Peter Cobbold Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 5 hours ago, harlequin said: We have no gas in this village so it's oil or bottle gas. Our oil boiler is now 30 years old and runs great providing we don't turn it off, through the summer it fires up once a day to heat the hot water even when we are away on holiday. If we don't do this the thing refuses to start and it's always an electrical component that has failed. Being so old parts are scarce but fortunately the boiler man has scavenged a stock of parts from boilers that have been replaced. George Same here. 25 year old Worcester-Bosch oil boiler still running, only had a replacement jet in the 20 years we've been here, and a ssfaety cutout valve on the tank should it catch fire. It is run twice daily and uses maybe 1500 litres per year. Cannot find a plumber let alone experienced oil-boilerman so when it expires it will have to be replaced by a WB agent. Am very reluctant to ditch ultra-reliable oil for new-fangled electrickery. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Peter Cobbold said: Am very reluctant to ditch ultra-reliable oil for new-fangled electrickery. Peter I must agree Peter, I like the fact that when I need oil I can phone around for a price, do some horse trading and I have oil for the next 6 or 9 months. George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 1 hour ago, harlequin said: I must agree Peter, I like the fact that when I need oil I can phone around for a price, do some horse trading and I have oil for the next 6 or 9 months. George George, I rely upon one company who dont object to driving a small tanker down our track,where others fear to go. So I pay their going rate. To reduce my guilt re CC-GW I might use lots of solar pv to provide heat except in winter, and so reduce oil consumption. Solar PV feeding immersion heaters seems simple enough (no need to create 240v/50cylces). Its a compromise. I think I'll keep the "coal" fire, a ton of coal can be stored indefinitely and used when the grid collapses. I wont see the time when oil is NLA so the next generation can venture forth into heat pumps or whatever. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted October 29, 2021 Report Share Posted October 29, 2021 There's an interesting presentation about the "greening" of Glasgow here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/e8vkjmttbw/glasgow-scotland-the-last-best-hope-to-fight-climate-change Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 29, 2021 Report Share Posted October 29, 2021 Why hold COP26 in Glasgow? I cannot think of a more depressing venue than that huge shed. Global warming will take a back seat as delegates try to keep warm on that cold, windy and likely wet site. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted October 29, 2021 Report Share Posted October 29, 2021 1 hour ago, Peter Cobbold said: I cannot think of a more depressing venue ....... cold, windy and likely wet site. Peter Not sure when you last went there Peter, but they did fill the docks in before they built it. Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ntc Posted October 29, 2021 Report Share Posted October 29, 2021 I would like to know has the cost of wind gone up? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 I was amazed to see on TV news last night that it required 85 limousines to deliver Joe Biden to the Vatican for a chat about global warming with the Pope. The world has gone bonkers! Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 Spent most of yesterday on the m6 and m5 and I saw 60+ Police vehicles - cars vans bikes in groups of up to 10 at a time all heading north I can only guess it’s police authorities mutual support for Glasgow?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 37 minutes ago, Hamish said: Spent most of yesterday on the m6 and m5 and I saw 60+ Police vehicles - cars vans bikes in groups of up to 10 at a time all heading north I can only guess it’s police authorities mutual support for Glasgow?! Yep we had the same down here for the G7 Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 Presumably all that police presence is deemed necessary to keep Joe Public (who ends up paying for all these shindigs) away from 'the elite'. Strange that similar resources can't be summoned to control a few idiot protestors and keep the roads open for the rest of us.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 Back to boilers etc.......... just been reading about moisture content of wood for log burning stoves. Remember these were the things we were encouraged to buy instead of gas boilers because they use renewable energy. The same stoves that are now considered by the same people who encouraged us to buy them as the worst polluters ever. Anyway the wood is sold by the tonne or by volume. The retailers encourage you to buy the more expensive kiln dried wood and they quote the calorific value in MWh/tonne because the figures are not so good if they quote MWh/m3. If you buy kiln dried wood and then stack it in an outdoor wood store, the moisture content will gradually go up since typically air moisture content is 40 - 60%. The only way to gain the benefit of the kiln dried wood seems to be to store it in a humidity controlled space that will require you to use energy via a dehumidifier. We use 'seasoned' wood that is at least a year old and store it in the old outside coal bunker. The air circulation in there is not as good as it could be though. If you buy kiln dried wood because the figures for its calorific value are better, then surely you need to factor in the energy used by the kiln drying for your carbon footprint? It would appear to be better to use air dried seasoned wood even though the moisture content will be slightly higher and calorific value slightly lower. There are also no hidden energy costs such as kiln drying. