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MBT6

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  1. This is what ChatGPT told me: Geological Conditions: The effectiveness of geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), especially those utilizing boreholes to access geothermal energy, heavily depends on the geological conditions of the area. The mention of "hot rock" refers to geothermal gradients, which are more favorable in some regions than others. In areas with volcanic activity or hot springs, for example, the geothermal gradient is higher, making geothermal energy more accessible and efficient. The UK's geology is not as conducive to high-temperature geothermal energy as some other regions, like Iceland or parts of Scandinavia. This doesn't mean geothermal heat pumps are ineffective in the UK; rather, they may not achieve the same efficiency levels seen in areas with more favorable geothermal conditions. Industry Practices: The reply also highlights issues within the UK's ground source heat pump industry, suggesting that a lack of expertise and the presence of poor-quality work have impacted the sector. In any emerging technology or energy solution, the quality of workmanship and the expertise of the providers play crucial roles in its success and public perception. If early adopters face problems due to poor installation or ineffective systems, it can lead to skepticism and reluctance among potential users. Market Dynamics: The scenario described suggests that market dynamics, where lower-quality providers undercut better-qualified companies, have also played a role. This can lead to a situation where the market is flooded with subpar installations, diminishing the overall confidence in the technology and making it difficult for higher-quality providers to compete. In summary, while geological conditions may not be as optimal in the UK for high-temperature geothermal energy exploitation as in some other countries, the technology for low to medium enthalpy systems (like those used in ground source heat pumps) is still viable. The issues appear to stem more from industry practices, the expertise of providers, and market dynamics rather than the technology itself being unsuitable. Addressing these challenges could help unlock the potential for geothermal energy in the UK, similar to its successful deployment in Sweden and other countries.
  2. I've been intrigued by the stark contrast in the adoption of borehole technology for extracting geothermal heat energy between the UK and Sweden. In Sweden, this approach is a cornerstone of sustainable heating and cooling, widely celebrated for its efficiency and minimal environmental impact. However, in the UK, despite suitable geology in many areas for such technology, the adoption of boreholes for geothermal heat energy is surprisingly limited. The question that arises is why this efficient and sustainable method is not as popular here as it is in Sweden. Could the reasons be related to upfront costs, regulatory challenges, technological constraints, or a simple lack of awareness? Sweden's success with borehole technology demonstrates the potential benefits, suggesting that overcoming these barriers could significantly advance the UK's sustainable energy capabilities.
  3. Video of a 5 year old GRP roof. Roofers love flat roofs because they get so much work repairing them.
  4. I recently started watching a few renovation channels of British guys living in France that are quite good. Bordeaux Life is probably the best one, Edd the guy doing that one seems the most professional. Life of Ryan is probably the more entertaining, Ryan is a bit of comic. The Pethericks is also good, they produce the most videos, Billy who runs that one is talented at renovating, but has been in the news for 'other' reasons for things he did when immature. The video at the bottom is an introduction the Pethericks did on the Bordeaux Life channel. Bordeaux Life https://www.youtube.com/@BordeauxLife/videos Life of Ryan https://www.youtube.com/@lifeofryan./videos Pethericks https://www.youtube.com/@ThePethericks/videos
  5. Flat roofs in this country will eventually become like a sieve and people will have to spend a fortune patching them. You get these cool/hip architects promoting all these things that are not suitable for houses in this wet and windy climate. Flat roofs, sheet roofing and wood cladding etc. They somehow make it sound modern an innovative to use methods that weren't used for good reason.
  6. The house is new and there are already green streaks below the solar panels, wonder what is causing that. If it is that bad when the house is new I wonder what that will look like in 20 years. Personally I would never buy a house with solar panels on the roof. They can lead to too many problems down the line, especially with the wet and windy climate we have in the UK. I would also never buy a house with any flat flat roofing which this one also has. All the old houses in the background have appropriate pitched roofs for the climate. The modern trend of installing flat roofs in this country is strange, people didn't do it in the past for good reason.
  7. People tend to focus on asbestos, but breathing in any construction dust is potentially unsafe. Silica dust, wood dust and dust from other things like gypsum, limestone or marble. It is better to avoid breathing any of it in and use appropriate raspatory protection.
  8. I came across this old thread when looking up build costs. Interesting to see how things from 2018 compare to today. I live on the Isle of Skye and I've been hearing that some builders are quoting £6k per m2 to build houses. I think that these prices are for timber clad houses with sheet roofing that are 'easier' to build than a house with block walls and a slate roof. Personally I don't think these timber clad houses are suited for a wet damp climate, some that are only 15 years old have a lot of problems with rot and water ingress, but it is easier for builders to put them up so they promote that option to customers. Sheet roofing is also easier than a slate roof, but not as impermeable. Some of the screw holes will eventually leak with time. A house with block walls and slate roof is a far better option, some on Skye have lasted over 100 years, the timber ones will have rotted away a long time before then. The price of tradesmen is extremely expensive. Even handymen who don't have any formal training charge about £50 per hour + VAT for their services. Some of them are good at what they do, but for that kind of money you would expect someone who has formal training.
