A reader remarks on this thread,
It’ll work, but only in places where there’s an optimal relationship between typical electrical use per person, household or building, available surface for these panels, and cost. That can be neatly encapsulated in an algorithm. Plug the variables in a spreadsheet – panel efficiency levels, local energy alternatives, power use levels, land costs, borrowing costs, etc. That would identify where the solar panels are economically viable now and point to where trends are converging to make them viable soon. I’d be shocked if it hasn’t been done a dozen times over already.
With no remarks about aesthetics. I was going to say I don’t think aesthetics have formulas, but of course I’d be wrong. There’s the Golden Ratio, courtesy Wikipedia,
Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0,
Some twentieth-century artists and architects, including Le Corbusier and Dalí, have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio—especially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio—believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. The golden ratio appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plant parts.
And then there’s the chaps claiming they know how to make the perfect movie sequel:
Based on factors such as whether key stars are still on board, how long it has been since the last film and how that performed, the researchers say they can calculate what producers can expect to gross relative to a film in the same genre that is not a sequel.
But that’s rather beside the point. If homeowners hate the idea of draping their house in this stuff then the formula won’t be used.
