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Its beginning to bite !!
- Thread starter AndycruiserguyLomas
- Start date
Electric is fine until the power goes off.... recent winds here (called a "storm" but nothing like 87 ) and some friends were without power and water for 6 or 7 days.... not living remotely as they are 30mins from LGW
You'd be cold , wouldn't be able to drive anywhere , unable to cook , communicate with or receive news from the outside world , and even have water if you followed the head long rush into making everything electric .
It was noticeable how the local "green anti diesel brigade" were happy for the guys repairing the power and water network to be driving dirty diesels ....
The eggs in one basket approach is lunacy when we have an ageing power distribution network , ageing power stations and a non investment in any alternative to electric ethos .
Solar needs a fair bit of space and the right orientation to work in the average domestic situation....
We have a Scandinavian 2 bedroom log cabin that the mother in law lives in at the end of the drive that is heated by airsource very successfully ... with just one unit and it's like a furnace most of the time....however...no leccy no heat .
We don't have gas within 4 miles , have oil central heating plus a log burner and open fires.... have 10's of ash trees that need to come down over time... a well should we need it ...
Once the Government have got rid of all the alternatives electricity prices will just keep going up....
You'd be cold , wouldn't be able to drive anywhere , unable to cook , communicate with or receive news from the outside world , and even have water if you followed the head long rush into making everything electric .
It was noticeable how the local "green anti diesel brigade" were happy for the guys repairing the power and water network to be driving dirty diesels ....
The eggs in one basket approach is lunacy when we have an ageing power distribution network , ageing power stations and a non investment in any alternative to electric ethos .
Solar needs a fair bit of space and the right orientation to work in the average domestic situation....
We have a Scandinavian 2 bedroom log cabin that the mother in law lives in at the end of the drive that is heated by airsource very successfully ... with just one unit and it's like a furnace most of the time....however...no leccy no heat .
We don't have gas within 4 miles , have oil central heating plus a log burner and open fires.... have 10's of ash trees that need to come down over time... a well should we need it ...
Once the Government have got rid of all the alternatives electricity prices will just keep going up....
BobMurphy
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I suspect that electric means under-floor heating rather than hot water radiators. The thought of installing that turns me off. Also, I like to keep as much independence as possible. I have my heating system wired through a plug and socket just below the timer - I can unplug it and then connect an extension lead to my generator during power cuts. I usually have a few months of heating oil in hand as well.
We also have an open fire and a few tons of wood. Unfortunately my wife finds that the fire gives her breathing issues so we don't use it. Up here in Scotland I believe we are not allowed to burn our own wood - just low-emission fuel pellets or dried wood bricks - which puts the price way up (though I don't know anyone who sticks with this rule). Its all about banning smoke from chimneys, regardless of whether one lives in the country or inner city or has a lot of fallen trees to dispose of (we ARE allowed bonfires ) !
The Farmer here investigates all this stuff and his Uncle installed a ground-source heat pump. He tells me that there is next to no hot water and they have given up trying to have baths. The house isn't very warm either. It sounds as though one has to go for a larger system than recommended and there probably won't be a grant for that approach (Farmers are well into grants).
Detailed analysis required, but as the technology is evolving all the time that leads to "Paralysis by Analysis" and so I'm still burning oil
.Bob.
AndyCook
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I’ve not heard anything about banning wood burning in Scotland Bob and a quick google reveals nothing ? Just some speculation about it in 2020
have you considered a wood burning stove, much more efficient than an open fire and less issue with smoke and particulates in the house.
have you considered a wood burning stove, much more efficient than an open fire and less issue with smoke and particulates in the house.
BobMurphy
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Many years ago I received a letter from the Council saying that we were not allowed to have smoke issuing from chimneys and we could only burn 'clean' fuel. I put up a case for folks here at the farm disposing of their fallen timber in a useful way - heating their homes instead of burning it in the garden or letting it rot. It would also reduce the amount of oil & LPG burned (we don't have mains gas). I got a reply saying 'OK'. I must try to find that correspondence.
I remember a lot of talk about wood burners being as bad as coal in producing harmful emissions with a move to ban such environmentally nasty things ! I wasn't sure if that had become more than just media chat. I'm sure there's a campaign group out there somewhere pressing for it !
I have considered putting wood burning stoves into the Sitting Room and Lounge. both have open flues with refractory lining and when installing smoke/heat/CO detectors put both smoke & CO detectors in each in anticipation (12 linked detectors here - you should hear it when I test it - bloody overkill nonsense !).
What has put me off is the cost (I need to build a hearth and finish the big hole in the wall where there used to be fire places) plus the risk of it only being short-term if the Politicians run out of other things to ban/restrict/make money from.
In the meantime we use electric heaters in individual rooms in the winter.
I have more pressing things to spend the pension on - I need to replace rotten windows this year for one .
Bob.
I remember a lot of talk about wood burners being as bad as coal in producing harmful emissions with a move to ban such environmentally nasty things ! I wasn't sure if that had become more than just media chat. I'm sure there's a campaign group out there somewhere pressing for it !
