19-06-2019, 12:15 PM
I don't think gas will be banned as some are suggesting. Certainly not as a sudden thing. Just the gradual phasing out of gas, starting with new instals.
The best way to deal with domestic heating is better buildings. Retrospective upgrading of buildings is possible but expensive. All this needs decent public policy which seems a bit unliklely at the moment. But in a couple of years who knows. I would love to live in a Passivhaus and have near zero energy bills: http://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/ If the building regs mandated all new build to be to Passivhaus standards the housebuilders would protest but they all need a good kick up the rear end for several other reasons. If a decent system of grants was available for upgrading to Passivhaus standards there would be a lot of interest. Of course it's expensive but not doing anything is even worse. The half baked insulation schemes promoted by various governments were close to useless.
There is some activity in this sector but not enough: https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/upgrade
Tidal and wave energy are a very good idea. Shame that Salter (and his ducks) weren't properly supported back in the 1970s. Britain would be a world leader now. I worry about tidal barrages because of their side effects but they need to be properly evaluated. I think the Severn Barrage (about 7GW of reliable generation) was cancelled due to cost rather than environmental issues.
The change to LED lighting has already had a significant impact on the total UK power demand. In industry any company that hasn't invested in better pumps etc is throwing money away.
The best way to deal with domestic heating is better buildings. Retrospective upgrading of buildings is possible but expensive. All this needs decent public policy which seems a bit unliklely at the moment. But in a couple of years who knows. I would love to live in a Passivhaus and have near zero energy bills: http://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/ If the building regs mandated all new build to be to Passivhaus standards the housebuilders would protest but they all need a good kick up the rear end for several other reasons. If a decent system of grants was available for upgrading to Passivhaus standards there would be a lot of interest. Of course it's expensive but not doing anything is even worse. The half baked insulation schemes promoted by various governments were close to useless.
There is some activity in this sector but not enough: https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/upgrade
Tidal and wave energy are a very good idea. Shame that Salter (and his ducks) weren't properly supported back in the 1970s. Britain would be a world leader now. I worry about tidal barrages because of their side effects but they need to be properly evaluated. I think the Severn Barrage (about 7GW of reliable generation) was cancelled due to cost rather than environmental issues.
The change to LED lighting has already had a significant impact on the total UK power demand. In industry any company that hasn't invested in better pumps etc is throwing money away.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv
