ENERGY MATTERS

[Stanley]

I haven't had any word about my winter fuel allowance yet David but did get mail from BG telling me what I already know, that I have a £66 contribution towards my dual fuel account this month. I am not doing anything beyond taking the news as it comes and paying when asked. (That seems to be settled now at once a quarter....)

[Stanley]

Is it my imagination or is Autumn being quite kind to us.... I don't think I am burning much gas......

[Whyperion]

I think it is the normal 2 week indian summer during the present phase of the moon, looks like it it might get colder later ( it normally becomes so from Nov5th to 11th onwards)

[Tripps]

the normal 2 week indian summer during the present phase of the moon,

Not climate change or the Sun, or the jet stream or just the normal 'weather' then ?

[Tizer]

It's a strange Indian Summer here in Taunton. The sun is shining, the sky is blue - but there's a gale blowing!

[Whyperion]

Low Pressure whipping from the South West sending wind and rain accross the UK for the next couple of days. The trees have worked out autumn is here and leaf fall is noticable with trees now about 50percent leaf in branches, the rest on the ground

[Stanley]

I saw that forecast for the SW yesterday Peter and thought of you.
Another energy matter that strikes me of late is that I keep hearing people talking about 'switching the heating on'. I don't know about anybody else but that's not the way it works with me. The thermostat makes the decisions about whether it is on or not, I make the decision about the temperature it runs at.
Of course this is how a singleton with an adequate income and nobody else to consider manages. I realise that having dependents and being very hard up changes things and these are the people who should be targetted with any help available.

[Pluggy]

I'm with tizer, I don't turn the heating "On" or "Off" its just managed by the thermostat It rarely turns the boiler on in summer.

[Stanley]

I think that might have been me Stephen.... Like you I leave the thermostat alone all year round. The boiler seems to like it.....

[Tizer]

Save energy - get curtains over your windows - and close them when it gets cold! It always surprises me how so many people rely on blinds and some don't even have those on their windows. Even the best DG windows are relatively poor insulators and they're responsible for most of the lost heat in a modern house. We've got blinds and lined curtains and the length of the curtains are set so that we can tuck the bottom ends behind the CH radiators when they're closed. Stopping heat from escaping through your windows is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to save energy.

One of the biggest energy wasting parts of a house is a conservatory built on like an extension, with nothing between the conservatory and the rest of the house. You try to heat your house but much of the heat is vanishing through all those conservatory windows. Building a `through' conservatory may be banned by now - if not it should be.

[Big Kev]

I think the realisation of heat escaping, and getting in during summer, has seen an increase in conservatory roofs being replaced with a solid, insulated one. Lots of adverts for it around at the moment.

[Stanley]

I always marvelled that people couldn't see the foolishness of installing a conservatory and then fitting radiators. I think they were confusing living space with horticultural buildings. Most of the 'energy problem' arises from the fact that people have got used to cheap energy and have adjusted their lives. Think of the number of people who wear less clothes in the house as a matter of course, old fashioned buggers like me wear more clothes in winter even indoors and thinking about putting solid roofs on conservatories.... Wearing a felt skull cap means you can turn the heat down half a degree centigrade.....
First of the month so I shall send my gas meter reading in to BG.....

[plaques]

I've been with Octopus Energy ever since they transferred the account from the Co-Op to Octopus. Previously its been a fixed contract where you could calculate the next bill etc: Now its a flexible tariff where the price varies from month to month only visible after you have used it. Quick fire calculations are mow not possible. The prediction is that the cost over the year would be about £600 more than last year which was up on the previous year. The guarantee is set to last until April 2023 then its anybody's guess. Averages are being quoted at £4400 per year That's 100% increase on todays payments. For a lot of people its going to make heating the home too expensive. Some clarity on the matter is required.

[Stanley]

Now that I have stopped fretting about being on a quarterly account I am more at ease. BG do give regular email updates on the price and government aid. The last was on the 17th of October.

[Tripps]

As the tension builds and COP 27 nears - I wondered why, despite it being an annual event, I'd never heard of it until it came to Glasgow last year. To refresh my memory I looked up what it had achieved -all I remember is about 400 private Jets at Prestwick- having to be flown elsewhere since the plane park was full, and Alok Sharma crying at the end.

Here is the detail. Very impressive. Outcomes of COP 26 Well worth a look.

The emotional Mr Sharma said in conclusion -

"We can now say with credibility that we have kept 1.5 degrees alive. But, its pulse is weak and it will only survive if we keep our promises and translate commitments into rapid action".

[Stanley]

Th title of the Official report is a bit misleading David. What is detailed are the resolutions that were passed. What really counts is how much of them has been translated into action on the ground.
I don't know. But I suspect nowhere near enough!

[Tizer]

With Putin's war it's anybody's guess what will happen...
`Climate change: Hidden emissions in liquid gas imports threaten targets' LINK

[Stanley]

I heard that news report about the carbon penalty of using LPG was far greater than that of gas because of the energy used to liquefy it for transport.

[Tizer]

This makes energy meters look like a cunning wheeze for some firms...
`Rise in energy firms remotely switching homes to prepay meters' LINK
`A rising number of households are having their energy smart meters remotely switched to prepayment meters, the energy regulator has said. Energy firms use the technology to swap customers who are in debt to the more costly plan without needing a warrant....'.

[Stanley]

By putting me on a quarterly account BG have ensured I am in debt to them permanently.

[Tizer]

Our regular friendly plumber serviced our boiler last week. We always have a good chat and he was telling us about seeing increasing problems with leakage from boiler condensate pipes. The condensate from a gas boiler contains nitric acid from the flue fumes and this is eating through the pipe joints and dripping onto surfaces or other pipes below. He's heard of gas pipes being corroded badly by the acid and potentially causing a gas leak. The acid condensate also causes trouble outside the house. It runs down walls and eats away the mortar as well as leaving horrible stains on the bricks from the dissolved salts. There have been cases of it even attacking the foundations of houses after a long time of dripping dilute nitric acid at the bottom of the wall. Apparently there are now regulations about how to prepare a suitable soakaway in the ground below the pipe.

[plaques]

A couple of years ago our boiler split its feed pipes. Wrecked the onboard computer. These were a very thick walled 'plastic' tubing that go brittle over time, in our case just over 5 years. If you squeezed them they could be heard to crunch and crackle. I've booked a service for next month.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of the Offgem report on energy suppliers.
Energy suppliers have been failing vulnerable customers, the sector's watchdog has said, as people face a cold and costly winter. Ofgem told all 17 firms that took part in its review to improve, with five found to have severe weaknesses. Among its findings were examples of suppliers setting debt repayments so high that customers decided they could not top-up their pre-payment meters.
And winter hasn't really started yet....

[PanBiker]

I have just registered for the Octopus off peak bonus scheme. Points win prizes or the equivalent. In this case it is reduction in energy use over fixed periods advised by email. Bonuses for prudent usage come as extra credits on your account. All done with the smart meter readings over the duration of the sessions.

[Big Kev]

This could equally go in the Medical Matters thread. A trial is under way where the NHS are effectively paying the heating bills for some patients. It's apparently saving money as patients, whose health is impacted by not having their heating on, are not being admitted to hospital once they become more ill without heating. Be interesting to see if it works.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63707689