Looks like the party is over....

[JamesPa]

1 hour ago, sharpener said:

Nor should we be encouraging the use of resistive heating (Fischer should be banned from operating in the UK).

 

That was my initial reaction but,  with the right management, they may be a sensible solution for small properties/flats where a heat pump isnt a practical solution.  Im thinking dense newbuild flats, which probably have a demand sub 2kW.

 

Our electricity is already on average lower carbon per kWh than gas and that can only get better still, if heat batteries are filled so far as possible when the grid is greenest then not such a silly idea.

 

So I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they have a niche role to play. 

[JamesPa]

4 hours ago, Oz07 said:

15 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

The physics behind heating system is, at worse, so low that a 12 year old probably learns it at school.

 

Yet half the installers can't manage it. 

The they should be compelled to go back to school as a condition of continuing practice, or confined to pipe bending and soldering duties only under the direct supervision of someone who can manage it (and have their pay adjusted accordingly).  The physics is mostly the same whether its a heat pump or a boiler, and a basic understanding is essential to efficient system design and maintenance and to giving professional advice to customers.  

 

In many jobs CPD is compulsory, but seemingly not in the construction industry.  Why do we tolerate this level of ignorance?

Edited 5 hours ago by JamesPa

[JohnMo]

Resistive heating via a storage heater, is a good solution for many properties, especially if the electric price drops. 

 

A passivhaus with low heating energy use a simple solution.

[ProDave]

3 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Resistive heating via a storage heater, is a good solution for many properties, especially if the electric price drops. 

 

A passivhaus with low heating energy use a simple solution.

Except with the closing of the RDS service and E7 meters replaced by smart meters, judging by the number of issues issues we hear about, the switching and metering or off peak tarrifs is another bit of what should be simple technology that now does not work reliable probably due to incompetence.

[ProDave]

Also they are coming after your FIT's (solar PV for ealry adopters) by reducing the measure that determines future increases.

[Dillsue]

1 hour ago, -rick- said:

We are not far away from not needing gas in summer months. Green power generation is not far away already, but the power lines to transport it are the bottleneck. 

A quick glance at gridwatch for this summer says we're a long way off not needing gas in the summer so best dialling down AC for a good while.

 

NESO say for 2024 we had 37% green generation- 30% wind, 5% solar and 2% hydro. 

[Dillsue]

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Also they are coming after your FIT's (solar PV for ealry adopters) by reducing the measure that determines future increases.

Have you got a link to where you've heard that?

[ProDave]

10 minutes ago, Dillsue said:

Have you got a link to where you've heard that?

 

[JohnMo]

20 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Except with the closing of the RDS service and E7 meters replaced by smart meters

Just run a timer. Octopus offer a similar tariff to cosy for storage heaters. Nothing wrong with a smart meter, saving me a fortune now it's up and running.

 

22 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Also they are coming after your FIT's (solar PV for ealry adopters) by reducing the measure that determines future increases.

My heart bleeds at the 75p per kWh generated whether exported or used. Madness they get that much.

 

 

[-rick-]

29 minutes ago, Dillsue said:

A quick glance at gridwatch for this summer says we're a long way off not needing gas in the summer so best dialling down AC for a good while.

 

NESO say for 2024 we had 37% green generation- 30% wind, 5% solar and 2% hydro. 

 

I don't have good data to hand to point to (don't have time to find it now) but the sources I was following were talking about how we were still burning a lot of gas during the summer, while also exporting a lot of excess. The gas was being burnt as a lot of renewables don't have grid forming/peaker capability. This is apparently being fixed by changing inverter programming and the deployment of more batteries (to replace a lot of peaker use). IIRC the expectation was that in 26/27 it would be a lot more possible to shutdown the gas plants rather than exporting excess. A lot more wind capacity is coming on-line over the next few years, same with solar.

 

Even if opening BUS up to AC systems generates massive demand, I doubt the industry has enough capacity to install quantities of cooling over the next few years that would show up in national energy use stats. By the time it does a huge amount more wind/solar will come online.

 

Thinking aloud, I wouldn't be surprised if easing deployment of A2A systems with cooling doesn't motivate a lot of people to install solar with A2A in a way that doesn't happen with A2W (without cooling). The economic case for solar to offset cooling energy use is extremely strong compared to solar to offset heating energy use.

[JamesPa]

32 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Just run a timer. Octopus offer a similar tariff to cosy for storage heaters. Nothing wrong with a smart meter, saving me a fortune now it's up and running.

 

My heart bleeds at the 75p per kWh generated whether exported or used. Madness they get that much.

 

 

SOFAIK its just a change to index linking to CPI (instead of RPI).  

 

FIT contracts are contracts and the Government cant change them (or any other contract) unless they were to pass specific legislation to do so (or the counterparty agrees).  They are most unlikely to do this because undermining the reliability of government contracts would crash the economy.  The video says its happening quietly, which couldn't possibly be the case if legislation were being passed.  So they will only do what the people who receive the FITS signed up for!   

 

I believe the contracts said 'inflation', thus leaving open which measure of inflation.  If the beneficiaries didn't like the ambiguity at the time, they didn't have to sign up!   But guess what, they did, because it was so lucrative!  Like @johnmo my heart bleeds (full disclosure I do get FIT albeit only at about 25p, jumped too late!).

 

Sorry but the graphic is just demonising for unjustified and unjustifiable political or commercial gain.

Edited 4 hours ago by JamesPa

[JamesP]

2 options, CPI or temporary freeze until CPI aligns with RPI, mid 2030's.

Over 800,000 homes had FiT installations.

Email address:

RO@energysecurity.gov.uk

 

Payback calculations below, November 2011.

 

 

[Dillsue]

From the OFGEM guidance for FIT generators, section 5.4-

 

"Generation and export tariffs are also adjusted by the percentage increase or 
decrease in the Retail Price Index (RPI) over the 12-month period ending on 31 
December of the previous year every April, in accordance with FIT legislation."

 

The document is guidance but it does say that the statement is in accordance with FIT legislation??

 

With the advent of PV diverters and battery storage I could see them varying the deemed export % rate which I beleive the secretary of state can change within the legislation but that likely amounts to peanuts in the grand scale of the countries finances??

[sharpener]

42 minutes ago, Dillsue said:

With the advent of PV diverters and battery storage I could see them varying the deemed export % rate which I beleive the secretary of state can change within the legislation but that likely amounts to peanuts in the grand scale of the countries finances??

 

Yes, a few pence only. I elected to move off the deemed export regime when Octopus finally installed a smart meter as it was better to move to metered exports.  (Including switching to Cosy and opening an export account they treated this as four separate transactions which took months. I raised a formal complaint about the time it was taking on 14 July 2024 and it was resolved - with £125 compensation - on 14 Nov.)

[Beelbeebub]

5 hours ago, JamesPa said:

That was my initial reaction but,  with the right management, they may be a sensible solution for small properties/flats where a heat pump isnt a practical solution.  Im thinking dense newbuild flats, which probably have a demand sub 2kW.

There are some HP systems that are entirely self contained and just require a pair of 150mm inlet/outlet ducts. The unit itself isn't much bigger than a storage heater. 

 

They are more expensive than a 2kw panel heater but they do have much lower power requirements. 

 

They could be integrated with a ventilation system to provide fresh air at the same time. 

 

We really should be looking to removenresitive heating from all domestic space heating requirements.