ENERGY MATTERS

[PanBiker]

Which supplier is this Kev?

[Big Kev]

Which supplier is this Kev?

Npower. I think they're a bit disorganised at the moment with the Eon take over. I've already had one £30 'sorry we messed up' payment, I should be on for another one now

[PanBiker]

I have been in two minds about asking Octopus if they are rolling out the SMETS 2 meters yet. I have SMETS 1's which stopped auto reporting when I changed supplier.

[Big Kev]

I have been in two minds about asking Octopus if they are rolling out the SMETS 2 meters yet. I have SMETS 1's which stopped auto reporting when I changed supplier.

There is an ongoing programme to allow SMETS1 meters to communicate with the DCC. They'll all be 'multi-supplier' soon.

[PanBiker]

[Tizer]

Was the SMETS1 problem a case of rolling out something before it was fully developed? That happens often these days.

[Big Kev]

Was the SMETS1 problem a case of rolling out something before it was fully developed? That happens often these days.

Pretty much, yes. The government's Data Communications Centre wasn't ready when the first generation devices were rolled out so 'independent' DCCs were set up for specific suppliers. Now the government have caught up there's a rush on, to get the software in place, to bring them all under one umbrella.

[Stanley]

I must be very lucky, no problems with the smart meter. Kev, why not have the meter outside? They had to move mine over 20 years ago and I told them to put it in the yard. I would have thought that would be standard these days.

[Big Kev]

I must be very lucky, no problems with the smart meter. Kev, why not have the meter outside? They had to move mine over 20 years ago and I told them to put it in the yard. I would have thought that would be standard these days.

I would need to arrange to move it outside, with the company that now owns Transco, at my own cost. In 2017 the average cost to move a gas meter was between £800 - £1000, I'll leave it where it is

[Tizer]

At those rates someone could do well setting up a small business to go round moving gas meters!

[Big Kev]

At those rates someone could do well setting up a small business to go round moving gas meters!

Gas meter moves (meter side of the isolation valve) can be done by your energy supplier and, depending on the reason for moving it are free. The 'transport' side of the isolation valve would involve the distributor, used to be Transco but it's now Cadence, that's when the charges start hitting...

[Stanley]

I convinced them mine was unsafe but that was over 20 years ago..... BG were putting an entirely new gas system and CH in the house and it was done as part of their contract. Seamless.
Did I mention that January energy charge was down at £100?

[Tizer]

I suspect this might be more to do with the people who manufacture ammonia wanting to sell more, rather than it being a good idea to slow climate change!
`Climate change: Fertiliser could be used to power ocean-going ships' LINK

[Stanley]

I saw that report Tiz. I suppose it makes sense because ammonia based fertilizer and diesel oil are two of the constituents of a very powerful explosive. I think the viability of the process of manufacturing the fuel depends on large amounts of cheap leccy from renewable sources like wind or solar. My thought is that if you have that why not simply make Hydrogen by cracking water by electrolysis and use that as clean fuel?

[Tizer]

Using hydrogen in fuel cells is OK but transporting hydrogen is difficult - it has to be liquefied by chilling it to temperatures below −253C, using up a third of its energy content. Ammonia liquefies at −10°C and with much less pressure; in fact it's similar to propane gas in that respect. The reports say that ammonia can be used to release energy by direct combustion or it can be converted in a reactor to yield hydrogen. There's scientific review here: LINK

[Stanley]

[Big Kev]

You'll be struggling to run the Morso Squirrel from next year
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-51581817

[Wendyf]

Who burns "wet" wood anyway....it won't burn! I see that you will still be able to buy unseasoned wood as long as there is advice on how to dry it. We still have a good pile of tree trunks that we bought from the local tree surgeon at least 5 years ago, the only time any visible smoke comes out of our chimney is when the fire is first lit with paper.

[Big Kev]

Who burns "wet" wood anyway....it won't burn! I see that you will still be able to buy unseasoned wood as long as there is advice on how to dry it. We still have a good pile of tree trunks that we bought from the local tree surgeon at least 5 years ago, the only time any visible smoke comes out of our chimney is when the fire is first lit with paper.

You'd be surprised what people think they can put on their stoves

[Tizer]

The ban on coal is straightforward but the ban on unseasoned logs is more complicated and open to easy abuse. For a start, there is nothing to prevent people collecting their own wood `from the wild' and burning it. Sale of unseasoned logs in quantities less than 2 m³ will be phased out from February 2021 - that's equivalent to about a ton of willow (very popular here!) or 1.5 tons of oak. Loads greater than 2 m³ will have to be sold with advice on how to season it before burning, but how many people will follow the advice? I can't see the controls working in rural areas where logs are sold in a very haphazard way with dirty pickup trucks dashing about in the back lanes delivering logs for cash! There are other benefits of course; as well as cutting pollution with particulate carbon using seasoned wood is better for the stove and chimney.

[Stanley]

I was listening to some vox pops from a remote Lincolnshire village where they rely on oil, coal and logs for heat as there is no gas. We all know what the price of oil and bulk gas is now. How are they going to heat their houses. I think of people living in places like Nenthead high in the hills of Northumbria where it is much colder and there are no trees. They will have no alternative but to break the law.
Does anyone believe the cost of approved 'smokeless fuels' won't rise? What is the difference in harmful emissions between them and wet logs? They all make CO2. (As does gas) A knee-jerk catch-all policy and very badly thought out.

[Tizer]

It's driven more by the detriment to health of carbon particulates due to incomplete combustion than to CO2 emissions.

[Wendyf]

Why don't they re-introduce smokeless zones in built up areas and include unseasoned wood? Our only options are oil, wood or leccy. Incidently, oil prices are lower than they have been for years right now.

[Stanley]

They could go lower Wendy, the Covirus-19 is affecting them.
Another thing that struck me is that model loco engineers like Sue's Bob will no longer be able to buy the especially good small coal they use in the Locos.
How 'dry' is the biomass used at power stations like Drax? No more open fires at Sandringham, Chequers and Chevening?
A lot of people are going to become 'law-breakers' in order to survive..... Very badly thought out policy.

[Tizer]

Anyway, it won't be long and we'll all be having to switch to hydrogen boilers or renewable electricity to heat our homes.