Cost of living crisis.

[leicsmac]

42 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

A rep for a gas boiler manufacturers decrying ASHP... . Who'd a thunk it?!

And yet people seemingly still buy into it.

 

And thanks to the sum total of decisions based on misinformation, the average temperature of the Earth continues to rise with all the consequences that will entail. Is already entailing, in some places.

[blabyboy]

9 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And yet people seemingly still buy into it.

 

And thanks to the sum total of decisions based on misinformation, the average temperature of the Earth continues to rise with all the consequences that will entail. Is already entailing, in some places.

I was merely pointing out the obvious bias. I'd have done the same if it were reversed.

There are pros/cons to both systems.

People should make up their own minds after researching the products on offer.

[leicsmac]

22 minutes ago, blabyboy said:

I was merely pointing out the obvious bias. I'd have done the same if it were reversed.

There are pros/cons to both systems.

People should make up their own minds after researching the products on offer.

Agreed about the pros and cons, and I think my own viewpoints on those pros and cons are abundantly clear also so I'll leave it at that.

[The Year Of The Fox]

3 hours ago, blabyboy said:

I was merely pointing out the obvious bias. I'd have done the same if it were reversed.

There are pros/cons to both systems.

People should make up their own minds after researching the products on offer.

Baxi are selling ASHPs 🥴🥴🥴

[ozleicester]

On 07/04/2022 at 18:11, Dahnsouff said:

https://www.rapidtransition.org/stories/the-great-switch-lessons-from-when-14-million-homes-and-businesses-changed-fuel-in-less-than-a-decade/

 

Was a big job! Yes it would be worse now, 14 million homes then, 29 million now.

well, yes, but we also have 50% more people and a great deal more technology... its the crazy extreme capitalism that prevents it

[ajthefox]

On 14/04/2022 at 09:07, The Year Of The Fox said:

Just been speaking to the Baxi boiler rep in a plumbing merchants. 
 

He was telling me that the government are going to be imposing fines on boiler manufacturers who fail to sell a certain amount of ASHP by 2028.

 

Even the rep was saying they’re a load of bollocks 😂😂

Construction industry worker dislikes new(ish) technology, shocker. 

 

They won't work for everyone and they wont solve all our problems. That much is clear, but no-one is saying that. To say they are shit is just dismissive ignorance. That said, I dont know how I feel about quotas. They are blunt instruments. And this government has a fvcking awful record on home improvement and just generally trying to improve our built environment.

[kenny]

37 minutes ago, ajthefox said:

Construction industry worker dislikes new(ish) technology, shocker. 

 

They won't work for everyone and they wont solve all our problems. That much is clear, but no-one is saying that. To say they are shit is just dismissive ignorance. That said, I dont know how I feel about quotas. They are blunt instruments. And this government has a fvcking awful record on home improvement and just generally trying to improve our built environment.

Electric combi boilers are a cheaper and more viable alternative currently.

[Dahnsouff]

12 minutes ago, kenny said:

Electric combi boilers are a cheaper and more viable alternative currently.

Did not think that they are a like-for-like / full replacement for a gas combo yet though - could be wrong!

[kenny]

5 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

Did not think that they are a like-for-like / full replacement for a gas combo yet though - could be wrong!

Our rental property doesn't have gas and it's been running a 3 bed house for the past 5 years. We have one for the hot water and one for the radiators.

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/heatrae-sadia-amptec-c1200-electric-heat-only-flow-boiler/138FR?kpid=138FR&ds_kid=92700055281954502&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr-SSBhC9ARIsANhzu14O5r-I3SvWRudaQjwvsI3E6pbQMwZrb29FdZG33SNckajGmKcT57oaAraWEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Babylon]

Anyone got NOWTV broadband (I think it's essentially Sky). I've put up with Virgin media charging me for a phone I don't use and a TV service I don't watch, on the basis of their broadband being the best by a long shot. With with everything going up I can't warrant paying for services I don't use any more. 

