What does FWIW mean(another useless abbreviation)
If you have greater generator capacity than demand you stop some generators
If you have greater generator capacity than demand you stop some generators
FWIW: It's not useless 'cos I just used it
It's more complicated than just stopping generators when demand drops. The problems with renewable energy within Scotland at least, is that the capacity is more than we can use but the surplus can't be fully exported - and yet we still build more wind farms. Its estimated that the UK is currently 69% over target with current and planned renewable sources.
Wind Farms aren't just constrained by demand. When its too windy they have to switch off.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not against Wind Farms, its the planning process that's not joined up when you get Politicians involved who want to make vote appealing policies and then say 'Make it So'
Here we are with rising electricity costs and there are two policies tabled that are going to have an impact on the end user. 1) The switching of homes away from gas heating to electric heating 2) New vehicle sales will be electric.
Didn't know that either so Bertie is not alone!
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/fwiw
I worked in the Defense and Aerospace industry - its full of TLAs - Three Letter Acronyms. When I first started I had trouble following discussions and documents. Then one day I suddenly realised that I could understand what was going on. I had arrived
A report in The Times describes a recent survey by The Energy Shop into off peak tariffs for electricity. It found that 65 tariffs launched in 2021 and advertised as Economy 7 charged the same unit price for electricity regardless of when you use it. Presumably the companies were themselves paying less for off peak supplies, hence increasing or in current parlance “ upticking” their profits at the expense of those who thought they were getting cheaper off peak supplies.
Is this free for all market broken?
Is this free for all market broken?
One of our sons and partner refurbished an ex RAF officers house which was not insulated and there is no gas supply. They gutted it and insulated it to a high standard, and installed an Air Sourced Heat pump system of his own design (he has a business doing that stuff on commercial property) and they are delighted with the comfort and economy.
Are we going soft?
As a lad, we had no central heating. Coal/log fires. Mum was always knitting thick woolly jumpers for us😜
As a lad, we had no central heating. Coal/log fires. Mum was always knitting thick woolly jumpers for us😜
We certainly would not recommend air source heating to anyone. Many people do not realise that the colder it gets the harder the machine has to work to produce heat and the more electric you use.
On many occasions during the past 9 years during the winter our Mitsubishi machine has become a big solid mass of ice as all the fins ice up even thouhg it has a defrost mode. If I cna find pictures I will post them up. Also if by chance the temperature dropped below -11C, then machine will not function.
You must have been a very early adopter of an air source system. I wonder if the later unit designs are improved, albeit you can’t beat the laws of thermodynamic.
The inevitable outcome when we are forced into air heat pumps, is these new high density housing estates that seem the new norm, will become colder places to live in. Rather counterproductive, need more heating because your neighbours are cooling you! All becoming a vicious circle.
My other real concern, albeit based on exposure to a French installation, these things are very noisy; fans too small a diameter so again prone to be noisy. With high density housing you can't ever get far away from your neighbour's plant noise.
Luckily I have a big plot so I expect could look to ground heat, that at least will avoid fan noise.
Or have I got it wrong and these modern air heat plants are silent?
My other real concern, albeit based on exposure to a French installation, these things are very noisy; fans too small a diameter so again prone to be noisy. With high density housing you can't ever get far away from your neighbour's plant noise.
Luckily I have a big plot so I expect could look to ground heat, that at least will avoid fan noise.
Or have I got it wrong and these modern air heat plants are silent?
My wife Auntie had no central heating in her house in Newcastle only two gas fires we use to take a double sleeping bag and thick jumpers when we stopped
I believe from my son who has a business designing and installing ASH and GSH that they are very much more efficient on larger scale projects. The system for his house stands in a separate building which is insulated and where the outside noise from the fans are acceptable. It's a fairly large installation compared to the self-contained domestic units by Mitsubishi and Bosch. Large commercial and residential installations are now common place, and extremely efficient compared to the alternatives. As gas and oil heating has become unacceptable or impossible, not many choices are available. Heat pumps convert electricity into useable heat very well. Communal heating systems combined with higher levels of insulation and ventilation are likely to be the way to go for many housing developments.
