ENERGY MATTERS

[Stanley]

I let the stove go out during our brief respite last week but it's lit again now and the house is nice and cosy with no gas being burned.... The mornings are cold enough now to trigger CH systems....

[Stanley]

I admit to being a control freak insomuch as I like to have as much control as possible over the more important aspects of my life. We took a giant step forwards today, the gas man installed my smart meters...


Here's the new leccy meter


The new gas meter


And the new energy monitor. The gas and leccy meters send an update every 30 minutes to BG and so, if all works as it should, that's the end of meter reading and estimated bills. We've come a long way since the meter reader emptied the shillings out of the box every month.....
It will be interesting to see what the monitor tells me after a morning in the shed using the machines....

[PanBiker]

The survey on the BG website said my property was not suitable for smart meters at the moment whatever that means? This is despite both my meters being perfectly accessible and being a dual fuel customer with them. No reason for why my request for upgrade is not possible.

[Pluggy]

We had a smart electric meter fitted at church around 2 years ago by BG, since then we've changed energy suppliers and it turns out no-one but BG can read the meters remotely. Smart meter, but we still have to read it by hand and pass the readings on.

I've had my own energy monitoring system for around 6 years now. It been in my sig on here quite some time. Both meters are 'dumb' and I've added 2 extra meters of my own so I can fully monitor what my solar panels are doing, (as well as double checking the meters aren't speaking with forked tongue).

[Stanley]

I'm not sure why some installations are possible and others not. BG contacted me and offered the meters free and my understanding is that later there will be a charge. Perhaps I am a part of roll out tests. The monitor isn't working properly this morning but I'm leaving everything alone, it only reports and has no control over the meters.... Time will tell......

[PanBiker]

I just responded to the link on the BG website when I last did my readings. My meters are the same as yours Stalnley, gas in a service box on the outside kitchen wall and my electric in a cupboard in the back room along with my consumer unit, about as easy a job as you could get I would think. Maybe it's the way the website response to the questionnaire is worded. Not possible may mean too much workload rather than can't do. I'm on the list.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a lottery Ian. I must have just been lucky.... Mind you, I registered yesterday after getting an email saying that the meters were up and running and reporting correctly. I went and had a look at the smart meter site and it completely baffled me! My last statement showed I was in deficit, the current one shows I am in credit.... Don't understand it but the lights are still on so I'll sit back and wait for the October three month statement....
What struck me was that I was offered the meters free and if my memory is correct they are saying that after this roll out period it will cost about £200 a change over. Perhaps when the free offer ends and you have to pay your meters will miraculously qualify.....
The more precise reporting by the new monitor has convinced me that the greediest consumer of leccy is the electric cooker. It cost 18p to grill six sausages! At one point I thought it was the machinery in the shed but that is surprisingly low. Yesterday morning which was mainly using the power saw and the Harrison lathe only cost 75p and that of course isn't energy lost because it is converted into heat and warms the house. The spin off from this is that it proves that one of the biggest advantages of the stove in the front room is that it costs nothing to cook on it.....

[Stanley]

Only a small matter but I kept a close eye on the monitor this morning and sure enough, it came on at exactly 06:00. It obviously takes it's time from the central computer and coincides exactly with what I have on my screen. Quite impressive actually and a good sign that the technology is working. Most accurate clock in the house apart from the FM3.

[Whyperion]

I don't like LCD displays - difficult to read. Some years back Gas changed meter at mums from one in front of cupboard door (large cupboard- used for storage) to one facing 90deg to the side , I now have to empty cupboard, and wall opposite to get head in ,legs out , and with torch, and read it/

I'll post a health query re low frequency pulse wireless issues at some time.

[Stanley]

The stove has been running a bit slow for a while and this morning had cooled enough during the night to let the CH crack on at low level. It will be fine flue dust in the band at the bottom of the flue. So I've shut the dampers down and as soon as it is cool enough I'll whip out the CI baffle plate and clean the bend. Far better if the flue drops directly into the stove but in order to set the stove out in the room it had to have the bend.... An annoyance but no more than that.
Later... I took half an hour off from the shed and did the stove while my hands were dirty. I was right, the flue was full of dust.... That's what's fallen down since I cleaned it in spring, it's the heat that loosens it. It will be OK now for the rest of the winter I think. Good job I know what to do about it....