[ajthefox]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

Electric combi boilers are a cheaper and more viable alternative currently.

That's a new one on me honestly, so thanks. Seems like it might be quite useful for me actually if I decide to get rid of my gas supply in my flat. I'm aware heat pumps are expensive, most people simply don't have the spare dosh lying around to get one installed, and from what I remember I think a lot of people would need extra work to their systems to integrate them as well. It's not a plug and play replacement for a gas boiler.

 

I think the biggest asset of heat pumps though is that they provide more power than they use to run, and that is quite important in the grand scheme of things.

 

The other thing is that it's not just about your heating system - it's about what is happening once that heat is in your home. Our building stock is older than any country in the EU (I've just checked https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/Briefing papers/92993_BRE_Poor-Housing_in_-Europe.pdf) and that more often than not means a lot of it leaves pretty quickly.

 

If the government had made a bigger deal of the last grant system they were running which meant you could get money for upgrades, more people might have used it and their bills wouldn't be jumping up so much. But you know, insulation and air tightness never get the same coverage in newspapers as boilers do.

Edited 15 April 2022 by ajthefox

[kenny]

15 minutes ago, ajthefox said:

That's a new one on me honestly, so thanks. Seems like it might be quite useful for me actually if I decide to get rid of my gas supply in my flat. I'm aware heat pumps are expensive, most people simply don't have the spare dosh lying around to get one installed, and from what I remember I think a lot of people would need extra work to their systems to integrate them as well. It's not a plug and play replacement for a gas boiler.

 

I think the biggest asset of heat pumps though is that they provide more power than they use to run, and that is quite important in the grand scheme of things.

 

The other thing is that it's not just about your heating system - it's about what is happening once that heat is in your home. Our building stock is older than any country in the EU (I've just checked https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/Briefing papers/92993_BRE_Poor-Housing_in_-Europe.pdf) and that more often than not means a lot of it leaves pretty quickly.

 

If the government had made a bigger deal of the last grant system they were running which meant you could get money for upgrades, more people might have used it and their bills wouldn't be jumping up so much. But you know, insulation and air tightness never get the same coverage in newspapers as boilers do.

I've said many many times, people love solar and wind because it's visible.

 

It doesn't matter that it's significantly less effective than other energy saving measures on new build developments.

[SemperEadem]

Cost of materials has shot up at an insane rate.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Don't let your wife, who doesn't normally do the food shopping, 'pop out for a few bits'.

 

She spent nearly as much as the big shop that got delivered later that day, and also managed to buy half the stuff that was in the delivery anyway

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

When you pop to your local co op or tesco express or whatever to tide you over before you do a big shop I've noticed that what might have been a tenners worth 3 months ago is now 20+ quid. It's mad. 

[Izzy]

Found this interesting. The CEO's of the big Energy companies in front of the Parliament committee

 

https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/2cfcb43c-ed99-4a95-8d61-e0cecaff0edf

[Parafox]

So the gov had come up with ideas to help us with the cost of living crisis. 

 

Have childcare facilities take more children to reduce costs to parents. Not sure what that means.

 

MOT's every 2 years instead of annually to help motorists. So, my MOT cost me £43 this year. So that's less than £1 a week. Making it every 2 years will save me less that 45p a week.

Thanks.

Tell you what, dear Gov, reduce VAT back to 17.5%. That would help those least less able to afford. Strip the green tax on energy for a period of time and then, when/if it needs to come back in, subsidise it so that those that struggle don't have to worry. Also, in line with that, force energy companies to equalise the cost of contract households with those on prepay metred payments. That is in itself is an abomination.

Edited 26 April 2022 by Parafox

[dsr-burnley]

51 minutes ago, Parafox said:

So the gov had come up with ideas to help us with the cost of living crisis. 

 

Have childcare facilities take more children to reduce costs to parents. Not sure what that means.

