Energy bills

[Horse]

Me, to Foal (just moved back home): When you stop for lunch, turn the lights off, please "

Foal: "Liz Truss has just announced help with fuel bills"

Me: "But she won't come around and turn the fucking lights off for you"

[Hoonercat]

I have a wood that goes for about 10 miles that's a mins walk from my house. It's full of fallen logs esp recently as the drought seems to have killed a few. Only way I can burn them though is in my patio wood burner which won't be much good in Dec

What's the best method of drying? My mate uses kiln dried for his pizza oven but I just stick some in the garage for a bit when using it for the patio burner.

Stack it on pallets or the wood at the bottom will rot, the smaller you split it the quicker it will dry. Stack it somewhere it will get the sun and wind, bark side up to give some protection from rain if the tarp blows off. Don't stack too tight, you need gaps for the breeze to get into the wood stacked in the middle. Throw a tarp over it, in summer it doesn't really matter if it gets a bit wet as it dries out quick enough but not in Autumn/Winter. If you're planning on using it this winter you're probably too late to season it (the aim is to dry the sap but it takes a fair bit of time and ideally needs to go through a summer season) plus having it outside means it'll probably be wet each morning because of morning dew and won't lose that moisture during a winter's day. Not a problem if you're seasoning it for next winter though.
If you're only using it occasionally and outside, I wouldn't even bother with the above , to much hassle and the problems associated with 'wet' wood aren't as problematic as with indoor use (mainly carbon build-up in chimney/flu which can cause a fire). Just use plenty of kindling and it should burn ok.

[Hoonercat]

I used to burn stuff that was essentially windfalls (albeit dried appropriately). It appeals to my desire to be a bit of a cheapskate but in truth it doesn't burn that brilliantly (compared to the alternative), is often kinda stinky and is probably somewhat worse for the environment.

I switched to wood pellets last year anyway. Inevitably the price of those will go through the roof now as well ..
Yep, I just checked - doubled from last winter. FFS

Is that France or UK? Pretty much the same here, fortunately I've always bought an extra pallet each year in case we have one of those rare Siberian winters, so I didn't need to buy this year. Looking at prices in Germany and lack of stock, I wouldn't be surprised to see more producers exporting from here to Germany next year, which will drive up prices here even more. UK is also seeing big price increases and stock problems, the few I checked who import from Europe (rather than produce them themselves) aren't even publishing their prices online, you have to contact them for a quote which suggests prices are changing regularly. Most of the others were also out of stock of decent quality pellets, seems to be a few at higher prices available though.

[DefTrap]

Is that France or UK? Pretty much the same here, fortunately I've always bought an extra pallet each year in case we have one of those rare Siberian winters, so I didn't need to buy this year. Looking at prices in Germany and lack of stock, I wouldn't be surprised to see more producers exporting from here to Germany next year, which will drive up prices here even more. UK is also seeing big price increases and stock problems, the few I checked who import from Europe (rather than produce them themselves) aren't even publishing their prices online, you have to contact them for a quote which suggests prices are changing regularly. Most of the others were also out of stock of decent quality pellets, seems to be a few at higher prices available though.

Yeah in France. Was 4€/15kg this time last year. (I distinctly remember being sarcastic about the pathetic discount offered if you bought 1000kg). The only prices I can see this year are around 8€/15kg, and most are out of stock anyway.

A hard (cold) Winter is pretty much guaranteed this year innit?

When I moved South, for the sun, I didn't think it would end up being because if I'd stayed where I was I would have frozen to death.

[Dodgy69]

https://burley.co.uk/category/flueless-gas-fires/

[Mussels]

https://burley.co.uk/category/flueless-gas-fires/

They just look so wrong, I'd rather have a flue and reduce the risk of being killed because the catalytic converter isn't working. You still need a lot of ventilation with them so only really useful in houses that probably already have chimneys.

[Count Steer]

https://burley.co.uk/category/flueless-gas-fires/

They just look so wrong, I'd rather have a flue and reduce the risk of being killed because the catalytic converter isn't working. You still need a lot of ventilation with them so only really useful in houses that probably already have chimneys.

