SteamyTea

Yes, but it is not as simple as it seems. You also have to take into account incidental radiation angles, overall insolation levels and time of day.

Maybe when we actually got reliable power. I agree that subsidies have skewed the market, never been keen on them.

One of the problems with variable tariff is that the general public will not cope with it. They can barely cope with E7. I was chatting to someone that is involved on the periphery of the energy market and he was telling me that it will be all sorted hen we have meters that bill every 15 minutes. So 96 different price segments. Just not the way forward. The real problem is that electricity is pretty cheap and will probably get cheaper in real terms as time passes. There have been government surveys that show that the big energy companies do not make huge profits on retail energy trading, but that myth is still there. A kWh of electricity is about the same a kWh of gasoline even allowing for the vastly different tax regimes. The real problem is that we are attacking the problem from the wrong end. People with resistive heating (like me) should be considering heat pumps. Trouble is that the cost, and physical restrictions, of installing a heat pump are often prohibitive. Standard Tariffs are not so bad as they can give you payment flexibility. If you have ever had EDF try to take £2500 out of your account, then just under £2000 and then just under £1000 in 4 days because of a meter misreading, you will know what the bank charges are (about £90 at the time). I was a student at the time so only 'got paid' 3 times a year. I could change to the very cheapest deal on direct debit and save myself a 'whooping' £74/year. But one missed payment will screw that. I shall stick with paying every 3 months, which I can drag out to 4 months if needed, thanks. Because I am a relatively low user, sub 5MWh/year, I have never seen much point in changing.

Yes, but this can be used to increase the storage capacity of a cylinder by evening out the temperature to a higher level. This could be useful when taking advantage of renewable energy. Though as soon as you turn the pump off, statistics take over and the top of the cylinder will become warmer than the bottom.

What is this sunshine you talk off. Been down to 4°C here and overcast. But there is ice of the car this morning, must be the 3rd frost this winter.

I really must get my bottom E7 element changed fixed as I often pay full whack for my water heating at the moment. I agree. It is not as if you will be left without power, but just a pain to change supplier when it happens. If there is a 60% fair usage ratio, then it is not for me. When things are working normally my night usage is around 80%.

We have a thread on that too.

Down to the density differences as water is heated. Without teaching my Grandmother how to suck eggs, hotter water rises to the top of of tank and stays there until it is used or cools. Cooling is generally at the interface between the water and the cylinder. Insulating the cylinder reduces this cooling over time, so there is less downwards circulation down the sides of the cylinder. This is why I dislike the word 'stratification' and much prefer using the term 'temperature gradient'. Stratification implies that there are discrete and isolated layers of water stacked one on top of another and you can access each one individually. Some cylinder manufactures have placed mechanical restrictions i.e. plates and buckets, inside cylinders to contain the natural temperature induced turbulence. But I think that is more 'marketing' driven than engineering. It might be worth just reminding readers about the Laws of Thermodynamics. Not going to show Stephanie Flanders Dad and his mate this time.

I am still pondering this. If you don't mind the bathroom always hotter than the optimum for comfort and drying out, then yes, stick it in (or close to) the slab/floor/tiles/whatever and just set it to a high temperature. To a certain extent the extractor fan, with or without MVHR, will draw in cooler air. If this is not optimum, but it more likely to be too hot than cold, then probably not a problem, though not the most energy efficient method. The most energy efficient is to control the air temperature and that involves balancing the thermal inertia of the floor with the total mass of air that need heating, and the temperature of that air. Only local history will tell you the optimum setting to get that right.

Judging by the eyewater I have just done, none of these would have worked. Think I shall have to eat more fruit.

I think that a bathroom is probably a special case. There is high humidity to deal with as well as a greater temperature swing over short periods of time. Then you have greater air changes an hour. Then you are not using the room for several hours at all. So I suspect that monitoring the air is more important than the slab temperature. Normally you want to balance the energy input with the energy output, this is not really possible with a bathroom.

I like the idea of them as they can be easy to install, and for very small house like mine, may be helpful. (This is not an invitation for LHG to contact me). But I have always questioned the long term reliability of them and the performance in the UK. I shall have a word with a Portuguese woman I know whose son works in the RE industry (wind turbines I think). He may know something.

Isn't this one of those HPs made from fridge bits. Popular in Portugal.

Just tried the 'Jeremy' method and I am 33.8°C and 34.2°C. Am I getting better. Now for an old joke. What is the difference between an oral and an anal thermometer. The taste!!

Tell me about it, got the thing connected up and working, moved my router and nothing works now. I enjoy the challenge, but then I much prefer getting data to analyse than not getting data at all.

My bollockometer came with a little chart that showed the accuracy at different distances and how large the sample area is.

Seems I have been wasting my time with the ESP2866s and the RPi's. How long do they take to get delivered from the USA?

Didn't burst this one, it went off on its own, very spooky

But the other side of my head is only 30°C Think something is missing

Enough or I will pull the trigger 32°C

We could, just for a laugh, all make a mug of tea and measure the temperature of the mug from a distance of 12", midway up the china. A white much would be best (cause I only have white ones). Then we can all see what readings we have. Best to do it before the teabag is stirred, say 60 seconds after pouring in boiling water.

A felt tip pen that you can sniff when there is nothing else. 70°C is about as hot as a dry hand can stand.

Right, well assuming the gauge is good, that should be OK

When you take the TS temperature, are you finding a bit that is exposed i.e. no insulation covering it?

I have met a few women that are mutton dressed up as lamb Yes, just while Nick sorts out the parts list. Do you think they only slept and fixed Apollo 13 as they circled the dark side of the moon, no, they discussed their favourite meals and how nice it would be not to pee in a suit. That is the real conspiracy of manned space flight. Why they all say that the Earth smells so nice. Unlike the cafe I was in earlier. Large family with small farting baby, that kept screaming until mother popped her tit out and smothered the little bugger. My girlfriend said that 'In Portugal, you would be arrested for that'. So I am now going to join a political party, probably the Greens, and see if i can get voted in on having small children arrested, along with building in green fields and the banning of nylon clothes (see this weeks comic about that). I think I am going to have a lay down in the sun now before I have an attack of the vapours.