ENERGY MATTERS

[Pluggy]

The government and Pendle borough council are 2 entirely unrelated entities, the government encouraging renewable energy isn't on their radar. The conservation area bounds the old interesting bits of Barlick, Hey farm (Stanley's old stamping ground), The 3 story 18th century back to backs on Manchester road, and Walmsgate with its listed buildings. And relatively modern North St/ Clough Terrace sits right in the middle. Its on the same grid orientation and is a similar age to Cobden st, Wellington st and pretty much all the southern end of Barlick, which is outside said conservation area. Late 19th and early 20th century was Barlicks heyday, when huge numbers of properties were built to house the booming cotton industry. My property is one of the masses, but happens to be surrounded on 3 sides by old stuff. I suppose I could plead it wasn't a conservation area when I moved here in 1982. (It was made a conservation area in 1997, which pre-dates the rather ugly 1970's / 1980's buildings that my property looks out onto)

[Stanley]

Tiz, your story about the bloke who was refused permission because the stone his house sat on wasn't 'recognised' as local stone raises the question of recognised by whom? Early stone houses were always built of the stone on the site because of transport costs. Someone has no historical knowledge whatsoever!
Pluggy, if I were you I'd have a private word with the Planning Officer and ask if a simple apology for misunderstanding the regs and a request for retrospective permission would solve the problem. If it doesn't, go public!

[Pluggy]

I rang Pendle borough council this morning and spoke with the senior planning officer. It is because we're in a conservation area, she was quite nice about it, but I still need to go through the panning application. She said if it was cut and dried that we wouldn't get planning permission we wouldn't have got the letter inviting us to submit an application, it would be a cease and desist or some such so as not to waste time and money. Arbitrary line on map.......

[Tardis]

Pluggy, I asked about PV's and Conservation areas at the January Craven Area Committee and was given a "maybe". You'll find it in the minutes.

I would also get the person who is doing your planning application to take a look at the example of Every Street (Nelson) set out in the Council's own Climate Change document. Somewhere near the back.

Then talk to the Planning people before submission.

It is possible that part of the LEAF study may wind up tackling this particular issue, and get put into the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

I hope to be out with the thermal camera on Wednesday afternoon (starting from the library at 1), and Thursday afternoon (starting from the square at 1 where the Town Council have their consultations on the supermarkets, war memorials, LEAF study, and the booklet that has just gone out

[Pluggy]

Pluggy, I asked about PV's and Conservation areas at the January Craven Area Committee and was given a "maybe". You'll find it in the minutes.

I would also get the person who is doing your planning application to take a look at the example of Every Street (Nelson) set out in the Council's own Climate Change document. Somewhere near the back.

Some links would be nice Tardis. There were 2 Craven area committee meetings in January, I can only find minutes for the earlier one (3rd January - under minutes of previous meeting of the later one ) which doesn't have any reference.

http://www.pendle.gov.uk/site/scripts/m ... eaderID=29

The council appear to have many Climate Change documents :

http://www.pendle.gov.uk/search/results ... ate+Change

[Doc]

I came across this very interesting article last night regarding Battery Design LINK HERE

[Stanley]

I hot an unforeseen snag this morning with the shed. Due to the fact that the CH hasn't been on for three days and the cold weather we have been having, the shed is only 7C. Too low for comfortable working and also I noticed this morning that a bottle of meths I brought in from the shed (Use it for leaning my falcon pipe stems) condensed on the surface as soon as I came into the kitchen. This means that the temperature of the metal in the shed is below the dew point of the air in the kitchen so if I open the door between the kitchen and the shed I shall get condensation on metal surfaces, the last thing you want in the shed. I can either run the heating up to force the radiator in the shed to warm things up or perhaps leave the door open all night to let warm air gradually raise the shed temperature. I think I'll try the latter when the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house is open as well. Hopefully the humidity will be down and therefore the condensing problem diminished. Wondered if it might be something to do with the fact the bottle has maths in it so I've brought a piece of cobalt cutting steel in, cleaned it off with a dry rag and will see if it condenses moisture out of the air. Five minutes later, hard luck, it's gathered a film of moisture. I need to get the shed up to at least 10C.

[Tardis]

craven area:

http://www.pendle.gov.uk/egov_downloads ... .03_1_.pdf

I will have to look for the climate change document. It is a big 300 page document, and currently I appear to be looking in the wrong place and the library copy has been returned.

[Whyperion]

Noting on F1 that Patrick Head of Williams is moving out of the Race Car and Racing weekends in order to concentrate on Williams Hybrid Power instead.

http://www.williamsf1.com/spark/energy-efficiency

if you are interested , good in some ways that they have chosen to work in the Middle East - whom clearly have decided when the oil does run out they want a stake in continuing energy solutions , something that UK govts never invested any significant revenue from our former oil reserves in.

[Tardis]

Either my google-fu is weak, I must practice a bit more, or the council have removed the study that I'm looking for maybe because they are about to take up the Core Strategy.

I will have a look later.

The thermal camera out and about in Southfield appears to have made it into the lancashire telegraph, but it looks like their site is updated much less regularly.

[Pluggy]

Got the planning application blurb from Pendle today, it was baffle ball on paper but it said I could apply online which I did and it was delightfully easy - it makes intelligent responses to what you've said, if you say you're an householder, it doesn't ask you all the stuff about agents and stuff and you click a box saying its not an agricultural site and all the questions that aren't relevant grey out. Pity it wouldn't accept my payment card details and I have to send a cheque.........

