearly. So I effectively use the grid as my battery backup. Here is my yearly energy chart: pic.twitter.com/EbAP8MFKk5
— Non-Essential Non-Worker Staying Home aka Retired (@MITeecs1975) January 31, 2019
My co-worker sent me his data. Today was his most productive day this month due to the lack of clouds. pic.twitter.com/nPilpQswsc
— Evan Hershman (@EvanHershman) January 31, 2019
— Jesse Heady (@jheady) February 1, 2019
There are a lot of reasons why solar power might not be feasible for homeowners, especially with the current White House administration’s determined effort to quash environmental efforts. But the fact that it gets cold in winter isn’t one of them! People enjoyed Hoft’s takedown quite a lot:
did this guy grow up on a moron farm eating stupid seeds?
— Greg Dutra (@DutraWeather) January 31, 2019
ugh I know 🙁
— Emily Calandrelli (@TheSpaceGal) January 31, 2019
You should have to pass an IQ test as part of that Twitter 'blue-check' gig. Someone might think he knows what he's talking about…
— SALTY Gaseous Anomaly (@Turd_Ferguson) January 31, 2019
????????????
— Vasto Lorde (@Ntate_Rorschach) February 1, 2019
Too bad he probably didn’t actually learn anything.
