07 November 2022, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Stralsund: Solar modules for a so-called balcony power plant hang on a balcony. From Tuesday, citizens in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania can apply for funding for so-called plug-in balcony solar systems. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa (Photo by Stefan Sauer/image alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
In business, the present is a poor predictor of the future. Entrepreneurs bring the past truth to life.
Their healthy disdain for “know your customer” means they see the present as completely inadequate for consumers who don’t have the faintest idea of what they really want. Only for entrepreneurs to proceed to rewrite the future, given their belief that what consumers will accept bears no relation to what they should.
Look at the rise of solar panels that consumers can install outside their homes and literally plug into wall outlets inside those same homes. The panels represent a simple way for homeowners to reduce their electricity bills.
A editorial at Washington Post reported that critics of solar add-ons say they will lead to grid-connected electricity users not paying their so-called “fair share” for the grid, but it is not consumers’ job to support their service providers. Moreover, it is increasingly not necessary.
As is now well known, the growing question as you read this is how well the electricity grids will be able to meet the needs of consumers during the summer months while the demand for electricity generated on the grids increases. Assuming what is true of the expected electricity needs of data centers, not to mention the myriad of energy-consuming businesses emerging because of data centers, fears (whether justified or not) of unused power generated on the grid and “fair share” are increasingly a problem of the past.
Which further explains why the past is a lousy predictor of the future. Just because the demand for energy is growing so rapidly, so will the range of ways to get it. This is worth bearing in mind as critics of newer, currently less used forms of energy dismiss their entry into the market. Solar might loom large here, along with the solar add-ons mentioned above.
With an increasing number of states allowing this Position describes as a “solar power outlet” for homes and a way to shrink monthly electricity bills, it is not possible to suggest that homeowners themselves will transform themselves into vital, low-cost energy providers for other commercial entities that themselves need enhanced energy generation. Is that exactly what will happen? It is impossible to know exactly why a commercial future that never resembles the present is opaque from the previous description.
Just the same, it’s notable that these solar add-ons are low-cost (up to $400) currently, and their low cost means installation doesn’t require a significant, politically toxic government subsidy. Best of all, and assuming the growing use of plug-ins will lower electricity bills, their cost is poised to shrink alongside what one would guess will be increased power output from them.
It is a long way to go to suggest that in addition to shelter, it is not unreasonable to speculate that the houses of the future will exist as capital for their owners in addition to shelter. Especially as the need for energy increases, the different ways of producing it for a growing market will change before our eyes.
While plug-in-solar may seem primitive today, the future accumulation of this energy source has the potential to profoundly change the way we use and perceive energy, along with where it is produced. Increasing energy consumption ensures just that.
