9% increase on gas and elec

[MicraShed]

Well, a good argument if any to get a PV install. Halved my consumption from the grid (and if Mrs Micrashed hadnt been a bit over zealous with the washing machine and drier last week it would have been less). So with a bit of luck I will end up reducing my direct debit.

If only I could do the same with my gas. 17kWh/day just for keeping the hot water tank warm is a bit frightening. Possibly another argument for me to retire the Baxi Solo and think about a combi. I just cant bear to replace something with just 2 moving parts and uBer reliability with something with a zillion parts to break.

 

[SRE]

Well, a good argument if any to get a PV install. Halved my consumption from the grid (and if Mrs Micrashed hadnt been a bit over zealous with the washing machine and drier last week it would have been less). So with a bit of luck I will end up reducing my direct debit.

If only I could do the same with my gas. 17kWh/day just for keeping the hot water tank warm is a bit frightening. Possibly another argument for me to retire the Baxi Solo and think about a combi. I just cant bear to replace something with just 2 moving parts and uBer reliability with something with a zillion parts to break.

You need an Immersun

 

[Eco Deal]

one day electricity and gas will be a luxurary !

if this gov dont start investing big time ,

a roll of loft insulation wont keep my lights running !!!

big investment in renewable energy

 

[FB.]

big investment in renewable energy

Yes, we need to ensure the future of energy.

A big problem, though, is that renewable energy is not fully reliable to power our economy due to variations in the the weather. Some days too much power, while other days not enough.

SSE are well know for investing in renewables - mainly wind farms.
They also run some hydro stations of the type profiled on a TV program about a year ago; the hydro's sit idle for hours but when the adverts come on telly in the evening, the 3kW kettles go on all across the nation, the grid power plummets and SSE's hydro stations kick-in to provide a massive surge capacity, by letting literally an entire mountain-top-lake full of water through a huge turbine in just a few minutes.
After the surge the water is then pumped back up using cheap-rate power (night time) for using as surge capacity at another time.

So perhaps we need to use renewables and be prepared to use the pumped-storage-type power stations for "storing" energy when solar or wind are producing to excess, and then running the water through the turbines when the wind stops and the sun disappears. It might be relatively inefficient, but it's surely more eco-friendly than building huge batteries.

 

[sedgy34]

Yep good thread!!

I installed solar on my house I'm due my 2nd cheque of fit payment and I've halved my electricity bill
i have a combi boiler so thinking about underfloor heating now on the ground floor of my house 1st floor too much hassle I guess and I've had free loft insulation a few months back.
Just got to now get cheaper gas lol

 

[Worcester]

They also run some hydro stations of the type profiled on a TV program about a year ago; the hydro's sit idle for hours but when the adverts come on telly in the evening, the 3kW kettles go on all across the nation, the grid power plummets and SSE's hydro stations kick-in to provide a massive surge capacity, by letting literally an entire mountain-top-lake full of water through a huge turbine in just a few minutes.
After the surge the water is then pumped back up using cheap-rate power (night time) for using as surge capacity at another time.

Dinorwig (First Hydro Company Dinorwig Power Station )was built back in 1984 SPECIFICALLY to do that as the coal powered generators can;t just ramp up to deal with. Yes we need lots more lke that - or Tidal - that isn't going away, [until 'The Day After Tomorrrow" ] and somewhere arounf the UK will be constant.

Trouble is in the 80's we had a 'Dash for Gas' know we have a 'Gush for Wind' and a 'Run for the Sun' ... strategy, not knee jerk is what is needed.

 

[Jaycee]

Gents

Great thread,and it shows that rising energy costs are the driving force now in solar pv, not how much money can be made from a feed in tariff.

Some of you have stated you want to reduce gas bills, well that can be achieved also. Look into biomass boilers,they really are the next big thing if the government introduce the domestic rhi scheme,biomass costs approx 4p kwh to produce, and this is what is being discussed as a rhi payment, thus making biomass a no running cost solution.