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 29 minutes ago, RobH said: Presumably all that police presence is deemed necessary to keep Joe Public (who ends up paying for all these shindigs) away from 'the elite'. Strange that similar resources can't be summoned to control a few idiot protestors and keep the roads open for the rest of us.... I’d love to see the “insulate” protestors lie down and block the US presidential car “the beast” they would run down anybody. after all it seems some US citizens in the UK can kill in a hit and run and get away with it. RIP Harry Dunn. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 2 hours ago, keith1948 said: Back to boilers etc.......... just been reading about moisture content of wood for log burning stoves. Remember these were the things we were encouraged to buy instead of gas boilers because they use renewable energy. The same stoves that are now considered by the same people who encouraged us to buy them as the worst polluters ever. Anyway the wood is sold by the tonne or by volume. The retailers encourage you to buy the more expensive kiln dried wood and they quote the calorific value in MWh/tonne because the figures are not so good if they quote MWh/m3. If you buy kiln dried wood and then stack it in an outdoor wood store, the moisture content will gradually go up since typically air moisture content is 40 - 60%. The only way to gain the benefit of the kiln dried wood seems to be to store it in a humidity controlled space that will require you to use energy via a dehumidifier. We use 'seasoned' wood that is at least a year old and store it in the old outside coal bunker. The air circulation in there is not as good as it could be though. If you buy kiln dried wood because the figures for its calorific value are better, then surely you need to factor in the energy used by the kiln drying for your carbon footprint? It would appear to be better to use air dried seasoned wood even though the moisture content will be slightly higher and calorific value slightly lower. There are also no hidden energy costs such as kiln drying. Keith I am a sceptic when it comes to the green credentials of wood burning. The problem is burning a tree now releases CO2 that the replacement tree will take decades to retrieve ( assuming it is replaced). During those decades the gas adds to GW. A better wood source is fast-growing coppice where the cut-recut cycle is ca 10 years. Best of all is Miscanthus grass that can be cut annually. But the area needed to heat one dwelling amounts to several acres of grass. IIRC willow coppice needs 0.5 acre per year per dwelling, so ca 5 acres in total. For me trees as a fuel source are a no-no. If they must be chopped they are better used for construction timber in its various forms and the carbon is locked away. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ntc Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 It’s only a matter of time before we get Have you been miss sold a heat pump Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 We burn wood in our log burner from trees we cut on our land. If we did not use them on the burner I would simply burn on a field bonfire. I am critised for burning wood but I am using a waste product and not using an alternative source of heat. Is my logic wrong? Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 19 minutes ago, barkerwilliams said: We burn wood in our log burner from trees we cut on our land. If we did not use them on the burner I would simply burn on a field bonfire. I am critised for burning wood but I am using a waste product and not using an alternative source of heat. Is my logic wrong? Alan Alan, Not wrong, but different from my perspective. It all depends upon why the trees are cut. I had to have a dozen large trees polllarded before they toppled and tore out the stream bed. I gave the tree surgeon the trunks for him to cut into planks. The smaller branches he air-dried and sold as firewood, the brash was heaped inot piles and left to decay as habitat. However most other trees around here are chopped up for domestic fires. Kingspan would buy them in for its engineered wood factory 30 miles away but that does't happen, presumably because they cant match the value of free wood compared with 'lecky or oil heating. A rotting tree trunk takes many years to decay. usefully trapping its carbon, and provding habitat. So I leave fallen trees in our 8-acre wood to decay where they fall. The hillside was clear-felled in 1944 and the boles of what must have been really old oaks are still prominent. I burn oil and some "coal" instead of our wood, but I have no other management imperative than habitat, we dont manage for timber. To me the preservation of habitat -especially standing dead-wood - and leaving trees to grow, along with planting hundreds of meters of hedges on rough pasture, helps my guilt at burning fossil fuels. Insulating the cottage without damaging it with condensation in the stone walls ( apparently tricky to do) is now my priority. