Home Electricity & Costs - what are you doing?

[Mansfieldman750]

Just shows that I haven't bothered to check my statements! Our FIT is indeed 60.23p/kWh plus the 4.25p/kWh export rate. Even more of a result. Thanks for the heads up.

I’ll tell you more then. You have a 4kW system ( 16 panels of 250w ) or less and the installation year was 2011, because after that they cut the term to 20 years because 25 was too generous.
Howzat for detective work.
As per trev0rk it’s rpi which is always higher than cpi so yes big rise in April.
Enjoy !

 

[Velma's Dad]

I’ll tell you more then. You have a 4kW system ( 16 panels of 250w ) or less and the installation year was 2011, because after that they cut the term to 20 years because 25 was too generous.
Howzat for detective work.
As per trev0rk it’s rpi which is always higher than cpi so yes big rise in April.
Enjoy !

Wow. Absolutely coining it.

 

[Californication69]

The human race needs another Black Death.

Harsh, but true. We are like the aliens in movies that come to suck the life out of the earth.

 

[Amarillo]

Harsh, but true. We are like the aliens in movies that come to suck the life out of the earth.

I gave a simple and elegant solution last time this was discussed.
1. Cull 99% of the male population
2. Put the remaining men out to stud

There is a 1% chance that I would support such a solution.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Perhaps if we put the dangers to the planet first and made our energy future secure then we can also then address issues of biodiversity but nothing is going to screw up diversity more than by poisoning the planet so sort that one out first.

As long as we make the focus on dangers to the planet instead of danger to the survival of the human race, and understand that in order for us to survive we also need to protect biodiversity, we're done for. As I've said before, give it 200 or 300 million years, and the planet will be fine. We will be an extinct blink of an eye, because the planet doesn't need us, we need it. It's time to refocus.

 

[pjm-84]

That’s because the government kept on cutting the Feed In Tarif, eventually doing away with it all together in 2019, thus discouraging anyone from putting up a new solar installation. Bad move, shocking actually.

There was plenty of time and I was banging a drum back in 2012. To be honest I was knee deep in work and a friend laughed at me for the missing the Dec 2011 deadline. I manged to install PVs in Feb 2012 so achieved the original tariff (Not legally possible to close down a legal consultation period early which the government tried to do and lost) .

Just put in my FITs reading July to Dec - 1600kwh + 63p/ kwh approx

 

[Californication69]

I gave a simple and elegant solution last time this was discussed.
1. Cull 99% of the male population
2. Put the remaining men out to stud

There is a 1% chance that I would support such a solution.

I did hear that women rule the world.
From a song somewhere ?
We run this mutha da da daaaa

 

[subthree]

I’ll tell you more then. You have a 4kW system ( 16 panels of 250w ) or less and the installation year was 2011, because after that they cut the term to 20 years because 25 was too generous.
Howzat for detective work.
As per trev0rk it’s rpi which is always higher than cpi so yes big rise in April.
Enjoy !

Correct again! We have 19 x 185W panels, so 3.5kW. We consistently generate 3,300kWh per year. Just need to install a battery in a couple of years time.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Correct again! We have 19 x 185W panels, so 3.5kW. We consistently generate 3,300kWh per year. Just need to install a battery in a couple of years time.

Yeah I’ve thought many times about going the storage battery route. What always puts me off is - what happens in wintertime ?
Our generation figures for the last year are :
680 kWh Sep Oct Nov
1518 kWh Jun Jul Aug
1464kWh. Mar Apr May
282 kWh Dec Jan Feb
So how am I going to store electricity in Winter if I ain’t making It ?
I have a good idea. You do it first and if it’s a succes, I’ll follow on

 

[johnyboy]

Yeah I’ve thought many times about going the storage battery route. What always puts me off is - what happens in wintertime ?
Our generation figures for the last year are :
680 kWh Sep Oct Nov
1518 kWh Jun Jul Aug
1464kWh. Mar Apr May
282 kWh Dec Jan Feb
So how am I going to store electricity in Winter if I ain’t making It ?
I have a good idea. You do it first and if it’s a succes, I’ll follow on

Get a battery which cann also charge from the grid during low peak/low cost time

 

[andyinluton]

Yeah I’ve thought many times about going the storage battery route. What always puts me off is - what happens in wintertime ?
Our generation figures for the last year are :
680 kWh Sep Oct Nov
1518 kWh Jun Jul Aug
1464kWh. Mar Apr May
282 kWh Dec Jan Feb
So how am I going to store electricity in Winter if I ain’t making It ?
I have a good idea. You do it first and if it’s a succes, I’ll follow on

Thats easy, you just need a battery that will hold about 3000kw thats 3MWh so 3 of these in your back garden.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Council not going to to like that !

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Get a battery which cann also charge from the grid during low peak/low cost time

Yup that would work. We have an economy 7 meter and we’re on 44p for day units and 7 for night. I’m thinking, I’m thinking…..

 

[clarinetbcn]

I'm getting slightly irritated by every time someone talks about averting the inevitable the actions needed are defeated by others talking about the possible.

If anyone wanted to do something about loss of biodiversity in the Bristol Channel then do something about the pollution of the river Wye thanks to agricultural run-off. In the meantime we continue to burn fossil fuel, we continue to provide cash flows for tyrants and we continue to surrender our energy security.