 

MOT's every 2 years instead of annually to help motorists. So, my MOT cost me £43 this year. So that's less than £1 a week. Making it every 2 years will save me less that 45p a week.

Thanks.

Tell you what, dear Gov, reduce VAT back to 17.5%. That would help those least less able to afford. Strip the green tax on energy for a period of time and then, when/if it needs to come back in, subsidise it so that those that struggle don't have to worry. Also, in line with that, force energy companies to equalise the cost of contract households with those on prepay metred payments. That is in itself is an abomination.

The bit about childcare facilities is that the number of adults needed to supervise children has been growing exponentially for years.  When my mother started a playgroup 50 years ago, 20 children could be supervised safely by 2 adults, with a spare adult downstairs doing her other jobs but available in emergencies.  Now, it takes 7 adults to supervise 20 per-school children.  The suggestion is that these numbers could be rowed back on a little, so 7 adults could perhaps look after 30 children or even more.

 

As for MOTs, I agree the frequency isn't the issue.  It's the silly rules they have brought in.  In what world is it sense to write off a car because the oil warning light doesn't work?  Quite apart from unnecessary write-offs of working vehicles, that sort of rule encourages people (mechanics as well as customers) to turn a blind eye to the rules, and they really should not be fostering a culture of turning blind eyes to MOT failures.

[ozleicester]

Does anyone really want to reduce the level of care for their children?

The VAT is the big one, dispraportionally affects the working class and is a easy way to make a real immediate difference. Replace it with an increased tax on the wealthy.

[Izzy]

9 hours ago, Parafox said:

So the gov had come up with ideas to help us with the cost of living crisis. 

 

Have childcare facilities take more children to reduce costs to parents. Not sure what that means.

 

MOT's every 2 years instead of annually to help motorists. So, my MOT cost me £43 this year. So that's less than £1 a week. Making it every 2 years will save me less that 45p a week.

Thanks.

Tell you what, dear Gov, reduce VAT back to 17.5%. That would help those least less able to afford. Strip the green tax on energy for a period of time and then, when/if it needs to come back in, subsidise it so that those that struggle don't have to worry. Also, in line with that, force energy companies to equalise the cost of contract households with those on prepay metred payments. That is in itself is an abomination.

Absolutely crap idea IMO.

 

Not only is the saving peanuts in the grand scheme of things, but you'll end up with people driving around in cars with potential 'advisories' for a year that are not dealt with.

 

This will lead to more breakdowns and then more expensive repairs.

[Leicester_Loyal]

7 hours ago, Izzy said:

Absolutely crap idea IMO.

 

Not only is the saving peanuts in the grand scheme of things, but you'll end up with people driving around in cars with potential 'advisories' for a year that are not dealt with.

 

This will lead to more breakdowns and then more expensive repairs.

And more deaths because idiots will be driving cars with crap tyres, breaks etc. Not worth it for the £30 a year it's going to save.

 

The Government could find solutions pretty easily for saving money if they wanted, they soon find money for other stuff they deem 'necessary'

[Izzy]

2 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

And more deaths because idiots will be driving cars with crap tyres, breaks etc. Not worth it for the £30 a year it's going to save.

 

Absolutely right. A completely pony idea that needs binning right away. 

[Manini]

On 15/04/2022 at 17:41, Babylon said:

Anyone got NOWTV broadband (I think it's essentially Sky). I've put up with Virgin media charging me for a phone I don't use and a TV service I don't watch, on the basis of their broadband being the best by a long shot. With with everything going up I can't warrant paying for services I don't use any more. 

On the train and signal is dodgy, so not sure if anyone else has suggested this, but have you considered one of the 5G hubs from 3? 

[FoxesDeb]

15 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Absolutely right. A completely pony idea that needs binning right away. 

It's a great idea for anyone abroad running a UK car 

[Izzy]

21 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

It's a great idea for anyone abroad running a UK car 

On those crappy Spanish roads, you should need an MOT every month