UK residents resort to buying wood burning stoves due to sharply rising energy costs

[bmw]

Perhaps a sign of things to come in the US? When people can't afford to heat their homes, they resort to higher-pollution-causing methods.

U.K. residents will see an additional 80% increase in their annual household energy bills, the country's energy regulator announced Friday, following a record 54% spike in April. That will bring costs for the average customer from 1,971 pounds ($2,332) a year to 3,549 pounds.

The latest price cap — the maximum amount that gas suppliers can charge customers per unit of energy — will take effect Oct. 1, just as the cold months set in. And bills are expected to rise again in January to 4,000 pounds.

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/26/11195675 ... 9%20pounds.

The result? This:

Headline: Spike in wood burning sales fuel UK air pollution fears

Log sellers are reporting a 60% jump in year-on-year demand as British households look for alternatives to gas central heating, with potentially catastrophic results.

Sales of firewood are booming thanks to widespread anxiety over the soaring cost of energy and resulting attempts to find alternatives to costs gas and electricity...

[A]lthough the increase in demand for firewood is understandable, the impact on local and national air quality cause by a sudden spike in the use of wood burners could be significant. Stoves that use solid fuels are known to emit high levels of PM2.5, with one study in London suggesting between 23 and 31% of this particulate matter pollution in the capital resulted from wood burning, despite most of the city – and large swathes of the UK – being classed as Smoke Controlled Areas since 1956

https://airqualitynews.com/2022/09/02/s ... ion-fears/

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Perhaps a sign of things to come in the US? When people can't afford to heat their homes, they resort to higher-pollution-causing methods.

U.K. residents will see an additional 80% increase in their annual household energy bills, the country's energy regulator announced Friday, following a record 54% spike in April. That will bring costs for the average customer from 1,971 pounds ($2,332) a year to 3,549 pounds.

The latest price cap — the maximum amount that gas suppliers can charge customers per unit of energy — will take effect Oct. 1, just as the cold months set in. And bills are expected to rise again in January to 4,000 pounds.

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/26/11195675 ... 9%20pounds.

The result? This:

Headline: Spike in wood burning sales fuel UK air pollution fears

Log sellers are reporting a 60% jump in year-on-year demand as British households look for alternatives to gas central heating, with potentially catastrophic results.

Sales of firewood are booming thanks to widespread anxiety over the soaring cost of energy and resulting attempts to find alternatives to costs gas and electricity...

[A]lthough the increase in demand for firewood is understandable, the impact on local and national air quality cause by a sudden spike in the use of wood burners could be significant. Stoves that use solid fuels are known to emit high levels of PM2.5, with one study in London suggesting between 23 and 31% of this particulate matter pollution in the capital resulted from wood burning, despite most of the city – and large swathes of the UK – being classed as Smoke Controlled Areas since 1956

https://airqualitynews.com/2022/09/02/s ... ion-fears/

We don’t have the same energy constraints they do… there aren’t resources in continental Europe… they are nearly fully dependent on outside sources.

[bmw]

I agree the situation is very different there than here, but our push towards green energy - a push that is happening faster than the technology can keep up with - risks driving energy prices up here. Especially with the movement of some cities to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings.

[Matt]

The last time energy prices were this bad, they stopped buying toothbrushes.

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The last time energy prices were this bad, they stopped buying toothbrushes.

England was hit incredibly hard, those are the folks that migrated to Appalachia.

[TC Talks]

I agree the situation is very different there than here, but our push towards green energy - a push that is happening faster than the technology can keep up with - risks driving energy prices up here. Especially with the movement of some cities to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings.

Sometimes this becomes a catalyst for change. I see a future where each building can be almost completely independent. Big gas and oil certainly doesn't want to see that happen.

[bmw]

I see a future where each building can be almost completely independent.

I actually agree with this (we're just not there yet). When I build my new business building, for example, I'm exploring the possibility of keeping it off-grid, installing solar panels and a battery system, and a few mini-split heat pumps for both heating and cooling.

Heat pumps are the future, btw. Their efficiency is amazing, and the newer generation ones work at rather low temps. I helped my dad install one this summer and after having it hooked up to a watt meter we've determined it uses about 1/2 the electricity of the window AC unit. And for heat, it is rated at 80% efficiency down to 19 degrees F outdoor temp (and runs all the way down to 13). At peak efficiency, it is about 3.5x more efficient than electric heat. And I've even seen some units that run even colder than that.