[Stanley]

Stove back to usual efficiency and response times. It's remarkably responsive to the draught control because it has no air leaks. I can regulate the temperature easily.

[Stanley]

The colder weather is beginning to bite. Despite the stove running on a low fire in the front room the CH cracked on this morning. I hope the Telegraph wasn't right! (They forecast the coldest winter for 50 years in yesterdays edition....)
I've worked out now that the energy monitor that talks to the smart meters definitely works on a 6AM to 10PM day.
Got my first 3 month statement from the gas board after the smart meters. They are gradually getting my account back into a proper balance, they let me go into debit during the summer. I'm happy with the way the system is working now they have accurate current readings. I can see it's going to be a big advantage if they can hold their act together.... We will see!

[Stanley]

As most of you know I am convinced that eventually the mismanagement of energy policy by successive governments will inevitably lead to power cuts. It's worth reading Old Sparky's column in PE, 'Keeping the lights on'. He seems to be well informed. He reports this week that while a 20% cushion for the difference between peak energy production and peak demand would be regarded as reasonable it fell last year to 4.1% and the estimate for this year is only 1.2%. PE has seen papers indicating that the Cabinet Office and the Treasury are planning for a scenario in which there would be a five day national blackout.
Now I realise that contingency plans like this are a necessary part of sensible forward planning but to even contemplate a five day outage sounds serious to me. The German government which has made some equally disastrous decisions is looking at the same scenario. The bottom line is that whatever the scale of any outage, we are running very close to the line, far too close for comfort. Best get the paraffin and the candles now before the rush!

[chinatyke]

He seems to be well informed. He reports this week that while a 20% cushion for the difference between peak energy production and peak demand would be regarded as reasonable...

How many enterprises does he know that have a 20% cushion? People would be saying that we've spent 25% too much in providing this over capacity and it would see 50% of the power generation capacity not being used at certain times of the year. Don't know who Old Sparky is but he seems to be out of touch with reality.

[Tizer]

This is the BBC's version today of the news in The Times yesterday that UK security people are warning the Government that we're heading into dangerous territory by letting China set up nuclear plants in Britain...
`Security fears over China nuclear power deal' LINK

[chinatyke]

But it's OK involving the French, is it? It's a poor state of affairs when the UK is reliant on other countries when once they were world leaders in this field.

[plaques]

Exactly so China. We have already let in Huawei Technologies, the telecommunications giant which could equally compromise our security but by adding another player with potentially harmful software,trapdoors etc, they could easily bring the country to its knees making Ossie and Cameron redundant. On the other hand, if things got really serious we could always ask our 'special relation' friends, the USA, to back us up. Some hope! We have virtually sold off everything worth having on the manufacturing side to a point were there is only intellectual property left. Sell off the Universities. Now there's a thought.

[Stanley]

I begin to come to the conclusion that having people in charge who have never worked in their lives is a bad thing. The importance of home-grown skills and manufacturing industries is completely outside their experience.... Putting a hard hat on and a high viz jacket doesn't make you either a worker or an expert on industry. That mode of dress seems to have become de rigeur for modern photo opportunists. A form of spin that doesn't fool any of us who have actually worked in industry....
Any bets as to whether a Chinese nuclear power station will be on the agenda this week?

[chinatyke]

Don't forget that the Chinese are building more nuclear power stations than anyone else in the world. Surely that gives them some credibility?

[Pluggy]

I've no doubts they can make a viable nuclear power station. its the other stuff that goes along with the deal that worries me. The Chinese don't exactly have a squeaky clean record when dealing with other foreign countries they deal with, I'm not going to touch how they deal with their own citizens.

