Energy prices.

[daleyd]

I have gas central heating and a log burner, the gas central heating runs 24/7 in the winter cutting in and out to keep the house at 18 degrees, until 11pm then it drops to 16 degrees, its very much needed in an old house, the log burner is lit from around 5pm and runs until bedtime it keeps the living room at a nice comfortable temperature. Without it I’d have to increase the temp on the central heating which would cost more than the £500 per month I’m currently spending on gas/elec So yes it looks pretty but it’s also very functional and saves a lot of money in the long run.
Wood price has gone through the roof, a trailer and chainsaw is a major money saver, i get my wood in the spring and burn it the following winter, my wood usage is around 2.5 cubic metres per month of stacked logs.
Last night was the first night this winter we didn’t light it, and her indoors was complaining about being cold.

Agreed - can’t see how it helps anybody by looking for groups of people to blame for things that can’t really be blamed on anyone.

But yeah, grrr!

 

[Gareth J]

Regarding Pico Hydro, it's surprising how little energy flowing water can have, especially in something called a "stream" if you're curious about your situation, measure the energy available and start from there, very simple maths, just need flowrate and head. I worked out we had, roughly, 1kW (before losses) in a not unsubstantial stream with a potential head of ~7m. The infrastructure required to make use of that would be huge, not to mention the maintenance. The power output would be useful and come at a good time but would have to be a project for a project's sake.....and that's before any whiff of the rivers authority.

 

[Gareth J]

For interest, most recent solar instal here; a 4.4kW array on a tin roof with a 3.6kW inverter came in at about £2200. DIY install. Mounting onto tiles would be dearer and scaffolding would have a cost too but, if you get quotes, worth considering what margins installers are making. There's hot demand for installers at the moment though so I guess they can charge!

 

[Munkul]

Regarding Pico Hydro, it's surprising how little energy flowing water can have, especially in something called a "stream" if you're curious about your situation, measure the energy available and start from there, very simple maths, just need flowrate and head. I worked out we had, roughly, 1kW (before losses) in a not unsubstantial stream with a potential head of ~7m. The infrastructure required to make use of that would be huge, not to mention the maintenance. The power output would be useful and come at a good time but would have to be a project for a project's sake.....and that's before any whiff of the rivers authority.

I did a uni project on putting a microgeneration turbine in a river and worked out pretty much the same conclusion. Really frustrating that there isn't more energy available

 

[Gareth J]

I did a uni project on putting a microgeneration turbine in a river and worked out pretty much the same conclusion. Really frustrating that there isn't more energy available

Intuitivly, it feels like there should be more.

 

[MattH]

BP's 2022 Q1 Profits: £6,200,000,000 up from 2021 Q1 profits of £2,600,000,000.

Now I feel guilty that my gas bill is so low, maybe I can offer them some more money.

 

[MattH]

BP's 2022 Q1 Profits: £6,200,000,000 up from 2021 Q1 profits of £2,600,000,000.

Now I feel guilty that my gas bill is so low, maybe I can offer them some more money.

Sorry, should point out that this only equals £1 per day net profit for every man women and child in the country.
But, no windfall tax.

 

[MattH]

Correction: $ not £ but still.

BP profits soar as calls for windfall tax grow

The energy giant said underlying income hit $6.2bn due to "exceptional oil and gas trading".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Maker]

I did a uni project on putting a microgeneration turbine in a river and worked out pretty much the same conclusion. Really frustrating that there isn't more energy available

I had a group project in a sustainability module with a load of landscape architects, as the only engineer in the group I was in charge of numbers (And they seemed genuinely impressed by simple calculations, I have no idea what they did in their lectures). I worked out a low head hydro plant on a section of the Don in Sheffield could produce 500kW, no one, not even the lecturer marking our presentation, noticed I was off by a factor of 10, it should have been 50kW, before losses, and even that I think was a generous estimate.

 

[addjunkie]

Sorry, should point out that this only equals £1 per day net profit for every man women and child in the country.
But, no windfall tax.

That doesnt include the 20billion write down for pulling out of the Rosneft deal in Russia! My Divi will be down this year.

As for a winfall tax….should they be taxed on uk profits, for this or world wide, just asking as their uk assets are about the lowest in the world and highest costs to operate. Over tax global companies, they just stop doing business here. BP is no longer British but “beyond“ petroleum which all started around the time of the new margarine logo, before the gulf fiasco.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Intuitivly, it feels like there should be more.

The important thing with hydro is the head. Even a small stream will generate really useful amounts of power, if you can tap into into it at the top of a hill and pipe it down to a turbine at the bottom. By contrast, a big lazy river with thousands of litres per minute will do nothing. It's like having hundreds of amps and no volts. Or a few amps, in the case of the stream on the hill, with loads of volts. The option with the high voltage wins every time!

 

[fizzy]

BP's 2022 Q1 Profits: £6,200,000,000 up from 2021 Q1 profits of £2,600,000,000.

Now I feel guilty that my gas bill is so low, maybe I can offer them some more money.

They are still paying for the deepwater horizon fiasco. Yanks caused it Britain gets the blame!
As to these fat cat shareholders. The majority are pensioners who used top work for BP. I know several including a lovely old Aunt of mine who is 86 and partially blind. She used to rely on the dividends to top up her pension.

 

[fizzy]

I had a group project in a sustainability module with a load of landscape architects, as the only engineer in the group I was in charge of numbers (And they seemed genuinely impressed by simple calculations, I have no idea what they did in their lectures). I worked out a low head hydro plant on a section of the Don in Sheffield could produce 500kW, no one, not even the lecturer marking our presentation, noticed I was off by a factor of 10, it should have been 50kW, before losses, and even that I think was a generous estimate.

People forget that countries like Norway and Canada have very different topography to us!

 

[julianthegypsy]

People forget that countries like Norway and Canada have very different topography to us!

Actually, there's massive potential for small scale hydro in Britain, but the water companies effectively block it by wanting huge fees to let you tap into a stream, even if the water is going back into it a hundred metres down stream, even if it's on your own land. It's pathetic.

 

[fizzy]

Actually, there's massive potential for small scale hydro in Britain, but the water companies effectively block it by wanting huge fees to let you tap into a stream, even if the water is going back into it a hundred metres down stream, even if it's on your own land. It's pathetic.

As others have said the potential isn't as huge as you would think.
But I agree they don't make it easy!

 

[julianthegypsy]

As others have said the potential isn't as huge as you would think.
But I agree they don't make it easy!

I'm really talking about micro generation, for powering your own house, rather than exporting it. Britain is hilly and has a lot of streams..

 

[fizzy]

What about a sterling engine? It would be lovely to generate electricity from your woodburner. A normal steam engine would be complex and need a boiler.
I think they use stirling engines in some gas boilers these days.

 

[julianthegypsy]

What about a sterling engine? It would be lovely to generate electricity from your woodburner. A normal steam engine would be complex and need a boiler.
I think they use stirling engines in some gas boilers these days.

Sterling engines are great when you have no other options, but they have virtually no torque. Small steam engines on the other hand can be quite powerful and very efficient.

 

[Maker]

I wonder what the payback time would be for a wood powered micro CHP plant in your living room.

 

[fizzy]

Sterling engines are great when you have no other options, but they have virtually no torque. Small steam engines on the other hand can be quite powerful and very efficient.

If you capture the heat and generate electricity they will be 100% efficient. Qell almost. Only waste energy would be noise.