Jump to content

General Politics Thread


Granny Danger

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, strichener said:

What are you being told the COP is for your air source?  Is your plan to use the solar to power the air source?  I looked at air source a few years ago but it wasn't really appropriate for my granite walled, no insulation house.

And yes, a 4KW solar array on the roof of the garage to power the heat pump and contribute to the overall power usage of the house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are you being told the COP is for your air source?  Is your plan to use the solar to power the air source?  I looked at air source a few years ago but it wasn't really appropriate for my granite walled, no insulation house.
I had hoped to get ground/air source to replace the ancient oil system that was in my house. When surveyed it was deemed that it would not be adequate, my house is an old stone type. I ended up getting biomass instead. This also gives me the RHI payment over 7 years.
I was looking to do solar with storage batteries at the same time, but the added cost of the biomass boiler put the brakes on that.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the home energy replies. The recent price increases have made our dual fuel bills shoot up to levels I couldn't have foreseen a few years ago. Electricity is about 80% of the cost. Our 1 year deal came to an end just as prices were rising, so the difference between the monthly bills is huge. 

I'm probably in the same boat as many folk.  We would like to have solar pv, but are both retired, so the estimated pay back point is the major factor.  I'll look out the quote we received a few years ago - particularly the estimated annual power generation to set against the present unit costs - and get a couple of quotes.  I'll report back on any progress.  If anyone has received solar pv quotes a few years apart, I'd still appreciate any indication of whether there have been any significant price reductions and/or improvements in output/efficiency. 

Our decision about going ahead (or not) will depend largely on the payback period. 

Thanks again for the info. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the home energy replies. The recent price increases have made our dual fuel bills shoot up to levels I couldn't have foreseen a few years ago. Electricity is about 80% of the cost. Our 1 year deal came to an end just as prices were rising, so the difference between the monthly bills is huge. 
I'm probably in the same boat as many folk.  We would like to have solar pv, but are both retired, so the estimated pay back point is the major factor.  I'll look out the quote we received a few years ago - particularly the estimated annual power generation to set against the present unit costs - and get a couple of quotes.  I'll report back on any progress.  If anyone has received solar pv quotes a few years apart, I'd still appreciate any indication of whether there have been any significant price reductions and/or improvements in output/efficiency. 
Our decision about going ahead (or not) will depend largely on the payback period. 
Thanks again for the info. 
One of my friends just had solar fitted (4kw) no storage batteries, cost him about £3k.
The app that tracks it shows it produces about £ 3-5 per day, in summer, it's down to about £1-1.50 per day just now.
ps watch the panels don't go over your tv ariel cable(if you have one). Causes chaos to the tv signal.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watch This Old House on streaming TV. Its an American programme so I don’t know if they have the same plans here. They were saying that energy companies come to someones house & install the solar / PV panels for free. They do this and get the Government grants and you get the cheap electricity which you can also send back to the grid when not using it. As I say I’m not sure what percentage Grant is available here if any but it may be worth checking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, MacDuffman said:

I watch This Old House on streaming TV. Its an American programme so I don’t know if they have the same plans here. They were saying that energy companies come to someones house & install the solar / PV panels for free. They do this and get the Government grants and you get the cheap electricity which you can also send back to the grid when not using it. As I say I’m not sure what percentage Grant is available here if any but it may be worth checking.

 

Yes, the last time we looked there were 'feed in tariffs' or suchlike, but they had by then been made much less generous. Nowadays there is some 'income' (I think) but it is called something else.  There might also be grants, but I'm not sure.  The situation has changed quite substantially since we looked before. 

So I suppose it's a question of how quickly the installation costs can be offset by savings by using our own supply, any rewards for generating it, and any cheap loans (preferably interest free!) and/or grants.  Five years to break even would probably be ok, especially if electricity prices don't go down substantially, but we are reluctant to make a big dent in our savings.  If the Westminster and/or Holyrood Governments want to avoid gas and coal generation by folk like us using renewables there has to be some financial incentive - a 12 to 15 year break even point might attract couples in their younger years, but for old gits like me, that won't cut it. 

Because we are retired, we could very easily adjust our electricity usage so that our clothes washing, dishwashing, batch cooking, hoovering etc would be in the daytime. We could, if there's enough power, charge up oil filled heaters etc to minimise mains use in the evenings. Batteries would help too, but at the time we looked before, they were very expensive. I already do the 'this place is like the bo00dy Blackpool Illuminations' as I go round the house switching lights off, so there's not much I can do about some of our usage. 

There's a couple near us who have a camper van.  I think they charge its batteries up during the day using their solar panels, then use that power in the evenings. That might just be their neighbours' gossip though!  

Cheers. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
A very enlightening thread about farm workers in America. 
Apple pickers get paid roughly 3 cents per lb of apples they pick. So their wages could be doubled or trebled without anyone feeling it. It won't be exactly the same here but it will be similar.
That's like saying barstaff get paid 10p for every drink they serve and you could double their wages without anyone noticing. I'm pretty sure people would notice.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/25/hmrc-to-relocate-to-newcastle-office-owned-by-tory-donors-via-tax-haven

Don't know whether to laugh or cry. 

"HM Revenue and Customs has struck a deal to relocate tax officials into a new office complex in Newcastle owned by major Conservative party donors through an offshore company based in a tax haven, the Guardian can reveal." 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:
1 hour ago, Detournement said:
 
A very enlightening thread about farm workers in America. 
Apple pickers get paid roughly 3 cents per lb of apples they pick. So their wages could be doubled or trebled without anyone feeling it. It won't be exactly the same here but it will be similar.

That's like saying barstaff get paid 10p for every drink they serve and you could double their wages without anyone noticing. I'm pretty sure people would notice.

The product/wage ratio for bar staff is nowhere near the ratio for agricultural labour. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Kima Greggs said:

It's always the ones you least expect.

0_Dundee-United-v-Rangers-FC-Cinch-Scottish-Premiership.thumb.jpg.e3c8a6c124f3957b48cf8ab98359bb26.jpg

When I used to work at M&S a good 8 years ago, at height of his Celtic career, mulgrew tried to return a suit/shirt/tie combo that had very clearly been worn to a wedding or something. Nae tags, nae receipt, stains on the front of the jacket. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dirty dingus said:

I like the way the lawyer highlights the "well educated and articulate Baroness" only for the Guardian to highlight 5 spelling or grammatical errors in her rant. 

"Well educated" also conflicts with her traditional claims that she "left school at 15 with no qualifications"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 03/12/2021 at 09:28, Mark Connolly said:

"Well educated" also conflicts with her traditional claims that she "left school at 15 with no qualifications"

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/04/call-for-tory-peer-michelle-mone-to-resign-as-accuser-speaks-out-in-alleged-racism-row

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   1 member

×
×
  • Create New...