I have considered putting wood burning stoves into the Sitting Room and Lounge. both have open flues with refractory lining and when installing smoke/heat/CO detectors put both smoke & CO detectors in each in anticipation (12 linked detectors here - you should hear it when I test it - bloody overkill nonsense !).
What has put me off is the cost (I need to build a hearth and finish the big hole in the wall where there used to be fire places) plus the risk of it only being short-term if the Politicians run out of other things to ban/restrict/make money from.
In the meantime we use electric heaters in individual rooms in the winter.
I have more pressing things to spend the pension on - I need to replace rotten windows this year for one
.Bob.
Towpack
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There's been "smokeless zones" in Cities for donky's years, aimed at cleaning up air pollution caused, primarily by burning coal and hence, the appearance of "smokeless" fuels but the term smokeless is relative. There's an awful lot of rubbish talked about wood burning and how it's sustainable and carbon neutral. It still kicks out particulates and other nasties as well as carbon. I used to enjoy staying at my Gran's, as a kid, cleaning out the grate and lighting the open fire with paper and sticks, then piling on the coal and "stoking" it with the poker but now I just think what a PITA No matter how cheap it is. Our neighbour had one fitted several years ago, through fashion I suspect, but they soon fell out with it and a gas fire went back in.
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Oil drops below $100 as Russia and Ukraine negotiate ceasefire
Risks to demand have also emerged with a resurgence of lockdown measures in China amid a surge of COVID-19 infections.
Rob Cowell
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Even in smoke control areas you can burn wood legally. There's a huge list of exempt stoves.
We burn on ours all winter, but just let the thermostats on the radiators and underfloor heating take care of using less heating oil when the stove is on. I have looked at running some or all radiators off the stove, but it looks a potch when you have a sealed system as I do, or even just adding a small sepeate circuit once you get into heat sink radiators on gravity circuits. I don't find keeping the stove going onerous but I spend longer than I want to cutting, splitting and stacking wood, even having invested in a fairly big electric splitter.
We burn on ours all winter, but just let the thermostats on the radiators and underfloor heating take care of using less heating oil when the stove is on. I have looked at running some or all radiators off the stove, but it looks a potch when you have a sealed system as I do, or even just adding a small sepeate circuit once you get into heat sink radiators on gravity circuits. I don't find keeping the stove going onerous but I spend longer than I want to cutting, splitting and stacking wood, even having invested in a fairly big electric splitter.
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I better start driving my car before these wales and green gang stop all diesel 
. For long time didn’t get a chance to drive much. Last week went one long drive to Harrow. Now I selected a school near Winchester for my kid. If I like it, n if admission is available I ll go many long drives exploring that area for house hunting, trial days etc etc
. For long time didn’t get a chance to drive much. Last week went one long drive to Harrow. Now I selected a school near Winchester for my kid. If I like it, n if admission is available I ll go many long drives exploring that area for house hunting, trial days etc etc
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Brassed off 1996
"But when it comes to losing the will to live, to breathe, the point is - if this lot were seals or whales, you'd all be up in bloody arms. But they're not, are they, no, no they're not. They're just ordinary common-or-garden honest, decent human beings. And not one of them with an ounce of bloody hope left. Oh aye, they can knock out a bloody good tune. But what the fuck does that matter?"
"But when it comes to losing the will to live, to breathe, the point is - if this lot were seals or whales, you'd all be up in bloody arms. But they're not, are they, no, no they're not. They're just ordinary common-or-garden honest, decent human beings. And not one of them with an ounce of bloody hope left. Oh aye, they can knock out a bloody good tune. But what the fuck does that matter?"
Iwan
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Apparently the royal navy had £250,000 of diesel stolen from their generator fuel storage depot... So how secure are we in this day and age?
No joke it was siphoned off over a matter of weeks/days and sold on the black market... they wreckon it was an inside job LOL!
No joke it was siphoned off over a matter of weeks/days and sold on the black market... they wreckon it was an inside job LOL!
chadr
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At today's prices that's just 3-4 tanker loads, at tomorrow's prices only 3-4 jerry cans worth!
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That’s very scary. Facts are often hard n scary
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Keep ticking off the life’s bucket list, well mine is to drive the beast until there is no where to go
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the sale of super glue should be prohibited to members of society who can tick more than two of the following;
remainer.
labour voter.
student.
guardian reader.
resides in north london.
bored and middle class.
ill let the dust settle and report back in a couple of days..
remainer.
labour voter.
student.
guardian reader.
resides in north london.
bored and middle class.
ill let the dust settle and report back in a couple of days..
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An excellent film Shayne.. one that opened my eyes to the plight of mining villages amid the pit closures...
We've had no diesel shortages over on this rock, just price hike after price hike. One station near me (20 min drive) is undercutting the competition by 10 cent/litre and has queues out onto the road all day long.. onto a main national class primary road which is the direct route to the Rosslare ferry.. causing chaos in the village. I simply refuse to queue that long to save 3 or 4 quid
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I've no connection to the coal industry so it all made no difference to me but what i see in that film is kind of symbolic for what i see as loss of community . For the miners cause and effect was black and white obvious . It seemed to me and still does that the same was happening everywhere for such a complex multitude of reasons there is no answer to why .
