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Guy I know went on a rant about how hydropower is bad and unreliable because I mentioned that a society in a TTRPG I'm developing makes extensive use of water-powered machinery. (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Note: said society is preindustrial and has ample access to flowing water, but not fossil fuels or radioactive deposits. It also has access to mountain hot springs, which I thought could also be used as "batteries" during times when streams freeze. This last point is what set him off.

He also really hates wind turbines.

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[–] sp3ctr4l 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (14 children)

I am not quite sure how a pre industrial society would be able to use hot springs as a kind of battery...

But like... watermills and windmills have been around for a really, really long time, in many different places and eras.

... I can understand being confused as to how hotsprings somehow equals a battery... but a whole rant against the concept of more primitive renewable energy... is probably even more baffling.

Did you have a more detailed explanation for how hot springs would work as batteries?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (13 children)

During winter, most of the water freezes. The hot spring (which is on a mountain) has a sluice installed, allowing it to act as a backup reserve of warm water that can be released and run through the mechanical systems that normally depend on stream runoff. This, obviously, is limited by how much water the springs can hold and which machines are within a reasonable distance of them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

With the comment about the natural temperature regulation inside the mountain itself, they might be able (after massive labour) to hollow out a deep-mountain internal reservoir mostly insulated from the winter, to store potable or industrial water.

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