[Stanley]

Never mind Plugs, it looks like a result. Good.
Stove in front room amazes me! I deliberately stopped firing early yesterday to let it cool down enough in the night to allow the CH to fire up and warm the shed. Fat chance! The few embers of the slow-burning smokeless ovoids I get from B&D were enough to keep the stove hot all night, too hot to touch this morning! Consequence is that the room is still over 70F because it's been radiating heat all night. Just chucked a few sticks of kindling in and a shovelful of coal and it's burning merrily away. Best thing since sliced bread! Fuel cost since Jan 11th in the coldest weather we have had this winter is less than £1 a day and it has virtually knocked the CH out.

[Tardis]

Sounds good.

We had the thermal camera out in the rain last night for a bit before we retreated.

There are plans to go out again on Tuesday evening if the weather is favourable.

Seems that if you know the material the building is made out, then a qualified person can actually give you the temperature on the surface when it appears in the picture.

Quite strange to see things in a strange "glowing" type of light

A very expensive piece of kit too

[Tizer]

As well as knowing what the building structure is made out off you may have to take the rain into account too. Wet materials have a lower thermal resistance than when dry. OK if you are comparing wet bricks with the same wet bricks but not if comparing wet with dry, or bricks of different water absorbency - and they vary widely, e.g a range of at least 8 to 21%. The insulation in the walls also becomes more thermally conductive if moisture has penetrated.

[Pluggy]

Just as a bit of light relief, just found this on my favourite tech site : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/17 ... nuke_pact/ . Link at the bottom to how nuclear power has more support now than it has had for years. Sorry Greenpeace......

[Sunray10]

Why do we have to have French contractors / companies building our nuclear power stations, are there no English contractors / companies that could do just as good a job. Our British workers need jobs too !!

[Pluggy]

Got an email from the planning department of Pendle asking for another drawing and to make minor alterations to the site plans. If they refuse my planning permission and make me have the panels removed when they stick

Saving 20% of the energy you use not only reduces your bills; it will also help in combating climate change. Click the link to see what YOU can do to help.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Tak ... aving-tips

on the bottom of the email it will be ironic to say the least.........

[Stanley]

Plugs, classic case of non joined-up administration. Like a red rag to a bull! Good luck.....
Michael, no surprise about French contractors. If you want to keep a manufacturing base with attendant skills you have to use it, we didn't, we lost the edge. All we can do now is act as sub-contractors. Look at how the HS link to the Channel Tunnel was built.

[Tardis]

No, we have no attendant UK nuclear manufacturers. Most of the UK ones are now retired or deceased. Even our Universities do not produce the engineers because there was no call for them when policy dictates 'no more nuclear power'

On top of which our nuclear industry is owned by a French utility company (state owned) so despite the EU regulations the contracts were never going to be made to any UK company. I can't really understand why the plants couldn't be built in France and the Electricity ported across the channel.

The one thing that puzzles me about the whole enterprise is that the UK has no home grown Uranium source, so we will be even more beholden to the foreign exchange markets. The UK energy sources would be even more vulnerable, not more secure.

Plus you are probably going to find some discounting for evening rates so that they can 'keep' the reactor going overnight.

[Tardis]

Got an email from the planning department of Pendle asking for another drawing and to make minor alterations to the site plans. If they refuse my planning permission and make me have the panels removed when they stick

Saving 20% of the energy you use not only reduces your bills; it will also help in combating climate change. Click the link to see what YOU can do to help.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Tak ... aving-tips

on the bottom of the email it will be ironic to say the least.........

You're lucky. Up to a month ago the link went to a dead webpage

[Tardis]

As well as knowing what the building structure is made out off you may have to take the rain into account too. Wet materials have a lower thermal resistance than when dry. OK if you are comparing wet bricks with the same wet bricks but not if comparing wet with dry, or bricks of different water absorbency - and they vary widely, e.g a range of at least 8 to 21%. The insulation in the walls also becomes more thermally conductive if moisture has penetrated.

Far too y for me I'm afraid.

It does what it says on the tin so long as you can interpret them, and succinctly demonstrated why some of the older houses need to look at replacing their front doors. The area was Warmsgate/Westgate/Townhead, then the area bounded by Wellington Street to Church Street, and almost down in a line to Long Ing, but including Commercial Street/Butts etc, and Harrison Street et al. Mostly the old stone built properties, even the one we did with an open fire glowed quite remarkably around the chimney.

[Tizer]

Ray, the French have built over 20 nuclear power plants while we've been sitting on our hands, bowing to the campaigners. Nearly 80% of their electricity comes from nuclear power. Have a look at this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France

[PanBiker]

Do we not also process most of their waste nuclear products? It's one thing that Sellafield seems to be good at, although that's a matter of opinion

[Sunray10]

I read that EDF the french owned power company in this new agreement. If Rolls Royce benefit from this then thats okay with me. But I believe these nuclear stations will take 10 years to build so 2022. Have we enough oil, gas, capacity etc to last till then, or will the lights go out in 2017 ?

[Stanley]

Michael I said sub contractors. We have plenty of capacity for heavy engineering.
Ray, even if the decisions are taken and contracts completed inside the time frame, which is to say the least, doubtful, we shall need conventional coal or gas generation to bridge the gap. I have me stove, Tilley Lamps and Primus stove ready for action!