Must say, my eyebrow raised at the '100% efficient' claim, particularly since they have a flame 'picture'.

Wouldn't touch one, not even with a bargepole. It's not just the normal combustion products. What happens to the methyl mercaptan odourant that they put in natural gas? Does the cat remove the sulphur? Where's the water vapour go? It's not that long ago that there were air quality issues raised over gas hobs in poorly ventilated spaces. I'm amazed these things ever got past certification. (Probably find that certification stopped when BG got given to Sid ).

[Hoonercat]

Is that France or UK? Pretty much the same here, fortunately I've always bought an extra pallet each year in case we have one of those rare Siberian winters, so I didn't need to buy this year. Looking at prices in Germany and lack of stock, I wouldn't be surprised to see more producers exporting from here to Germany next year, which will drive up prices here even more. UK is also seeing big price increases and stock problems, the few I checked who import from Europe (rather than produce them themselves) aren't even publishing their prices online, you have to contact them for a quote which suggests prices are changing regularly. Most of the others were also out of stock of decent quality pellets, seems to be a few at higher prices available though.

Yeah in France. Was 4€/15kg this time last year. (I distinctly remember being sarcastic about the pathetic discount offered if you bought 1000kg). The only prices I can see this year are around 8€/15kg, and most are out of stock anyway.

A hard (cold) Winter is pretty much guaranteed this year innit?

When I moved South, for the sun, I didn't think it would end up being because if I'd stayed where I was I would have frozen to death.

€8/15kg is surprisingly low, it's actually cheaper than the cheapest A1 pellets I can find here which, given the disparity in salaries, makes what you're paying a bit of a bargain compared to Bulgaria. Prices in Germany when I looked briefly this morning were between approx €650-850 per 1,000kg (plus delivery). We do get a decent discount for ordering 1,000kg here though (well, it's not really a discount, it's the real price as that's how most people order. The retail outlets then bang the indivdual prices right up).

[Dodgy69]

https://burley.co.uk/category/flueless-gas-fires/

They just look so wrong, I'd rather have a flue and reduce the risk of being killed because the catalytic converter isn't working. You still need a lot of ventilation with them so only really useful in houses that probably already have chimneys.

We've had the coal affect stove by Burley, esteem I think, for about 10 years and they work well. Yes, they do need ventilation and we have no chimney. The cat deals with the bad stuff. They have a built-in carbon dioxide sensor thing but we also have one on the wall.

Obviously, all heat goes into room so 100% in that respect. Adjustable thermostat so goes into pilot. They look nice and without any mess. Tbh, we haven't used it massively because of our central heating, don't need both. But, in recent years, during the colder months we put it on in the evening and turn ch off, nice and cozy. Internal doors open and let the heat flow.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I have a wood that goes for about 10 miles that's a mins walk from my house. It's full of fallen logs esp recently as the drought seems to have killed a few. Only way I can burn them though is in my patio wood burner which won't be much good in Dec

What's the best method of drying? My mate uses kiln dried for his pizza oven but I just stick some in the garage for a bit when using it for the patio burner.

Friend of mine has this book, he got it as an anniversary present for his (surprise surprise) Wood anniversary.

Quite a fun little coffee table book.

Norwegian Wood: The guide to chopping, stacking and drying wood the Scandinavian way https://amzn.eu/d/5nverNN

[Pirahna]

I need to get a log store going, fairly soon. The one when we moved in was inside a large locker with doors and everything was riddled with termites. The doors are now gone, new pallets have been got, it faces south into the prevailing wind and obvs lots of sunshine.

[Hoonercat]

It's looking very likely that Truss will sign off an agreement with the energy suppliers to freeze prices in return for Govt loans, which will then be paid off by consumers over "10 to 20 years" through energy bills. I'm not particularly opposed to the idea, in some ways it will be similar to France where consumers will probably see their bills remaining higher to pay for the 4% cap (though that money will go to a state-owned EDF rather than private suppliers). I am struggling to understand the cost difference though, given that the UK has already had a 54% rise since the French cap.
Scottish Power estimate the cost will be £100 billion, Ofgen say this is a conservative estimate, and last week I believe Labour costed it at over £120 billion(?).
It's reported to have cost France, with a similar sized population, £7.2 billion. Obviously a price freeze v a price cap is going to be more costly, but by that much, after UK prices have already increased 54%?

