Another reason to avoid Smart!

[Murdoch]

One thing for sure is that growing the world population from about 2 billion in 1920 to about 8 billion in 2020 has had an affect - yet this is rarely mentioned

 

[Andy1733]

One thing for sure is that growing the world population from about 2 billion in 1920 to about 8 billion in 2020 has had an affect - yet this is rarely mentioned

Binky's to blame for that. He had a bike

 

[Kot]

Another recommendation for Octopus here, their customer services is sometimes slow to respond but theyre a great supplier.

Octopus web site —-

With global energy prices at record highs, you're unlikely to be better off by switching at this time.​

 

[johnb2713]

Octopus web site —-

With global energy prices at record highs, you're unlikely to be better off by switching at this time.​

That’s like for like switching, if you were going to an intelligent or EV tariff there could well be better off changing.

 

[Kot]

That’s like for like switching, if you were going to an intelligent or EV tariff there could well be better off changing.

I am a wannabe solar lol with no ev yet and in the collecting quote stage lol of course when that changes Octopus would be ideal.

My point is our DD should be in real time your smart meter should directly bill you through providers system for that months usage not a highly in accurate logarithm that needs a years usage history to provide an average DD rate which is inevitably not in the consumers favour.
If a smart meter can’t help a provider generate an accurate bill/DD then OffGen need to get their act together.
It would also improve the take up of SM
Each day more people are on the Standard Rate as fixed deals end it’s time to use SM to save worry and overpayments not just for cheap night time usage etc

 

[Joules]

You have to live within your means, I went through a very rough patch 15 years ago, nearly lost my house and almost bankrupt. I had to cut back on everything including energy but I didnt have any bailouts from the government or expect free energy. I cut cloth according to my means and very slowly dug myself out of a massive hole.
If they cant afford the inflated prices, theyre using too much, it's a fairly simple thing understand, they have to cut down their usage, use what they do more efficiently etc. Why should I have to bail them out?
The energy companies are the ones that should be doing something to bring prices down, a windfall tax on their excessive profits would be a start but the real answer is all of our infrastructure, Generation, Distribution, Rail, Comms, Gas etc should be nationalised. The government could then control energy costs directly.

Hear here; on the subject of nationalisation have you considered that by forcing a guaranteed regional price that all that providers must charge the retail supply of energy has effectively been nationalized? Like you I have spreadsheet data in my case going back 30 years. One of the graphs shows that over the term energy prices have not increased which to me demonstrates that energy providers have a had, and continue to have difficulty turning a profit. Octopus has mitigated the lack of profitability by scaling up the size their customer base - there is no profit to be made with low usage customers and they cannot be refused an account. The case for renationalization is compelling and growing stronger.

 

[Murdoch]

I am a wannabe solar lol with no ev yet and in the collecting quote stage lol of course when that changes Octopus would be ideal.

My point is our DD should be in real time your smart meter should directly bill you through providers system for that months usage not a highly in accurate logarithm that needs a years usage history to provide an average DD rate which is inevitably not in the consumers favour.
If a smart meter can’t help a provider generate an accurate bill/DD then OffGen need to get their act together.
It would also improve the take up of SM
Each day more people are on the Standard Rate as fixed deals end it’s time to use SM to save worry and overpayments not just for cheap night time usage etc

All you need are customers who understand their usage and bills, then they can challenge the suppliers.

It’s not rocket science and the whole point of the average DD is to avoid the winter “shocks” for the heating

 

[Joules]

All you need are customers who understand their usage and bills, then they can challenge the suppliers.

It’s not rocket science and the whole point of the average DD is to avoid the winter “shocks” for the heating

Yes and no. It assumes the bank account being used has an overdraft set in place as DD are not otherwise possible. The issue of a machine applying for a DD authority is that the applicant is not sentient in the human sense allowing the bank to reject the application no matter how smart the meter is.

 

[ProDave]

Octopus web site —-

With global energy prices at record highs, you're unlikely to be better off by switching at this time.​

That does not mean Octopus won't accept you, just that it probably won't be any cheaper. But if your motivation is the be with a supplier that you can communicate with an have more control over your account, then that does not matter. Ignore the message and carry on.

