ENERGY MATTERS

[Stanley]

I have a healthy aversion to all forms of resource extraction. Time we started to make do with what we have got!

[Tizer]

`Hinkley Point C: Nuclear plant work to create 3,000 new jobs' LINK
The man shown in the picture, Nigel Cann, was our next door neighbour when we lived in the Somerset Levels village. Lovely man, a good neighbour!

[Stanley]

He has the look of a good man.....

[Stanley]

January energy spend exactly the same as December, £125. Just one difference, us crumblies got a cold weather payment of £25 because of the long spell of frost.

[Tizer]

I've just mentioned a new method for making hydrogen in the Climate Change thread. Here's more about domestic use of hydrogen. I think the biggest problem we've got is that much of our housing stock, and many other buildings, in the UK, is very poorly insulated and the suggested methods for future carbon-emission-free heating won't do the job unless they're brought up to 21st Century standards or replaced. And even if replaced, we need the housebuilders to get up to date with their insulation methods.

`How will we heat homes in zero carbon Britain?' LINK
Note this, near the end of the article: The government's Green Homes Grant scheme will fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements, installing insulation, heat pumps, draught proofing and more to help households cut energy bills. But recent reports suggest that the scheme is in disarray, and some installers say customers are pulling out after losing faith in the system. When I tried to contact installers, I couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone. The number of installers has plummeted since the government withdrew a previous insulation grant scheme.

[Stanley]

Every report I have heard on this scheme flags up the faults you are finding Peter. Even those that do go through successfully fail in that many installers are left waiting for their money which plays hell with their cash flow and work planning.

[Tizer]

A further update by Roger Harrabin ...
`MPs criticise government home insulation programme' LINK

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

`Bitcoin consumes 'more electricity than Argentina'' LINK
`Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests. "Mining" for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions. Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year - and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps....But the rising price offers even more incentive to Bitcoin miners to run more and more machines. And as the price increases, so does the energy consumption, according to Michel Rauchs, researcher at The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, who co-created the online tool that generates these estimates. “It is really by design that Bitcoin consumes that much electricity,” Mr Rauchs told BBC’s Tech Tent podcast. “This is not something that will change in the future unless the Bitcoin price is going to significantly go down."

[Stanley]

Ah, I see this partially answers a question I have just asked on another thread.
Are there any figures for comparative energy usage by other currencies or financial markets?

[plaques]

Most new build houses don't have a mains gas supply. Link. Converting them to hydrogen would then present a big problem. The thinking is some alternative supply or where they do have an existing gas main to mix both natural gas and hydrogen to lower the carbon footprint.

The HyDeploy project is already trialling a blend of hydrogen and natural gas which can be delivered through the existing gas network without customers having to upgrade appliances. As well as reducing emissions from existing homes, hydrogen could also be used as supplementary heating during periods of extremely cold weather, when air source heat pumps struggle.

[Tizer]

Most new build houses don't have a mains gas supply.

?? What do they use to heat the homes?

[plaques]

? What do they use to heat the homes?

I've only looked round two new builds, one up at Newbiggin and one down the lane to us. Both of them used electricity with an enormous cylinder for water storage. How they differentiate between domestic and central heating I didn't ask. I didn't ask about the shower arrangement it all looked expensive but was told it all met the latest energy standards etc etc...

[Stanley]

From the sound of it Ken, we have been lucky and have seen The Golden Age of home heating when you could burn what you wanted!

[Tizer]

? What do they use to heat the homes?
I've only looked round two new builds, one up at Newbiggin and one down the lane to us. Both of them used electricity with an enormous cylinder for water storage. How they differentiate between domestic and central heating I didn't ask. I didn't ask about the shower arrangement it all looked expensive but was told it all met the latest energy standards etc etc...

They might be using electricity to power ground source or air source pumps to heat the water in the big tank. Then CH fluid and domestic HW would be circulated through coils in the tank. But it wouldn't be enough to heat the house alone unless they had a passive house level of insulation and draughtproofing or they had supplemenatry heating from e.g. electric radiators.

[Stanley]

I was talking to Daniel Meadows yesterday, he lives in Monmouth. He was telling me that he thinks he can get one more load of logs in before wood burning becomes illegal shortly.

[Wendyf]

Just coal and wet wood Stanley, we can still buy and use dry, seasoned wood.

[Stanley]

Ah Wendy but is it different in Wales?

[Wendyf]

I think Wales is a bit behind the UK in introducing the same measures.

[Big Kev]

This is from January

https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2021-01/reducing-emissions-from-domestic-burning-of-solid-fuels.pdf

[Stanley]

Interesting. I've had a trawl and I think this is perhaps the bit that Daniel was referring to:-
"Much of the wood sold in smaller quantities, for example at service stations, DIY stores,
garden centres and at the roadside, is incorrectly assumed to be dry and as such is
used immediately. We propose to bring forward legislation which prohibits the sale of
wood with a moisture content of 20% or more, except when it is bought in larger
quantities with the intention of seasoning it prior to use."

[Tizer]

It's interesting to see how common the use of this source of energy is becoming now...
`The search widens for hot rocks that provide power' LINK

[Stanley]

I've always wondered why this source of energy wasn't more widely used. The present vogue for ground heat source pumps is a low tech version of what can be found deeper down. Having an extinct volcano or a geyser isn't necessary. Hot spots are far more widespread then these. One thing is certain, the only pollution such a source emits is heat itself.

[plaques]

There comes a cut off point where the electrical power used to pump the water down the bore hole and back up again costs more than the heat absorbed by the water. Recycling the same water like a domestic central heating circuit adds another layer of complexity to the system. Hot rocks may be OK but then there is always the risk of other geothermal actions like volcanoes that we can do without.

[Stanley]