Daydream thread continues.....

rhiwfield

Or maybe Alf has been going round her local Sainsburys buying naughty shaped carrots now they've relaxed their perfect shaped veg rules.

Wet & horrible outside atm so a bit more Bay listing for upload tonight. Getting listed numbers back to normal so hoping for some decent sales next and following weeks after drawing a blank this week. Couple of pieces of Portuguese parian will do well I hope, but a lot of relists at reduced prices on as well to clear stock. Saving the BIN listings for next weekend.

I've heard what we do described as recycling, but apart from finding new owners for old stuff its also fun to fix items, sort out rusting, get clocks going, glue loose wood etc. Repairing something that's damaged and making it functional or decorative is satisfying in its own right. We've got an old Isgus Westminster chimes clock that took two weeks to get going, its on the mantelpiece now ticking away merrily and not for sale. I know a modern digital clock would be more functional but the sound of the Isgus is somehow comforting. Must be nostalgia

Living on a small hill, we havent suffered from flooding, but I recall once when the local farmer ploughed his fields across contours 20 years ago we did get runoff flowing through a stone retaining wall. That little taste made me just begin to appreciate the problems many have been having over recent days.

Choille, thoughts with you at this time. Stay strong.

alfie_1

my thoughts are with you too choille...always a difficult emotional time.
as my gran would have said "keep your pecker up" [although me finks that had different conitations when first invented ! ]

well its not raining today....so far...:o

my darling c*ckbird decided 2.30am was dawn ...:eek: he just would not shut up !! then i had the hitchc*ck doves tapping on the window at 7am .... my ONE day that i planned a lie in has been well and truly stuffed today. im walking round yawning my head off.....

CTC. no!! sexual rituals are not on the agenda... not today..;)

it is for guinea fowl....:D

alfie_1

itsme,itsme,itsme.............i have a challenge for you.
i have an item that i have not a clue WHAT IT IS, AGE, USE,ETC...

IF I GET SOME PICS OF IT CAN I ASK YOU TO DO A MISS MARPLE ON IT...PLEEEEEASE ??:A

Rummer

Just been chatting with OH and he is keen to get solar panels installed on our roof, what are the views of others on here? Do you think they are worth it? Where can I find out more about it?

Itismehonest

alfie_1 wrote: »

itsme,itsme,itsme.............i have a challenge for you.
i have an item that i have not a clue WHAT IT IS, AGE, USE,ETC...

IF I GET SOME PICS OF IT CAN I ASK YOU TO DO A MISS MARPLE ON IT...PLEEEEEASE ??:A

Yea, I'll give it a go..... no promised though. If I don't have a clue what it is I can't put in any search terms.

Rummer wrote: »

Just been chatting with OH and he is keen to get solar panels installed on our roof, what are the views of others on here? Do you think they are worth it? Where can I find out more about it?

I think it depends on your own particular circumstances, Rummer. The direction your house faces, the amount of light that reaches the roof etc. However, from a purely personal point of view when we move (if we ever get that far!) we wouldn't touch a property with panels attached.

rhiwfield

Rummer, I guess you mean solar PV for leccy rather than solar thermal for hot water.

I was one of the early installers, putting systems on garage and house roofs.

Part of the motivation was the desire to be in control of soaring energy costs by using own power, the other element was financial return.At that time various pension investment decisions had to be made, and here was an opportunity to get a tax free RPI indexed income stream. In practice that worked out at 9% pa. FWIW, there was also an underlying desire to reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy.

Lower feed in tariffs now apply, but the cost of installation has fallen tremendously. As Itsme said, it depends where you are, the inclination and direction of suitable roof space and also whether there are obstacles to the suns rays such as trees or high land. You can work out what you could generate from PVGIS (just google), but you'd need to check out cost of installation.

Unlike Itsme, if I were to move I would seek out a house that with had low energy loss and energy generation in the form of solar pv/hot water. But I dont know if the benefit of FITs really adds to house value.

Obviously its a long term investment.

RAS

thanks rhiwfield

Me too.

Nine percent is a pretty good return! Particularly now.

Trying to work out whether is it worth putting solar PV on my SE roof. Just used that web-site. need some exact measurements but it looks a lot cheaper and a more effective than I thought. Even with the reduced FITS it is running at 18 years payback. If energy prices rise it would be a lot less than that.

Big question is whether to put it on knowing that I would like to move. If work would just make their minds up whether VR would be offered, I could decide when. Last lot I was banned from applying (an my boss laughed out loud when I mentioned the possibility recently). Just so hard to know where this sector is goign cos the Govt change the rule several times a year. Could go buits up any time.

Itismehonest

RAS wrote: »

Big question is whether to put it on knowing that I would like to move. If work would just make their minds up whether VR would be offered, I could decide when. Last lot I was banned from applying (an my boss laughed out loud when I mentioned the possibility recently). Just so hard to know where this sector is goign cos the Govt change the rule several times a year. Could go buits up any time.

That's my point, RAS. I look on it rather like the rush to get cheap credit or the early rush for double-glazing. I fear the promises are unsustainable.
I think most people installed them because they thought they'd be a money saver but it seems that, depending on where they are, it can be many years before they pay for themselves.

Some insurance companies are refusing to insure certain properties because of installations.
With so many panel producers apparently now struggling to survive (yes, I know it's Asia but they should be profiting more than us from PV) what happens if you have problems with panels from a company which goes/has gone under? The installation companies are unlikely to survive longer than manufacturers. Think how many DG companies there were in it's heyday & how many went bust.

The problem with trying to find out what is actually happening is that so much of what you find on the internet is by those with vested interests.
I looked for some info from more neutral sources (or those that deal with all forms of power) & came up with these ....
Article 1
Article 2

Rather like new Operating Systems for computers, I'd rather see all the bugs & glitches sorted before I 'upgrade'.
Maybe it will all be fine but maybe, in a decade or two's time, today's solar panels will be the new tongue & groove walls/ceilings or avocado bathrooms

RAS

RAS wrote: »

Just so hard to know where this sector is goign cos the Govt change the rule several times a year. Could go buits up any time.

Think we may be at cross purposes IIMH?

I am referring to the sector in which I work not the renewable energy sector?

Itismehonest

RAS wrote: »

Think we may be at cross purposes IIMH?

I am referring to the sector in which I work not the renewable energy sector?

:rotfl: It seems to be relevant to both then, eh?