 

[Murdoch]

Yes and no. It assumes the bank account being used has an overdraft set in place as DD are not otherwise possible. The issue of a machine applying for a DD authority is that the applicant is not sentient in the human sense allowing the bank to reject the application no matter how smart the meter is.

why would the account holder need an overdraft facility?

 

[binky]

@ProDave , now I've clalmed down a bit I will answer your question properly. Apologies for being rude. The issue with Drax was lack of biomass to burn, so they started importing wood from Eastern Europe, some of which is sustainably managed forest, some of which wasn't, thereby defeating the object a somewhat. Now biomass is mostly species like willow, which can be grown and havested in 2-3 years, so that is an incredibly short turn around on CO2 emission and absorption. But that doesn't really change the fact we have insufficient land to really make it a viable alternative, unless we plant the entire Scottish highlands with trees and shrubs. There is some really interesting rewilding projects up there currently, have a google. We need to build more sustainable housing, cement and concrete are dreadful materials from an ecological viewpoint, so growing trees for commercial use is also important as we need sustainable building materials as well as fuel.

So how do we power the country and reduce CO2, as we have discussed before wind and solar are great, on-shore wind is the cheapest of the lot, but so many people object it isn't popular with politicians. Nuclear is good but too slow to build, and the cost could be put to insulation far quicker and easier than building a reactor. Public attitude is imho opinion the biggest hurdle of the lot to overcome, yesterday the Telegraph had the headline that China emitted more CO2 in 8 months this year than the UK has since the industrial revolution. How true that is I don't know, but it's this sort of article that leaves too many people with a 'why bother' attitude, when we really all need to evaluate our lifestyles, stop aspiring to the lifestyles of the rich and famous who are as eco-friendly as coal mine. I very much believe we could be world leaders in CO2 reduction and benefit the country and the people to boot, however, with so much misinforation from the oil industries black ops programme still affecting peoples attiudes and beliefs, I can't see that happening any time soon. Nor can I see the 1.5 degC target being met, so that means we will be heading for something more like 2 degC and some very serious consequences for the planet and civilisation as we know it.

There are some good news stories, Saudi Arabia has announced it will plant 50 billion trees in the Middle East - makes you wonder how they will water the trees and how green that truly will be. Panama has replanted a huge area of rainforest after realising without it they were running out of water for the canal. So it's not all doom and gloom, I just wish politicians would take the whole thing more seriously, for only then we will get a world concensus and get the action we need. COVID was a fine example of what we can do when there is a clear threat to focus on, my fear is that it will happen only when climate change has become a true disaster.

Oh, and just for the record, I get my logs from a guy who clears trees off roads for Cornwall Council, so my wood travels about 50 miles. I also burn no-reusable pallets on the odd occasion I get some of those.

 

[Murdoch]

Given the UK has a large tidal range , why haven’t we got solutions working with this yet?

and if the politicians are so eager to reduce consumption, why are kids still allowed to go to any school , creating a huge amount of unnecessary car journeys every day?

 

[ProDave]

I wasn't picking a fight, but burning something, anything, that creates CO2 is not solving the problem however much anyone tries to convince you that it is.

What we should be doing is planting more trees to absorb CO2, not for harvesting later, but reforestation of any land not productive for food production as a carbon sink. Anywhere that is possible.

Press ahead building as much wind and solar as we can. Keep pushing properly for energy eficciency. I am not even convinced current building regs are anywhere good enough let alone nobody has solved what to do with the UK's largely rubbish housing stock that all needs upgrading seriously to reduce energy usage.

But the big one, we really really really need to build at least one tidal estuary barrage hydo scheme. That is totally predictable totally dependable power generation and a lot of it.

The environmentalists will scream blue murder that some rare frog in a tidal mud estuary will have a bad time, but it really must be a case of that is a sacrifice to save a whole lot more wildlife elsewhere?

