ENERGY MATTERS

[PanBiker]

I don't burn anything other than the gas in my combi and for the stove. I would be prepared to comply more though when all the HGV's, taxi's, white vans and other commercials are all electric! Up at the Clarion we will probably have to use the smokeless crap and use a stack of chemical firelighters to get the damn stuff to burn. No gas up Ginny Lane and I think we will probably run the gauntlet once a week thorough winter.

[Big Kev]

Gas combi here too, everything else is electric.

[Tizer]

I read that the restrictions on diesel vehicles in London has reduced by 97% the number of times the nitrogen dioxide air pollution goes above the regulation maximum in the period 2016 through 2019. That's a remarkable result and will be very beneficial to the health of people there.

[Stanley]

Tiz, I'll bet they still have black snot! I'll back my water washed air from the Atlantic on my early morning walk with no traffic about.
I just use gas and BG tell me that all my leccy is now from renewable sources.
I wonder how the wind farms are doing in this windy weather.....
Meanwhile we spend squillions on out of date reactor designs..... Energy policies in the UK have been a joke for at least 50 years. They have been governed by the lobby system and until that changes we won't see any improvement. Most of the statements made are smoke and mirrors.

[Whyperion]

Tiz, I'll bet they still have black snot!

Most of the statements made are smoke and mirrors.

Was the pun intentional ?

No, its grey nowadays (unless you travel on the tube, where , despite regenerative braking on some units, the metal particles from the wheel brakes must foreshorten some lives).

Will ESSE at ouzedale have problems selling some of its range(sic) in the future?

[Whyperion]

I don't burn anything other than the gas in my combi and for the stove. I would be prepared to comply more though when all the HGV's, taxi's, white vans and other commercials are all electric! Up at the Clarion we will probably have to use the smokeless crap and use a stack of chemical firelighters to get the damn stuff to burn. No gas up Ginny Lane and I think we will probably run the gauntlet once a week thorough winter.

Have they considered the bagged coal for barge heating (and propulsion for some ?) impacts?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_OZDFML7gY

[Wendyf]

Esse advertise their wood burners as been compliant for use in smokeless zones, modern multifuel stoves are very efficient machines!

https://www.esse.com/heating-products/s ... ng-stoves/

[Big Kev]

Let's see if Npower manage to get the gas meter in today, it's visit number 5. Monday was postponed because of the weather.

11:51, they have 9 minutes to make their 08:00 -12:00 window...

12:40, having a nice conversation with their complaints department.

[Stanley]

Sorry to hear that Kev, what a bummer, such a waste of time and resources all round.
I think I hate incompetence!!

[Tizer]

I suppose I could have put this in Forgotten Corners - remember Cleveland Discol?
`Greener petrol at UK pumps to target emissions' LINK
`A more eco-friendly petrol could be introduced to garages in the UK from next year. The government is consulting on making E10 - which contains less carbon and more ethanol than fuels currently on sale - the new standard petrol grade. The move could cut CO2 emissions from transport by 750,000 tonnes per year, the Department for Transport said. However, the lower carbon fuel would not be compatible with some older vehicles. Current petrol grades in the UK - known as E5 - contain up to 5% bioethanol. E10 would see this percentage increased up to 10% - a proportion that would bring the UK in line with countries such as Belgium, Finland, France and Germany..'.



I happened to find this photo too, which seemed worth posting!

[Big Kev]

Engineer number 6 is due tomorrow to fit the gas meter. I've had 4 emails and 2 text messages to remind me they're coming. The man who telephoned today, to remind me and to make sure I would be in, got an ear full. Ince I had answered his security questions I stopped him, mid sentence, to ask what assurances he could give me that someone was actually going to turn up and, if they did, would they have all the equipment and the time to do the job. There was silence for a bit then he must have found the right page in his script

[Stanley]

Good lad Kev! They sound as though they need wakening up.
Tiz, my crap detector whined a bit when they said some older cars wouldn't like the ethanol. Yes I remember the ethanol mixtures and as far as I can remember there were never any problems. Just promises of cleaner engines.

[Stanley]

Later... February bill was £97. Over the hump?

[Big Kev]

He's here, not stopped moaning yet but he's here

[chinatyke]

He's here, not stopped moaning yet but he's here

Did you get any compensation for the last no-show?

[Big Kev]

He's here, not stopped moaning yet but he's here

Did you get any compensation for the last no-show?

I did, it's £30 a time for a no show
After several excuses, why he couldn't fit the meter, it's in and working. After his first round of 'there's not enough room to do the job', 'I can't put my ladder up the right way round' and 'I think the comms hub is too far away from the gas meter' I suggested he tried joining it before he fitted it (the comms is battery operated in a gas smart meter) and the comms were good. He seemed a bit put out that I had a bit of smart meter knowledge, which made me smile and, as it turned out, there was plenty of room.

[chinatyke]

Well done!

[Stanley]

I'm glad it is in at last! Most service persons are fine but some start on the assumption you know nothing. The latter are the ones who give the trouble especially when you turn out to be right!

[Tizer]

Seeing Stanley posting about a steam engine in Forgotten Corners made me think about the future. Perhaps his steam engines will have to be powered by this when we stop using fossil fuels... Concentrated solar power

[Stanley]

We are still living in the 'Age of Steam' Tiz. Even nuclear power stations use steam turbines to convert the heat into electricity. The only bit of the technology that needs changing is the source of the heat and the sun is a pretty good one! Solar energy concentrated to provide very high temperature hot spots is already used for experiments on metals that require clean sources of pure heat energy.
Remember the days when we found out that a small hand lens could be used to scorch paper or burn the back of your hand? Little did we know......

[Tizer]

`Coal power developers 'risk wasting billions'' LINK
`Coal power developers risk wasting hundreds of billions of pounds as new renewable sources are now cheaper than new coal plants, a report has said. The shift is mainly down to the tumbling cost of wind and solar power, researchers from Carbon Tracker said. They added that in 10 years it will be cheaper to close down coal plants and build wind and solar plants instead. But the International Energy Agency (IEA) says coal will remain the largest global power source for years. The report's authors say they looked at the economics of 95% of the world's coal-fired power stations. In most countries, including the UK, it's already cheaper to build renewable energy generation than new coal-burning plants. At 60% of coal plants in the world, the generating costs are higher than they would be from new renewables, the report said. But the study goes a step further, forecasting that within 10 years the cheapest option in all countries would be to close down existing coal-fired power stations and build wind and solar power plants instead...'.

[Whyperion]

Did they define Renewables ? does it include bio-mass (chipped pine ?)

[Stanley]

Cheaper than nukes as well I suspect....

[Stanley]

It seems very small beer in view of the current situation but my combined energy bill was down again last month to £90.

[plaques]

With pump prices dropping what are the chances of domestic gas and electricity prices dropping. Very little appears to be the answer. Up like a rocket down like a feather. What are the excuses. Below a sample of reasons. ..

He added: “Even then, the oil price drop will only work its way through the system if it’s prolonged and starts to depress the wholesale prices which energy suppliers pay for gas and electricity on the open market.

“As some suppliers’ gas contracts are linked to oil prices, and we generate almost 40% of our electricity from gas, it won’t be until the gas price starts to be affected that we’ll see a further impact on electricity costs.

“Likewise, given that the larger energy companies who supply most homes in Britain tend to buy several years in advance, there’s no guarantee this will lead to cheaper bills just yet.”

Don't hold your breath.