You expect me to deal with all the -5% waste sources in one article?

Please explain me: what is the minimum share of total energy use that any activity should have before someone is allowed to dedicate any attention to it?

Author here. Good point, and I wanted to add that this is the first article in a series about communal living.

"Learning and practicing how to correctly pull the trigger is probably the single biggest improvement to accuracy a new shooter can make."

Thanks, I will change that sentence.

I enjoy your magazine! Thanks for writing.

Happy to see that someone actually read the whole article before making a comment.

Thanks for spotting the mistake. km2 should be m2.

Source: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:1ed44c19... page 17

None of the laptops was brought to landfill, I still have them at home, which is why I could photograph them all.

The malfunctioning charger was not the only problem. The Apple laptop had also gotten extremely slow. Because I was not aware of Linux (this is 15 years ago), I made the mistake of thinking that I needed a new laptop.

This is the whole problem: many people are not aware of Linux and its advantages, and thus keep falling in the trap that the hardware and software industries have set up for them.

Author here. That sentence will be deleted when the website regenerates, cause it doesn't seem to have the effect that I was aiming for. Thanks for pointing it out.

That said, I was impressed by the man's repair qualities. I asked him how he was going to repair my 2006 laptop without access to spare parts. He said he would just repair the fan by replacing the copper wire. Don't see that happening in an official repair shop. And he did it overnight.

Sorry, it's just that it really threw me off, sounds out of place. And considering pretty much everything from high end to the cheapest stuff has Chinese components (or is completely made in China) these days, it doesn't make much sense.

Also, that's the kind of repairs I would do, I've actually fixed quite a few fans that started grinding with simple automotive grease, they last for years :D

Now that I have some more time, I actually do want to address your comment in more detail.

1. "Kris De Decker just really doesn't like plastic!"

Correct. We need to get rid of plastic. Keep reading me if you want to know how.

2. "TEGs tend to get burned up"

Not if you build a well designed stove, which is what all the research in the article is about.

3. "They are not going to run your vacuum cleaner or your e-scooter, contrary to the misleading illustrations in this article."

There are several references in the article to prototypes of thermoelectric heating systems that actually do provide enough power to run a vacuum cleaner or an e-scooter.

4. "The truth is that solar panels are not being recycled because almost all of them still work"

Just read a bit about the recycling of solar panels, OK? You can find the references in the article.

5. "TEGs are not "less costly" than solar panels."

In your calculation, you completely ignore the energy storage and the installation. And that's where the cost advantage of the TEG is. Also, no need to oversize generation capacity. RTFA.

6. "The apartment I'm in here is primarily heated by an air conditioner with the capability of functioning backwards, in which mode it produces about 3 kilowatts of heating in exchange for a single kilowatt of electricity."

So where are you getting that single kilowatt of electricity from? Also, can your air conditioner also cook your food, heat your water, and maybe even provide you with lighting? No. You need a lot more electric appliances (and infrastructures) for that.

7. "So what could have motivated such a mendacious article?"

You would not have the balls to say these things in my face.

That's because you're living in a rich country where energy is cheap and abundant. That 40% of the global population that needs to walk for miles to charge their phone for a hefty price, or light their shelter with torches, are very happy with that trickle of electricity. Maybe we -- cause I am also in a rich country -- could learn from that.

"If energy systems were installed that could heat and power these places without biofuel at all you'd be vastly better off. I did not see that point in there."

What energy system you had in mind?

Solar panels could provide electricity, but they don't produce heat, which is vastly more important in the household. A solar PV installation that powers an electric cookstove and heater is unaffordable, even for many people in rich countries.