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Well & Truly Off The Grid
Last Post by Toodles 1 year ago
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2009
Topic starter 11/02/2024 5:29 pm  

With my ‘selfish hat’ on (and I can sport a pretty wide range of styles and sizes when I want to) Global warming does have its’ advantages! With the present warm spell we are experiencing in the SE of England, our heating requirement is really low; even with our somewhat elevated comfort level of 22.5 degrees C throughout the house 24/7 (apart from bedroom at night) our ASHP is just ticking over on 500-650 Watt hours. The ‘cold’ radiator in the bathroom is a small downside of course, though the dual fuel towel rail alleviates much of this ‘hardship’!

I wonder if this is typical of what we might expect over future years; tomorrow’s Met Office forecast suggests we will be running everything in the house on solar power and possibly still exporting a little besides.

Such low consumption sounds good to me but I realise that is only a few hairs on the tip of the dogs tail compared with all the downsides and the upsetting of the worlds natural cycles etc. But I can’t help being just that little bit grateful just the same! Regards, Toodles.

Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.


   
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Abernyte
 Abernyte
(@abernyte)
Honorable Member Member
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 234
12/02/2024 10:15 am  

Aye, @Toodles, I know exactly what you mean. I look out over the current run of winters from the top of our cold hill in NE Scotland and reflect that not that long ago much of the winter would have seen us up to our armpits in snow. No more. While we undoubtably get periods of intense cold it is not the unrelenting months of sub zero or near zero that we would have experienced, and are grateful for it. I know that this "comfort" is bought by the misery of others but the selfish gene still lurks.

I also wonder if my Ecodan would have coped with the winters of old or is being able to use it also product of this warming?


   
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 JamesPa
(@jamespa)
Illustrious Member Moderator
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 2654
12/02/2024 10:43 am  

Posted by: @abernyte
↑

Aye, @Toodles, I know exactly what you mean. I look out over the current run of winters from the top of our cold hill in NE Scotland and reflect that not that long ago much of the winter would have seen us up to our armpits in snow. No more. While we undoubtably get periods of intense cold it is not the unrelenting months of sub zero or near zero that we would have experienced, and are grateful for it. I know that this "comfort" is bought by the misery of others but the selfish gene still lurks.

I also wonder if my Ecodan would have coped with the winters of old or is being able to use it also product of this warming?

All very fine until the Gulf Stream stops working, which is predicted to happen due to the melting of antarctic glaciers.

 

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.


   
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
Illustrious Member Admin
Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 3363
12/02/2024 10:53 am  

@jamespa indeed, and then our heat pumps need to adapt to months of subzero temperatures.

And the other big impact last year was a milder than usual end to the winter for us which triggered a lot of our fruit trees to blossom earlier and then they got nailed by a really cold blast that they never recovered from and we had an awful fruit harvest, so I can only imagine what havoc that causes for fresh produce farmers.

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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2009
Topic starter 12/02/2024 11:11 am  

@jamespa I believe that the effect of the Gulf Stream has been diminishing for some years already. Regards, Toodles.

Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.


   
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2009
Topic starter 12/02/2024 11:20 am  

@editor ‘I remember it well’ Our heating was turned off at the end of January for the ASHP installation to commence; the old failing gas boiler had to be removed first (hence the loss of heating) so we huddled in one room, with the door shut and the gas fire on! I have noticed that all building / plumbing jobs are carried out with all possible doors and windows wide open all day long (must be something in the training programme). By the time the heat pump was commissioned on the 19th. February, spring had arrived! Regards, Toodles.

Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.


   
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