 

[MicraShed]

You need an Immersun

I thought that was a spelling mistake! Then I have just spent the last hour and a half reading through the threads. Still confused!

Some of you have stated you want to reduce gas bills, well that can be achieved also. Look into biomass boilers,they really are the next big thing

They are also Mahoosive and I have no where to place one when you compare them to a standard wall mount boiler.

 

[Jaycee]

I thought that was a spelling mistake! Then I have just spent the last hour and a half reading through the threads. Still confused!

They are also Mahoosive and I have no where to place one when you compare them to a standard wall mount boiler.[/COLOR]

Biomass are not as big as you may think!

Do you have a utility room or a garage where you could put the biomass?
You can also buy a ip65 version, so do you have room outside, or maybe a shed?

You could also look into an electric boiler system, or maybe an air source heat pump system?

 

[MicraShed]

Biomass are not as big as you may think!

Do you have a utility room or a garage where you could put the biomass?
You can also buy a ip65 version, so do you have room outside, or maybe a shed?

Im not convinced that an air source pump would be cost effective for me to replace a mains gas fired set up, Biomass yes, but space is an issue Im afraid. I have nothing near the house that could house a biomass boiler and hopper feed/store. The nearest outbuilding is some 40 feet from the house - and thats a helluva long run for heating pipes.
So thats partly why the interest in the ImmerSun system. The Gas fired heating system is on during the winter months anyway with spare heat going to the exchanger in the hot water tank, so its really just during summer months that I could do with heating the tank via another means.

 

[SRE]

Biomass is ok while you can get supply but it's like everything else once demand outstrips supply prices will go through the roof. If current biomass plants approved for planning go through they will need 24 million tonnes of wood to feed them. UK currently produces somewhere in the region of 8 million tonnes. Surplus looks as though it's going to be shipped in from Canada, meanwhile our local sawmill is paying higher and higher prices for wood for joinery etc because the local biomass plant can't get enough to supply it and it's using wood that would normally be used for building things. We have another plant due to kick off in March that's going to need 35 articulated wagons a day to feed it.

I'm not convinced biomass in the future is going to be as cheap as everyone thinks or as sustainable. Only time will tell but I'm not changing my boiler over until I know what the supply situation is going to be like.

 

[sedgy34]

Im not convinced that an air source pump would be cost effective for me to replace a mains gas fired set up, Biomass yes, but space is an issue Im afraid. I have nothing near the house that could house a biomass boiler and hopper feed/store. The nearest outbuilding is some 40 feet from the house - and thats a helluva long run for heating pipes.
So thats partly why the interest in the ImmerSun system. The Gas fired heating system is on during the winter months anyway with spare heat going to the exchanger in the hot water tank, so its really just during summer months that I could do with heating the tank via another means.

You will want solAr thermal then

 

[Worcester]

Or Thermodynamic Solar ASHP and Solar thermal in one! (If he's got any roof space left !! )

 

[MicraShed]

Or Thermodynamic Solar ASHP and Solar thermal in one! (If he's got any roof space left !! )

I have a small (5m x 2.7m) SE facing extension roof but this suffers shade issues and is a long way below the DHW tank. Or I have a NW facing roof some 6m x 5m with no shade issues but NW facing.....

The existing SE facing roof has a 2.5kWp install so Im wondering if swapping the 3kW element in the DHW tank for a 1kW one and installing an ImmerSun might be a cheaper less hassle way forward for the hot water issue. I have a Primatic set up though and my element is top fitting, so a 1kW one isnt going to heat that far down into the tank. Installing a pump would probably disrupt the air bubble in the primatic and I would end up with heating water mixing with tap water (it happens if I set the regular heating pump to position 3, it over pumps the system). That said I need enough hot water for one bath and one dishwasher load a day so not a huge amount and perhaps the amount of water the kW element could heat within the top part of a 145L tank might be enough.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[SRE]

You don't need to change to a 1kw immersion that's the point of the Immersun and surely your dishwasher is cold fill - it's most unusual to have a hot fill.