That cellar wouldn't stay that temperature once they put a 1 kW heater element in there though.

Yeah, because you don't lose anything by living in the middle of nowhere.

There are benefits to being in the bay area, too. This happens to not be one of them.

Living in "a part of the country that has basements" is no utopia either.

Also: my house, in the bay area... has a basement.

Many of us like where we live, like our jobs and like our warn out old houses.

There are plenty of more efficient ways of doing things, but I still stuck solar on this old, energy inefficient house.

Yeah, he spent a ton, but he clearly wanted to stay where he is and took control of the situation in a way that fits his priorities

Ah yes...because the simple solution is always "just pack up your life, leave behind your family and friends, and relocate half way across the country".

Unironically that is what cost-of-living is forcing a lot of people to do in coastal cities. If you have a cushy six figure salary you aren't faced with that reality, but it's different for median-income.

That's the most ridiculous claim I've seen in a while.

Giving up one foot of space along one garage wall is not a big deal. And if you're worried about physically getting the batteries into place, hiring people would still be cheaper than movers.

Also, a basement that removes cooling costs for the home lab would not make a big difference. If the 800W A/C unit runs 8 hours a day for 4 months out of the year, then it's only about 10% of the home lab power use. Since it's not needed at night it's probably even less.

From logical/cost perspective maybe, from emotional not so much... is it really that hard to see it?

Yeah sorry but thats the most insane take anyone could have. You're again quite litterally saying upping sticks and moving across country, so new job, losing friends and family, etc is the best option, vs losing a big of garage space...