Hacker News Reader

Solar panels are already cheaper than wood, which is amazing.

It’s not cheaper than wood. It’s cheaper than certain specific kinds of wood used in specific applications.

A 2x4 stud is like $3, for example. Decorative cedar is quite a bit more expensive.

I don't think that you actually thought that the person you're replying to said that solar panels are now cheaper than all wood always.

Where are PV panels cheaper than wood? A 4x8 sheet of plywood runs about 40$ in north America, and roughly double that in Europe. I don't see PV panels anywhere near that price.

You don't want a plywood fence though. PV panels are cheaper than the decorative wood fences are made of. Wood fences are easily 100€/m around here.

I can't recall ever seeing a plywood fence in North America.

You do see them from time to time in especially rough rural areas. I can remember one that was apparently painted from the "oops" paint section of the local hardware store surrounding a strip club next to a junkyard.

Sure. I don't recall seeing one, but the near-inevitability of this is why I didn't assert they don't exist.

Rarity speaks to how poorly suited the material is for building durable fences and the ~irrelevance of the cost of plywood in this subthread.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com