Period Property in the 21st century and beyond. *LINK*

[Anonymous]

Here’s a snippet from ‘Britain’s Energy Future’ by The Foreign Policy Centre, Sept 2005:

An assessment made at Imperial College London (‘Delivering Climate Technology Programmes, Policies and Politics’, Royal Institute for International Affairs/Carbon Trust, London, November 2003) indicated that, particularly for wind energy, prices would fall considerably further by around 2020. The study concluded that by 2020 the following cost ranges were likely:
Onshore wind: 1.5–2.5p/kWh
Offshore wind: 2.0–3.0p/kWh
Photovoltaic: not competitive until between 2020 and 2025
Wave and tidal stream: 4.5–6.0p/kWh is likely in the short term (3–4 years)
Energy crops: 2.5–4.0p/kWh.

An important part of this study was including estimates of the decrease in price resulting from economies of scale.



Britain's Energy Future, Securing the Home Front

 

[Anonymous]

Rather too much bother really - may work in modern houses, but I'm not sure it will here - especially with solid fuel. It's hardly able to be fine tuned.

We keep the rads just warm, it keeps the house OK.

 

[Anonymous]

2-3p /kWh for a source that blows fairly consistently is perfectly acceptable as a joint national electricity supply mainstay. Some other alt techs can be expected to feature in this energyscape too, such as solar thermal space heating. Nuclear will continue of course.

Consequently the alarmist predictions of huge energy price rises seem somewhat foundless.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

an old non thermostatic system with gravity fed HW by any chance?

NT

 

[Anonymous]

Gawd knows - it's 26 years old. It has a Trianco solid fuel boiler and a pump. There's a hot water cylinder upstairs with another inside and it also heats hot water... It has a dial which goes from one to six... Not exactly sophisticated, and mucky, but it does heat the house and hot water.

We really would like to replace it (as it's rusting for one thing) but waht with is the issue!

 

[Anonymous]

The boiler sounds rather more modern than my initial imaginings. Why exactly do you want to replace it? IIUC it works, the rust is easily tidied up, its a pumped system, and has lasted well so far... I dont think mine's any fancier, and works just fine.

If youve got no other controls than your 0-6 dial then things can be much improved with proper control, if the boiler will cooperate.

If you tell us a lot more about the present system, whats wrong with it, and what your options and preferences are re replacement, I might or might not have something useful to say - never can tell.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

It's rusted through the coal box, it fills the kitchen with grime, when it goes out it's hell to get going. The coal takes up an outhouse and it has to be refilled and de-ashed and that's a faff...if you go away the house is unheated...

I'd prefer gas, but we haven't gas, and I think Calor is expensive, oil I have grave msigivings about... the options are limited.

 

[Anonymous]

Not foundless at all. 70% of nuclear is due to be decommissioned within a decade. The wind turbines are unlikely even to meet that shortfall. The price can only go one way unless something causes a massive demand destruction.


Vital Trivia

 

[Anonymous]

If you did decide to keep it, a hand rivetter, rivets and tinsnips are under than a tenner the lot.

I dont know diddly about the boiler, nor whether youre a well experienced pyro or not, so I dont know whether or not theres some lighting trick you dont know about. I suspect I might be telling grandma about eggs if I continue.

Your new boiler options are inded limited. Oil is the one to go for of the mainstream options. Its by far the cheapest, and by the time it gets pricey your boiler will be dead by then, so its the one to choose. Theres much hype about oil price rises, but the fact is its the cheapest option, and will stay so for many years yet.

There is one maybe, all depends on your house and outbuildings. If youve got a wall you could put solar flat plate on you could get yourself a big reduction in kitchen grime, coal lugging etc, and a very nice return on your investment.

All other options are basically either impractical or pricey.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

Link says energy costs up 3% in real terms over the last 15 years.

The French have been installing nukes like there was no tomorrow, and nukes remain an option Britain will take up as and when needed - which they likely will be.

Tar sands contain large quantities of extractable oil, and if oil price rises much more, those sands will be competitive.

Wind is making inroads, and will supply some percentage of the total requirement. As costs improve, this percentage is likely to rise further.

Some other alts may become competitive over the coming years, one already is now (solar thermal space heating)

On the flipside, both domestic and industrial appliances are becoming ever more energy efficient, houses are being insulated up and down the country, car mpgs are rising, and so on. Also a lot of energy use goes on luxuries like air holidays, novelty goods and so on, so can not really be considered a need.

Is there an energy problem? Yes to some extent, but its nothing like as bad as the hypers say.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's beyond tinsnips and into heavy metal welding, to be honest!

Lighting is hard work, why we don't know as other fires draw well (fine once lit). The chimney sweeping is a pain, too! There are plus sides of course - it's like having an Aga, it's always there keepng the chill off everything. And the ash is a useful pozzolan - perhaps we should market it!

Oil is indeed our only other option - although again, where to put a tank, and limited track access, is yet another difficulty! A rather more 'green' option has yet to present itself.

Solar I think isn't an option either. We had considered heat pump ground sourse stuff, but that seems to be more complex than it at first sounds, too.

Ah well. It's the wooly vests for the time being I think!

 

[Anonymous]

Well, a practical gal like you should have no problem doing welding - if you find enough round tuits. Or getting someone else to. New arc welders are only £50, including visor.

Otherwise I guess that leaves a self feeding wood pellet whatnot, coal, oil, or a strawburner.

You sure you dont have a nice long garden fence you could convert to a collector? Cheap to install, cheap to run, clean, automatic, green...

NT

 

[Anonymous]

No, I leave the welding to the other half - it's getting him roundtuit... it is all very, very grimy t6hough, solid fuel.

Long garden wall - but it's a dry stone one, bordering on village green - aesthetics etc!