I do have a WBS myself and all my wood comes from my own trees or local windfall. I use it because it is free heating. I do not pretend it is environmentaly friendly, it is not. If you were really environmentaly friendly you would collect that wood and make it into something or just store it to keep the carbon locked up.

In the long run EV's will be a true low carbon means of transport, but at the moment, while we still produce nearly half our electricity from fossil fuels, adding extra electricity demand is not going to help.

Like I say, we are heading in the right direction, just look how it was when we were both children, we have come a long way but still have a long way to go. It really pi$$es me off that the environmentalists cannot see the progress we have made, they treat us like idiots that don't want to clean up our act, and by making all these protests they might actually change something.

 

[Murdoch]

The ”environmentalists” are going about this, especially the eco warriors blocking roads, the wrong way,

I suspect the current issues of fuel costs will make people change their habits too

but how can a country gauge success? Or is it all smoke and mirrors ?

 

[Geoff1946]

The environmentalists will scream blue murder that some rare frog in a tidal mud estuary will have a bad time, but it really must be a case of that is a sacrifice to save a whole lot more wildlife elsewhere?

Taking a longer term view, if a tidal barrier is built all the little beasties actually finish up with a more extensive and more varied coastline to play on.
It's a plentiful and reliable power source, which has been recognised since Roman times when small tidal corn mills served coastal communities. The present policy of ignoring the potential is madness.

 

[Joules]

why would the account holder need an overdraft facility?

They don't. I got it wrong; thinking of things nearer home with my daughter who in the past had DD bounce and was charged for the default by her provider even when she was in credit to an amount greater than the debit itself. If people can stay in the black and arrange a small overdraft all the better as it saves the injustice and indignity of what happens to so many.

 

[Andy1733]

The ”environmentalists” are going about this, especially the eco warriors blocking roads, the wrong way,

I suspect the current issues of fuel costs will make people change their habits too

but how can a country gauge success? Or is it all smoke and mirrors ?

Made me laugh.
On spokesman said. Eco warriors had come together from all over Briton to protest.
Ok m8. How did they all come together. Car, train, bus. A. BLoody long walk for some

 

[binky]

I wasn't picking a fight, but burning something, anything, that creates CO2 is not solving the problem however much anyone tries to convince you that it is.

I tend to agree but if I'm going to heat the house, wood is better than gas. I'm trying to persuade the wife to buy a plot of land to grow our own wood.

What we should be doing is planting more trees to absorb CO2, not for harvesting later, but reforestation of any land not productive for food production as a carbon sink. Anywhere that is possible.

And not carbon offsetting by foresting good farmland, although agroforestry is a thing, good for less arable land.

Press ahead building as much wind and solar as we can. Keep pushing properly for energy eficciency. I am not even convinced current building regs are anywhere good enough let alone nobody has solved what to do with the UK's largely rubbish housing stock that all needs upgrading seriously to reduce energy usage

Nothing should be built that isn't passive standard

Like I say, we are heading in the right direction, just look how it was when we were both children, we have come a long way but still have a long way to go. It really pi$$es me off that the environmentalists cannot see the progress we have made, they treat us like idiots that don't want to clean up our act, and by making all these protests they might actually change something.

I think they do see the changes, but we are still heading the wrong direction, plus the population keeps growing, and marketing keeps telling us we can't be happy without a bigger car/ house/ fashion etc etc. One of my pet hates is disposable wipes, buy a dishcloth and a bottle of Dettol ffs!

 

[bagpiperuler]

How did the system/someone get a hold of that piccy? I'm not very techsmart but I'm pretty sure I didn't slot it in. Anyone ??

 

[binky]

Taking a longer term view, if a tidal barrier is built all the little beasties actually finish up with a more extensive and more varied coastline to play on.
It's a plentiful and reliable power source, which has been recognised since Roman times when small tidal corn mills served coastal communities. The present policy of ignoring the potential is madness.

Trouble with tidal schemes is the best places tend to be areas with extensive mud flats, which are important feeding grounds for many bird species. So our feathered friends lose feeding time as the mud stays covered in water.

That could be compensated for with extensive expansion of salt water marsh elsewhere.