Perhaps if we put the dangers to the planet first and made our energy future secure then we can also then address issues of biodiversity but nothing is going to screw up diversity more than by poisoning the planet so sort that one out first.

This upcoming conference is about how protecting biodiversity helps to trap and lower carbon. It's what I meant by both, not either/or.

The five ways we’re killing nature and why it has to stop – video explainer

The biodiversity crisis is just as urgent as the climate emergency: saving the natural world could help avoid catastrophe

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Giant seaweed farm in the middle of the ocean aims to be a global carbon sink

www-theweathernetwork-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Get a battery which cann also charge from the grid during low peak/low cost time

I don’t think it can be done. You can store DC power but not AC.

 

[Amarillo]

A layman’s guide to tidal power generation.

What is Tidal Energy? Advantages, Disadvantages, and Future Trends | Earth.Org

Despite needing more research, tidal energy has the potential to help us curb emissions worldwide. But what exactly is it and what are its pros and cons?

earth.org

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I don’t think it can be done. You can store DC power but not AC.

Yes you can. Below is from Tesla, but other batteries should be able to do the same. So ideally you would charge the battery with an offpeak tariff during the night.

Powerwall Modes | Tesla Support

Powerwall is configured to meet your home’s specific energy needs. Use the Tesla app to monitor and manage your solar system’s performance with features and control modes such as Backup Reserve, Self-Powered and Time-Based Control.

www.tesla.com

 

[larrylamb]

I don’t think it can be done. You can store DC power but not AC.

Battery Storage

Battery storage allows you to (i) Store excess solar electricity, (ii) Charge with cheap, off-peak electricity, (iii) Charge an EV...

electriccarhome.co.uk

 

[Mansfieldman750]

I stand corrected. Thanks both, that’s very interesting.

 

[johnyboy]

Yes, I have been doing it with tesla for years, timed charging from the grid in the winter was the only way the payback period was the same as the warranty period there are more on the market now too, various capacities.

 

[Vagophile]

This thread got me thinking (dangerous) especially as my wife had a temporary job with a heat pump manufacturer in the '80s and I was not particularly impressed at the time. Then I came across this:

 

[chockswahay]

We have oil central heating which we rarely use….. however we do have a modern wood burner in the lounge and a big supply of free wood so we have been heating the whole house (well, small 2 bed single story semi detached cottage) with just the fire. I have been amazed at how well it works….super warm and toasty in the lounge, just right in the main bedroom and a little bit cooler elsewhere. We keep the through doors open and let the stove go out at bedtime then relight again in the morning.

The downside to all of this is that the burner needs feeding about once an hour……. I feel a bit like the stoker on an old steam train!



(please excuse the unfinished look, it’s all work in progress )

 

[johnyboy]

Re the truth about heatpumps video...
1) House is warmer than it was on an oil boiler
2) House is cheaper to heat that it was on an oil boiler
3) Not burning oil
4) Government scheme required insultation before installation (cavity wall, loft etc.) they would not pay out without cheaper/easier insulation being installed first.
5) Legionalla cycle runs once a week for an hour to kill potential bugs (with current cap and a 1kw immersion this costs 34p), otherwise the hot water is bountiful and still too hot to put your hand under.
6) Lowest COP I have had in 2 years was January at 2.8
7) Heat pump installers are a team including plumbers and electricians
8) Cylinder is smaller than previous combo of header tank and cylinder
9) I can hear my neighbours boiler flue OVER my heatpump
10) No underfloor heating, "oversized radiators" are actually smaller on the wall than our old radiators, we actually had to decorate.
11) WE NEED TO DECARBONISE

I firmly believe that instead of government money being used we should be offered 0% loans payable over 10 years which would easily payback over that period. Roger suggests no reasonable alternative, but insulation is the best first step as it a) reduces the use of gas without replacing and b) makes heat pumps even more viable alternatives once a gas boiler needs replacing

For those who want to dive deeper I'd suggest some better informed source such as https://www.heatgeek.com/

 

[Velma's Dad]

This thread got me thinking (dangerous) especially as my wife had a temporary job with a heat pump manufacturer in the '80s and I was not particularly impressed at the time. Then I came across this:

That video has been around for a while and got a lot of viewings I suspect. He's broadly correct in that HPs are only really suitable for houses and use-cases well configured for them - that means good/v. good insulation, under floor heating, farly continuous use (ie ideally occupied all day), adequate space for HP unit and internal buffer tank etc.

A couple of things he says are out of date, eg noise - our HP is extremely quiet, certainly less noisy than the gas boiler balanced flue.

The implication that HP installers are cowboys? Not in my experience, ours were very competent - more so than the plumbers etc who put in our original (gas fired) CH system seven years ago.

He's completely right that the current gas vs elec pricing (even at the moment) makes HPs barely or only marginally economic even in the "right" use-case (ie as above) and that's without taking capital costs into consideration. Obviously if the government incentivises a switch towards all-electric homes, via a pricing mechanism, that could all change but who can say how that will go.

Meanwhile the biggest rationale for putting in a HP is to reduce emissions. My calcs are that our HP will save 5 to 7 tonnes of CO2 per year. That's more than six transatlantic flights. The bloke in the video's assertion that there's no point reducing use of gas boilers because UK only contributes 1% of global emissions is the usual reactionary nonsense.