In Scandinavia new developments will be supplied with “ temporary” communal heating systems as each residence comes on line, then when everything is finished the permanent installation takes over. Somehow in UK communal systems have acquired a poor reputation. I remember a showpiece development , Rowlatts Hill, in Leicester. It consisted of two tower blocks and surrounding lower houses.. it had communal hot water heating, but from day 1 there were problems. The problems never really went away and so the tower blocks were demolished well before middle age. Somehow I think we may have not learned from other countries experience where such systems have been in use for many years. The examples I am referring to were waste heat not heat pumps, but if we don’t get communal heat pump systems right it will be difficult to find fall backs other than pure electric, or hydrogen.
It may be relevant to some but our cavity wall insulation was about 40 years old and it was noticeable that our heating was working more over the last few years, apparently the material was slowly collapsing under its own weight. Got a good offer from the Scottish Government in that they have removed the old and replaced it with some rubbery beads which seam to be working although it is a bit early to tell how big an improvement it will make long term.
Martin Lewis has said that when your current power deal ends use the variable rate going forward as it looks to be set until Spring next year and by then the heating element should be coming off so a further rise then will not be too hard on you.
Martin Lewis has said that when your current power deal ends use the variable rate going forward as it looks to be set until Spring next year and by then the heating element should be coming off so a further rise then will not be too hard on you.
Never come across rubbery beads but many years back we had a new house in which the cavity wall insulation was polystyrene beads. It seemed to be affective but I remember one day having to put a large hole through the wall to take an extractor fan and there was an avalanche of the beads over me. You know how well they 'stick' to everything.
The folks we bought our house from had the mid 80s slab insulation topped up with the latest polymer beads like the ones showed below. They are supposed to bind together but like your experience they will come out of any large holes cut into the walls.
We had our house (a semi) cavity filled and the next door neighbour did too. I opened the cavity to install French doors, and was snowed on by a never ending avalanche of white beads. It was coming mostly from the neighbours house, and the paved area at the back of our house was knee-deep in it. I had the kids helping me to scoop it up and bag it. We had almost finished bagging up when the neighbour arrived home, and looked over and saw the remains on the ground. "Is that all from our house" he said. I said "Well yes, it looks a lot, but it isn't really". He hadn't seen the 4 black bags full in the garage!
Early on the beads were loose. They suffered from settlement and also had the issue you mention. Later the beads were coated with slow setting adhesive which was an improvement.
I built houses in Germany in the 70’s with a much a better insulated inner leaf than we used, plus partial fill insulation, years before we caught up. (If we ever did). We know how to do it well, but most new builds are controlled by cost and work to minimum standards.
John
Last edited:
So, what today is regarded as the "best" established building, wall insulation, for a late 1950s build?
We are very exposed* and the outer bricks are quite porous, having needed treatment for this, and we were strongly advised 30 odd years ago, by the surveyor never to have the cavities filled as ventilation here was essential.
Over clad the southern and west facing walls with say hanging tiles, and then cavity fill?
* a fetch to Venezuela!!!
We are very exposed* and the outer bricks are quite porous, having needed treatment for this, and we were strongly advised 30 odd years ago, by the surveyor never to have the cavities filled as ventilation here was essential.
Over clad the southern and west facing walls with say hanging tiles, and then cavity fill?
* a fetch to Venezuela!!!
Last edited:
Thanks, it is just I like to know and have researched the probable answers before talking to "professionals"; the more so with those with a vested interest underpinning their advice.
i am probably like a lot of other people who "just know" their house is not well insulated, and have never bothered to get it sorted, Its daft really because we all know the best way to keep our energy cost down, and avoid price increases, is to avoid using it.
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
-
-
-
How to disconnect water pipe/pump push fitting?
- Started by johns11
- Replies: 4
-
-
Facebook
Twitter