[Mussels]

Nuclear energy costs are pretty unaffected by gas prices so the cost to France through lost profit is probably hidden.

[JamJar]

It's looking very likely that Truss will sign off an agreement with the energy suppliers to freeze prices in return for Govt loans, which will then be paid off by consumers over "10 to 20 years" through energy bills. I'm not particularly opposed to the idea, in some ways it will be similar to France where consumers will probably see their bills remaining higher to pay for the 4% cap (though that money will go to a state-owned EDF rather than private suppliers). I am struggling to understand the cost difference though, given that the UK has already had a 54% rise since the French cap.
Scottish Power estimate the cost will be £100 billion, Ofgen say this is a conservative estimate, and last week I believe Labour costed it at over £120 billion(?).
It's reported to have cost France, with a similar sized population, £7.2 billion. Obviously a price freeze v a price cap is going to be more costly, but by that much, after UK prices have already increased 54%?

My problem with this plan is that it is still the end consumer that bears the full brunt of the hugely inflated cost of "energy" and that the energy producers are still allowed to make the profit driven by those hugely inflated costs. Surely it would be much faire and cheaper to make them bear some of the cost and reduce their profits.

[slowsider]

My problem with this plan is that it is still the end consumer that bears the full brunt of the hugely inflated cost of "energy" and that the energy producers are still allowed to make the profit driven by those hugely inflated costs.

But that's 'the market' for you. Where else will the Tories get their financial donors?

[Count Steer]

Nuclear energy costs are pretty unaffected by gas prices so the cost to France through lost profit is probably hidden.

At the end of August, 25 out of 56 French nuclear reactors were out of action due to overdue maintenance for corrosion issues. That shortfall in output has to/will need to be made up from other sources inc. gas fired stations. Some of the local shortfall has been mitigated by cutting exports though.

[Supermofo]

Be nice if this drove some kind of renewable/self sufficient energy generation but it probably won't. Heard Truss said wind farms are a eyesore which is funny when people love an old windmill which back in the day would have been everywhere and used for much the same reason. Aside from where it directly impacted people I'd be more than happy to have a wind farm local if it meant I got cheaper cleaner energy. And the bottom line is Russian gas is now a thing of the past for possibly ever so this isn't going away.

[Lutin]

At the end of August, 25 out of 56 French nuclear reactors were out of action due to overdue maintenance for corrosion issues. That shortfall in output has to/will need to be made up from other sources inc. gas fired stations. Some of the local shortfall has been mitigated by cutting exports though.

France is about to start the process of recommissioning all its nuclear reactors - France to restart all nuclear reactors by winter amid energy crunch

And it looks like Germany will follow suit - Germany puts nuclear reactors on standby amid Europe's energy squeeze

[Mr. Dazzle]

Be nice if this drove some kind of renewable/self sufficient energy generation but it probably won't. Heard Truss said wind farms are a eyesore which is funny when people love an old windmill which back in the day would have been everywhere and used for much the same reason. Aside from where it directly impacted people I'd be more than happy to have a wind farm local if it meant I got cheaper cleaner energy. And the bottom line is Russian gas is now a thing of the past for possibly ever so this isn't going away.

I've been saying to few people (and they say it back! It's not just me ranting ) that if anything good is gonna come from this, it's that renewables will be accelerated and will make up a bigger chunk of the energy mix faster than they otherwise would have.

I really hope Truss' comments on wind farms are only designed to appeal to the crusty party members she was trying to win over. The surveys I've seen show overwhelming support for wind power in the UK. I've had exactly the same thought as you regarding old windmills too. In fact it goes even further, "the countryside" that these farms are supposedly spoiling is about as natural as the M1 anyway.

[Mussels]

Renewable energy is great but not a lot of use without a buffer, up until now that buffer has been gas power and swapping energy flow with France. I don't see either being popular so is dynamic pricing the answer?