[Tizer]

I'm with Pluggy on that. We shouldn't be cosying up to China when they send out secret gangs at night to dispose of anyone who disagrees with the line put out by the leaders. The US government is already very worried by the UK-China bonding activities, Osborne's `golden decade' etc, so they won't be wanting to dig us out of the pit when it caves in. Americans almost went down the same route but realised just in time and backed off. New York docks was about to be sold to the Chinese; so was Mountain Pass Mine, California, the only rare earths mine in America. Incidentally, Molycorp, the owner of the Mountain Pass Mine, has suspended production until further notice because China has now flooded the market "with rare earths that are produced via unregulated and illicit mines and processors in China.” This is the new surrogate warfare, using business clout instead of conventional weapons; a bit like the Saudis trying to scuttle the US shale gas boom by flooding the market with oil.

[chinatyke]

...when they send out secret gangs at night to dispose of anyone who disagrees with the line put out by the leaders.

They don't have democracy. Neither do they tolerate trouble makers. Follow the party line and you don't need to worry. I honestly feel freer and safer than living in the UK and would much rather live under this system of government. If you feel you have freedom try calling a police officer a pig or not paying your tv licence fee or send an email with 'sensitive' (watch-list) words in it.

China is already a world super power and it is working on cleaning up its act. It's time to accept it. So let's have 3 cheers for Xi Jinping if any of you are lucky enough to see him on his state visit this week.

From the Sinophile.

[Stanley]

I'm not going to pass any opinions about Xi Jinping because I don't know enough about him or the system. (And I'm certainly not arguing with you China. You live there and are entitled to your view)
However, I suspect the programme broadcast by Panorama last night giving what was known about Xi would not have been aired in China. The picture it portrayed was of a man who has got to where he is by sometimes suspect means, political opponents have found themselves in court. His stated aim is Chinese world domination and he is seen as the most powerful leader since Mao Tse Tung. He can use China's surplus steel to destroy foreign competition, this is happening now in the UK. He uses Chinese IT expertise to do the same thing. The one thing he can't control is the markets and this is why the recent violent shifts in China's position have happened. Many people in the market are very suspicious about the fact that the present announcement of 6.9% growth is conveniently in line with the government target of 'around 7%' and as the Chinese government supplies these statistics.....
At the moment there is a very powerful PR machine devoted entirely to portraying Xi as a Teddy Bear while at the same time China pursues the old game of economic warfare to gain footholds all over the world, Africa is a particular target.
I'm afraid I don't trust any of this but I am not a Chinaphobe, I feel the same about all seats of political power, our own included. I see no evidence of any of them working to make the world a better place for the poor and disadvantaged of this world and as a social democrat I believe this should be the raison d'etre of all politics.
As for Cameron 'having a word' with Xi about the plight of steel, forget it.....

[Stanley]

See THIS comprehensive BBC report into the agreements reached to mark the visit of the Chinese leader. On the face of it, all good business decisions but why do I feel so wary of it? Do I need to revise my opinions about global trade and energy provision in the UK or is this the most expensive PFI deal ever? We are supposed to be the world's fourth largest economy but we are addicted to the begging bowl. I confess I am not happy.
On a domestic note, the stove burns much more actively when there is a bot of wind and since I cleaned the flue and our breeze returned it ran hot last night. I don't see this as a problem, I have a warm house, no gas is being burned and the coal in the yard is paid for. Why does this make me feel so much better?
I'm a bit puzzled when I have a good read of my energy bill after the installation of the smart meters. I may be wrong but I think my monthly payment is too low. I'm wondering whether, despite having a reading every 30 minutes, they are still working on the same principle as before, smoothing out the difference between winter and summer payments. I shall keep a close eye on it....

[Pluggy]

In defence of the Chinese regarding "rare earth magnets", they aren't exactly rare, you can dig the ore out of many places on earth but the minerals are so low a concentrate in the ore, you have to process an awful lot of ore using some pretty filthy processes to get the stuff out. It could probably only be done in a state with draconian population control. No-one in a democratic country would tolerate the gigantic s**t heaps and holes in the ground it produces......

Probably not a ringing endorsement of the Chinese system, but the iPhone generation needs rare earth magnets.