GbyBE
Hello fellow countryman!
I think you grossly overestimate the power consumption of a heat pump (a split heat pump that is). On the hottest period of the year so far, ours used about 1,75kWh for a 40m² space.
One or 2 balcony mounted panels (given the right orientation, even with a suboptimal inclination) will easily deliver that much.
You are however right that most apartments can’t profit much from solar power… The dynamic pricing however can make the cooling really cheap in the summer months. Just switch to non-dynamic pricing before the winter months to get the best year round price.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying a total van is totally normal everywhere else, because I don’t know many countries with such a ban. I don’t know many other countries with concealed or open carry laws, so that’s certainly a difference.
Countries like Switzerland and Germany prove that private gun ownership can go hand in hand with regulation and enforcement, and not cause as many casualties as in the US.
Let’s say I was once very happy that I remembered learning about a certain Oracle feature called flashback queries one day when I made that mistake.