  9. A lot of shipyard workers got asbestosis because they used to spray it on, also engineers working on ships would get it having to work around insulation and gaskets made from it. Even to this day a lot of only ships have it, it was only banned world wide on ships in 2002. But they still find it only some modern ships, particularly ones make in China, because it is still used in China and ends up on the ships. It is still used in a lot of countries surprisingly. A lot of the old offshore platforms in the North Sea have a lot of it, the ones built decades ago that are now getting decommissioned. A friend of mine is an electrical engineer on the railways and he was stay that a lot of the old sub-stations are still full of it, sometimes they have to drill through it but full precautions are taken. A lot of things said about Asbestos are hard to prove for sure because there are not that many scientific studies. Like the different health implications from white, blue and brown. It may well be true but it is hard to prove scientifically because there are not that many studies. It would be hard to test the effects on animals because the health effects take decades to manifest. They just know it is carcinogenic and can kill, but the finer details beyond that are hard to prove. I try and avoid exposure to it if possible, but if I was accidently exposed to a little I wouldn't worry about it. There are lots of other things in life that are also carcinogenic possibly a bigger health risk that a low level exposure to white asbestos. Walking down a busy city street and breathing in petrol and diesel fumes or living near someone with a wood burning stove and breathing in lots of PM2.5 particles are possibly a bigger carcinogenic risk. They now say that barbecued meat and rain water included carcinogens. People are regularly exposed to carcinogenic In day to day life, there is no point worrying about it. The stress and anxiety from worrying about getting exposed to things might be worse for health than actually getting exposed to them. Many of the people who get asbestosis are in their late 70s or 80s so get it near the end of their life anyway, it didn't affect their quality of life when they were younger. Who knows what new treatments might be available to treat it in the decades so come.
  10. Only two people I know of have had asbestosis, one is about 80 years old and worked with it all his life as a builder breathing in the dust on many occasions, but he is managing the condition with medication. The other person's father worked in a ship yard and must have brought it home on his clothes, then he got asbestosis and died in his late 70s of it, he may have been exposed in other ways. Expose to asbestos is defiantly something you want to avoid, but it is not the end of the world if it happens, no point making yourself sick with worry. Anxiety and worry about asbestos could end up be more harmful than a one off exposure event. But I live in an old house with an asbestos roof etc. and it does worry me at times, but I try and put it out of my mind. With it having only been banned in 1999 every old person has lived around asbestos for most of their lives.
  11. The vast bulk of what the tourist spending is on accommodation. A house on short-let brings in a least £1k per week but can be much more. Some high-end houses go for £3k per week. It is better if that money goes into the pockets of people who actually live and spend their money in the local area rather than people who live elsewhere. People who don't reside in the area develop holiday lets in rural areas driving up land and property prices then suck the tourism money out of the area. Many rural parts of Scotland are suffering from over tourism in the summer, there are enough tourists visiting already, it is about keeping the profits from the tourist spending in the rural economies rather than having speculators/investors suck it out of these areas. Employment opportunities are not very good in rural areas, operating short-lets provides vital income to local people. But profiteering from people who don't live in the area is ruining it. Non-resident operators of short-lets argue they are improving the economy by employing cleaners to do turnovers and say their guests spend money in cafes and restaurants, but that money is paltry compared to the £1k to £3k per week tourist money they extract from the rural communities.
  12. If you do it then it is best to go high end, make the property really high spec so you can charge £2k+ per week. I live of the Isle of Skye and the situation is really bad for 'local' people. People looking to do short-lets have driven up land and property prices so much a 'local' person has little chance of getting any land or property unless they have a family member who give them land. I'm quite fortunate to earn a pretty good salary working offshore but even I'm struggling to find anywhere to live, short-let property speculators have driven prices up so much. Really old asbestos riddled dilapidated houses in need of full renovation go for a fortune. The ones who operate short lets on the island but don't live in the area area the worst, they drive up property prices and suck the tourist money out of the area and put hardly anything back into the local economy. The short-let market should be there to provide a livelihood for people who actually live in the local area where the short-lets are operating. With the short let control areas being introduced in some places I really hope they target the people who don't live in the areas first, a lot of local people would have to move away without the income provided by short lets. It would be a great shame if these people who live in the areas got caught in cross fire of a problem exacerbated by people profiteering who don't live in the area. There are about 5,800 dwellings on the Isle of Skye and there were about 1,500 short let licence applications on the island. So about 26% of the housing stock could be short-lets, another 10% are second homes, so probably at least 36% of the housing stock are not primary residences.
  13. How did you get that quote from SSE? I am looking into the costs of getting similar work to you done, in the Highlands, a road crossing and about 180 meters of cable, my family own the land on both sides of a public single track road, but we need to cross the road to set to a potential house site. Was just thinking about getting a quote from SSE see how feasible it would be, it is not clear on their website how to go about getting quote from them.
  14. Local authorities are starting to clamp down on properties being rented out on short term lets without the relevant planning permission. This could virtually wipe out all Airbnbs that are in flats with a common access as they say it would be near impossible to get a change of use approved for a residential flat to a short term let property when it has a common access. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottish-news/20039773.glasgow-airbnb-flat-owners-lose-appeal-councils-plan-stop-lets-complaint/
  15. It is in the news that Badenoch and Strathspey are planning on bringing in a scheme that would require a change of planning permission for short term lets. That is confusing because as some people mention under existing rules people probably should already need to apply for planning permission for short term lets, it seems like they are bringing in a scheme to enforce rules that already exists and not actually bringing in new rules. https://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/is-badenoch-and-strathspey-set-to-become-scotlands-first-sh-265732/
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