[craig11152]

Heat pumps are the future, btw. Their efficiency is amazing, and the newer generation ones work at rather low temps. I helped my dad install one this summer and after having it hooked up to a watt meter we've determined it uses about 1/2 the electricity of the window AC unit. And for heat, it is rated at 80% efficiency down to 19 degrees F outdoor temp (and runs all the way down to 13). At peak efficiency, it is about 3.5x more efficient than electric heat. And I've even seen some units that run even colder than that.

You are talking about air-source heat pump. If you want next level efficiency you want a geothermal heat pump.

[km1125]

I see a future where each building can be almost completely independent.

I actually agree with this (we're just not there yet). When I build my new business building, for example, I'm exploring the possibility of keeping it off-grid, installing solar panels and a battery system, and a few mini-split heat pumps for both heating and cooling.

Heat pumps are the future, btw. Their efficiency is amazing, and the newer generation ones work at rather low temps. I helped my dad install one this summer and after having it hooked up to a watt meter we've determined it uses about 1/2 the electricity of the window AC unit. And for heat, it is rated at 80% efficiency down to 19 degrees F outdoor temp (and runs all the way down to 13). At peak efficiency, it is about 3.5x more efficient than electric heat. And I've even seen some units that run even colder than that.

Heat pumps are definitely something to look at, but you also have to consider where you are. Even though they are much more efficient than "normal" electric heat (resistance heating), they are still typically more expensive than heating with natural gas. But all that also depends on the current cost of gas and electricity. Gas fluctuates prices due to a million things, and I think we all know that electric costs have nowhere to go but up.

[bmw]

The models of heat pumps that have come out the past few years have insanely high SEER (efficiency ratings), I've seen some as high as 30 (though 20-25 is typical now). Geothermal heat pumps may be more efficient but have a much larger up-front cost not to mention a larger physical footprint. The air-based ones you can get for $1000 to $1500 and they're not THAT difficult to install yourself (and I was amazed at how quiet the outdoor compressor is, you can barely hear it). In the case of the one I helped install for my parents, it is only 9,000 BTU so will be plenty for cooling in the summer and we figure will be enough heat for most of October/November and April/May (so hopefully 4 of the 8 heating months). It will be used as supplemental during the colder winter months. With the cost of natural gas going up quite a bit even here in MI, and I haven't crunched the numbers yet, but I suspect the heat pump heat will be at least as cheap, if not marginally cheaper, than the gas heat, per BTU it puts out.

Next spring they're looking at getting around 600-900w worth of solar panels and about 2500w worth of battery storage and installing a stand-alone solar circuit to run the heat pump from. This will also be very handy during power outages.

[Bryce]

Stupid Orange Man was right again
..

BERLIN — Out of President Trump’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, it probably won’t be the script that willOne of them captured the amused reactions of the German delegation as Trump said: “Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course. Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas could be seen smirking alongside his colleagues along with world leaders' laughter, caught on camera and shared in viral videos

[TC Talks]

The models of heat pumps that have come out the past few years have insanely high SEER (efficiency ratings), I've seen some as high as 30 (though 20-25 is typical now). Geothermal heat pumps may be more efficient but have a much larger up-front cost not to mention a larger physical footprint. The air-based ones you can get for $1000 to $1500 and they're not THAT difficult to install yourself (and I was amazed at how quiet the outdoor compressor is, you can barely hear it). In the case of the one I helped install for my parents, it is only 9,000 BTU so will be plenty for cooling in the summer and we figure will be enough heat for most of October/November and April/May (so hopefully 4 of the 8 heating months). It will be used as supplemental during the colder winter months. With the cost of natural gas going up quite a bit even here in MI, and I haven't crunched the numbers yet, but I suspect the heat pump heat will be at least as cheap, if not marginally cheaper, than the gas heat, per BTU it puts out.

Next spring they're looking at getting around 600-900w worth of solar panels and about 2500w worth of battery storage and installing a stand-alone solar circuit to run the heat pump from. This will also be very handy during power outages.

I have an entire cabin completely off grid. I have bought up several attractive lake lots that were considered unbuildable because of the lack of access to power lines.

Mr Cool has great products, I use a low draw water well. Add a skynet account and I could work from home.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

True, Mr. Elon promises a great future for rural residents, but is it all just talk like his failed takeover of Twitter?

[Rate This]

Stupid Orange Man was right again
..

BERLIN — Out of President Trump’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, it probably won’t be the script that willOne of them captured the amused reactions of the German delegation as Trump said: “Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course. Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas could be seen smirking alongside his colleagues along with world leaders' laughter, caught on camera and shared in viral videos

A broken clock is right twice a day.