The supports in the picture are massive and don't look cheap.
They look like ordinary “bents” for prefabricated metal buildings which are about the cheapest kind of building per square foot. Made out of steel, they are typically sold at a cost per ton like other steel shapes.
The cost of the scheme is in maintenance. No ground level access. No easy way to service panels in the middle of the roof. And lots of electrical current if you need to do something during day light because solar panels don’t turn off.
So I agree it is a dumb idea but not because of the cost of steel but for the lack of modularity and abundance of inaccessibility.
> The cost of the scheme is in maintenance. No ground level access. No easy way to service panels in the middle of the roof. And lots of electrical current if you need to do something during day light because solar panels don’t turn off.
This is classic HN "armchair critic" comment. Yeah, I'm sure the designers didn't think about any of these issues. If they need to clean the panels, they can use a cherry picker. If they need to service the electrical components underneath, they can wait until the canal is drained (usually once per year for cleaning), and, again, use a cherry picker.
Solar panels are cheap these days; wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they take the data center approach (if a few machines die, well, who cares, deal with it next time a major overhaul is required).
While yes, these are cheap for steel structures, calling them cheap overall is silly. They literally cost more than the canal under them to make (assuming basic earthmoving and concrete formwork), especially when you include the cost for the footers.
As a way to save water, maybe. But it makes no sense as a way to make electricity. Someone else did the math, and it was approx $10/watt, which is silly.
It feels like progress, but doesn’t make a project/product better or even make it more likely to work…the only advantage it has is being easier than useful work.
I do not understand the people who say that. That is why I posted that question, to understand their point of view even when I do not share it with the information I have.
One advantage of top loaders is that they don't have handedness. So wall and door and air vent and water tap location don't fight against appliance door swing...also the distance between door jambs can be a meaningful number of inches narrower.
This will be more of a factor to any degree that US appliances tend to be larger than their European counter-parts (and my WAG is that's the case). In part because in the US, front loaders are a more premium product.
[edit: side note -- issues with fitment are a substantial problem for retailers, returns are expensive].
The stuff published during his lifetime is fabulous. The posthumous books are butchered in a terrible way.
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/charles-bukowskis-posthu...
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