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Debate House Prices


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Could today's Gas Price increases be the final tipping point for the housing market

1234689

Comments

  • adr0ck
    adr0ck Posts: 2,374 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    !!!!!!? wrote: »
    So you don't bother to read, or certainly don't bother to comprehend posts before dashing off ill-considered replies then.
    .

    !!!!!! you seem a highly intelligent person

    go and do some background reading on micro renewables and you will see that energy prices have a long long long long way to go up before micro renewables become viable
  • WTF?_2
    WTF?_2 Posts: 4,592 Forumite
    kennyboy66 wrote: »
    Solar - still needs subsidy for capital cost to make it worthwhile. Try and get one.
    Micro wind turbines. They are a joke.
    Hydro - even if the river is on your land, you would need to pay National Rivers Authority a licence fee.

    People are still much better advised to fully insulate their homes, use more energy efficient light bulbs & appliances, hang their washing out rather than tumble dry it, take showers rather than baths, use the washing machine at a lower temperature and wash only full loads, switch all appliances off rather than leave them on stand-by & just switching the heating off or down.
    Apart from the old, infirm or very young, everyone would be a little healthier by not swanning round in t-shirts in over heated houses.

    All of this of course takes a little bit of effort.
    Too many people would rather be seduced by "free" solar or wind power.

    My comments from the post again - pay careful attention to the bits that I've bolded and highlighted in red.

    I'd be looking at insulating any new property to the highest degree. Then using solar tubes for water heating and some sort of ground heat exchanger to supplement heating. Wood burning stove or fireplace for the main central heating source. (Can you get suitable coal/wood stoves? Still plenty of coal left.)

    With more scope then electrical supplies could easily be supplemented with solar panels and wind turbines. Water turbine too if there was a stream running through the property. Maybe a combined heating and power system to make up the difference between the renewables and your demand.


    I'm under no illusion that the average person can somehow generate all the power and heat they need in a typical house to lead a full on modern lifestyle.

    However, I'd rather have less reliance on the 'grid' as prices get set to rise steeply over the coming years and reliability of supply can't be guaranteed.

    And regardless of whether it makes pure financial sense, I'd personally much rather lash out the cash up front now, while I have it and reap the rewards over the coming years of much lower fuel and electricity bills when there may be other demands on the cash I have at the time.
    --
    Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.
  • kennyboy66_2
    kennyboy66_2 Posts: 2,598 Forumite
    !!!!!!? wrote: »
    Wood burning stove or fireplace for the main central heating source. (Can you get suitable coal/wood stoves? Still plenty of coal left.)

    Do yourself a favour and think before posting.

    With respect, I doubt if you have ever had to light a coal fire / stove.
    Coal is not a cheap alternative - however most people would be put off by actually having to light it & clean up, so they could save some money there.

    Wood would be great if I had a small coppice wood of my own.
    US housing: it's not a bubble

    Moneyweek, December 2005
  • adr0ck
    adr0ck Posts: 2,374 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    !!!!!!? wrote: »

    And regardless of whether it makes pure financial sense, I'd personally much rather lash out the cash up front now, while I have it and reap the rewards over the coming years of much lower fuel and electricity bills when there may be other demands on the cash I have at the time.

    sorry was this the 1st year (that they worked) or the 2nd when they broke down and needed replacing
  • WTF?_2
    WTF?_2 Posts: 4,592 Forumite
    adr0ck wrote: »
    sorry was this the 1st year (that they worked) or the 2nd when they broke down and needed replacing

    Can you tell me what the lottery numbers are going to be on Saturday please?
    --
    Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.
  • kennyboy66_2
    kennyboy66_2 Posts: 2,598 Forumite
    !!!!!!? wrote: »
    And regardless of whether it makes pure financial sense, I'd personally much rather lash out the cash up front now, while I have it and reap the rewards over the coming years of much lower fuel and electricity bills when there may be other demands on the cash I have at the time.

    Surely, it either makes financial sense or it doesn't.
    US housing: it's not a bubble

    Moneyweek, December 2005
  • mewbie_2
    mewbie_2 Posts: 6,058 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    kennyboy66 wrote: »
    Surely, it either makes financial sense or it doesn't.
    No... there is a third way.
  • adr0ck
    adr0ck Posts: 2,374 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    !!!!!!? wrote: »
    Can you tell me what the lottery numbers are going to be on Saturday please?

    nope but i can tell you that micro renewables on your home will need a lot of maintenance and repair
  • WTF?_2
    WTF?_2 Posts: 4,592 Forumite
    kennyboy66 wrote: »
    With respect, I doubt if you have ever had to light a coal fire / stove.
    Coal is not a cheap alternative - however most people would be put off by actually having to light it & clean up, so they could save some money there.

    Wood would be great if I had a small coppice wood of my own.

    Strangely enough, I grew up in a house with a coal fire and lived in a couple of houses with them during my student days so yes I have indeed had to light a coal fire (and clear the ashes out from the grate afterwards).

    It's not a particularly enjoyable task but when it's the difference between being warm and cold I found it was well worth the effort to take 10 mins to build a fire.

    I'd certainly take the security of having a fire capable of burning wood, turf and coal (in which case I could easily source and store my own fuel) over being 100% reliant on supplies of oil, gas and electricity which are getting ever more expensive and may not be reliably available. Especially if combined in a well insulated house with solar heating tubes for a baseline level of hot water and a ground heat exchanger to provide a baseline level of heating.

    Plus of course there are modern coal/wood pellet heating systems that provide a lot more convenience than the dirty-hands approach of a fireplace if that's really a bar to having coal/wood heating for you.
    --
    Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.
  • WTF?_2
    WTF?_2 Posts: 4,592 Forumite
    adr0ck wrote: »
    nope but i can tell you that micro renewables on your home will need a lot of maintenance and repair

    Rrrrrright. And of course I would never maintain or repair them.

    Since you are in energy-oracle mode, can you tell me what is going to happen to the price and availability of gas (which you seem to be pretty keen on) over the coming years then? Call me paranoid but I see the pronouncements on how GB has turned from an net exporter to an importer (at quite a fast rate) quite alarming...
    --
    Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.
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