Fuel tariffs

[Archie_tect]

Just checked out cheaper energy providers as our Scottish Power dual fuel bills would have rocketed as the contract's ended... so very happy to start saving over £40/mo. [£500/p.a] by moving to a green electric supplier [British Gas, who'd've thought it!]

Just need to get the loft insulation thickness topped up to save even more next winter which will pay for itself in around 6 months... need to get the north-east and north-west external walls checked for heat loss as I'm sure the rockwool cavity insulation I got installed just after we moved in isn't working as well as it did- time for a thermal imaging camera check! Applied technology is brilliant!

 

[Slick]

I really would give the cavity wall insulation a miss if I were you.

 

[Archie_tect]

Too late Slick... had it put in by Rockwool installer 28 years ago... it's a 3 inch cavity on a 1966 Wimpey house so not a brilliant U-value- it's been better than not having it but suspect it's slumped and rather than risk topping it up I've been meaning to put external insulation and rain screen cladding on the house for years but never had time!

 

[Slick]

Too late Slick... had it put in by Rockwool installer 28 years ago... it's a 3 inch cavity on a 1966 Wimpey house so not a brilliant U-value- it's been better than not having it but suspect it's slumped and rather than risk topping it up I've been meaning to put external insulation and rain screen cladding on the house for years but never had time!

Not sure about England, but there are lots of grants available in Scotland for this and your house will thank you for its cavity back. The obvious other benefits are the pure aesthetics of the building and not every building suits external insulation but I'm sure a 66 Wimpey job probably will unless it's brick of course.

 

[Archie_tect]

Grant aid in England is rarer than hens' teeth- fine in theory but not worth the hassle in practice.

Had the cavity checked before blowing the fibres in- not a problem if the ties aren't bridged with mortar snots and aren't sloping back to the inner leaf. Rockwool is great in clean cavities, but can slump with time... wouldn't have used anything else.

It's the saving on the energy bills that I like with insulation, the pay-back is virtually instant!

 

[Drago]

Yes, British Gash. How do they only send green energy to your house? Do they have a special switch they flick so you don't get any gas or coal power?

 

[Slick]

Yes, British Gash. How do they only send green energy to your house? Do they have a special switch they flick so you don't get any gas or coal power?

I seen a bit on the news a week or so ago that reckoned coal has gone.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...n-coal-free-industrial-revolution-electricity

 

[Drago]

Its incredible. Looks like all but one of the coal stations will be decommissioned by 2025.

 

[Archie_tect]

Yes, British Gash. How do they only send green energy to your house? Do they have a special switch they flick so you don't get any gas or coal power?

No idea unless I check it out... but with the abuse they'd get if it's not valid I doubt they'd risk suggesting their electric generation is 'green' if it isn't. They don't make any claims about the gas supply....

 

[Dave7]

I really would give the cavity wall insulation a miss if I were you.

Really??
When we had ours done (years ago) we noticed a big immediate improvement.
Can't put a % on it but we were amazed at the difference.

 

[PaulSB]

No idea unless I check it out... but with the abuse they'd get if it's not valid I doubt they'd risk suggesting their electric generation is 'green' if it isn't. They don't make any claims about the gas supply....

My understanding is green energy supply is how much energy your supplier purchases from generators using solar, wind etc. or generates itself.

If you pay for 100 units and BG purchase 100 units your consumption is effectively 100% green. If BG only purchase 75 units it's 75% etc.

I may be wrong but I think this is how it works. Unless we shut down all "dirty" generation our power generation can never be absolutely green.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Before you [ay for the loft check that there isn't a grant, if it's below a certain number of mm there was funding

 

[Drago]

My understanding is green energy supply is how much energy your supplier purchases from generators using solar, wind etc. or generates itself.

If you pay for 100 units and BG purchase 100 units your consumption is effectively 100% green. If BG only purchase 75 units it's 75% etc.

I may be wrong but I think this is how it works. Unless we shut down all "dirty" generation our power generation can never be absolutely green.

It's doesn't matter where British Gas, Scottish Power, or Yorkshire Tea buy their power from - it all comes down the same cable form the same source, and only the distribution network (in my case Western Power distribution) have any influence on that. Indeed, even they have little real influence because the infrastructure is fixed. They can't flick a switch and only pipe Treehugger Power Ltd electricity to your house because you've now signed with them.

No matter what you do the power you use comes form the same source or combinaton of sources, be it coal, gas, solar, wind, or albatross wing beats. It's a paper exercise, not an exercise in physically providing you with power from a more sustainable source.

The most that can be done is to switch in or out strategic level generators - usually gas, because its high output and can be brought on line quickly - to pick up the slack during times of high demand. That's high order stuff, not the sort of thing that can be done to supply an individual customers property.

 

[Slick]

Really??
When we had ours done (years ago) we noticed a big immediate improvement.
Can't put a % on it but we were amazed at the difference.

There is quite a good video on the link below that will explain it better than me and the merry go round paragraph is worth a read as the green deal was a failure in Scotland and I suspect in England as contractors were being paid a lot of money to pump this stuff into a cavity that didn't need it and then within a couple of years, another set of contractors were being paid a lot of money to take it back out. I owned a few flats at a time for the rental market and one block was subject to a bit of an overhaul and I was awarded quite a large grant to cover the roof and render works which included pulling out the old cotton wool type insulation. I fought long and hard to get them to keep the cavity insulation free and eventually I was told that the job would only go ahead if I agreed to the insulation as they had targets to hit. So it went in but I knew that that block would only remain dry until the render started to crack which it all did eventually.
https://www.property-care.org/problems-with-cavity-wall-insulation/

 

[vickster]

Before you [ay for the loft check that there isn't a grant, if it's below a certain number of mm there was funding

Means tested I believe