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 2 hours ago, Peter Cobbold said: The problem is burning a tree now releases CO2 that the replacement tree will take decades to retrieve Hello Peter If you have woodland with trees of different ages up to 10 years or more then using the older trees as firewood means the rest of the woodland will be able to replace what you use ready for next year. I.e. equilibrium Our wood comes from someone who has planted many trees and manages them as coppice. The point I was making though was in relation to moisture content and how suppliers are 'massaging' the calorific value figures depending on how you express the results rather than the ethics of using firewood. Not sure burning coal and oil would satisfy the environmentalists. I take your points about wildlife habitats though leaving some mature trees and fallen wood as habitats for wildlife. We have similar issues insulating solid walls but on a listed building. Best place would be on the outside since that keeps the walls warm and dry. Not possible for us. Putting it on the inside is a definite no because you will guarantee condensation within the wall. Maybe one way would be to construct a glass house on the outside of the wall so it would keep the walls warm and you could grow tomatoes etc in it. Not so good in summer though because the house then needs to be cool. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 14 minutes ago, keith1948 said: Best place would be on the outside since that keeps the walls warm and dry. Not possible for us. Putting it on the inside is a definite no because you will guarantee condensation within the wall. I'm uncertain on this. If a building is clad externally in impermeable insulation surely warmed, moist air originating in the living space will permeta the wall and condense - in winter - in the wall? But If the impermable layer is made under the plaster/plasterboard and the insulation places between that and the stone wall then no moisture can condense. (unless the room runs colder than the wall, which would rarely happen). is there a reliable website on this topic? Internal insulation wastes the thermal-mass action that damps down internal heat on hot summer days and nights, another consideration. Insulation is provind much trickier than I imagined. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 29 minutes ago, Peter Cobbold said: is there a reliable website on this topic? Peter Hi Peter, I have used Ubakus, it is free with an extensive materials data base, and you can also check if dew point issues can occur at various combinations of temperature and rel. humidity. See www.ubakus.com It helped me selecting the proper insulation and foil. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 3 hours ago, Waldi said: Hi Peter, I have used Ubakus, it is free with an extensive materials data base, and you can also check if dew point issues can occur at various combinations of temperature and rel. humidity. See www.ubakus.com It helped me selecting the proper insulation and foil. Waldi Thanks Waldi, it will tax my schoolboy german, but I like on-line calculators ! Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 Hi Peter, you can change the language in the top right corner. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) Our house is built of sandstone walls about 500mm thick, The interior of each room has a poly membrane against the outerwalls with a 75mm studding frame fastened floor to ceiling joists filled with 75mm fibreglass insulation and plaster boarded & skimmed over. We have never had (20 years) any evidence of internal condensation, damp patches etc. It performs very well. Alan Edited October 31, 2021 by barkerwilliams Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 As long as you will not have a plaster / paint on the outside that will act as a seal of the walls many materials are damp-open. This is why I will not put water glass as an external sealant. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 1 hour ago, barkerwilliams said: Our house is built of sandstone walls about 500mm thick, The interior of each room has a poly membrane against the outerwalls with a 75mm studding frame fastened floor to ceiling joists filled with 75mm fibreglass insulation and plaster boarded & skimmed over. We have never had (20 years) any evidence of internal condensation, damp patches etc. It performs very well. Alan We coverted a single-block garage wall to habitable 15 years ago. 800 micron poly membrane + 100 mm celotex foam plus multi-layer aluminised mylar (in 25mm space between battens) then plasterboard foil backed. Works well despite the sandtex-painted wall being in shade and 15 feet from the splashy stream. If any wall was going to let damp accumulate internally that would be the one, but its bone-dry. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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