Preparedness for when

pineapple

craigywv wrote: »

and almost forgot we have a talking dog on here goes by the name of Docky....................U HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Now you've started something. Sigh......

GreyQueen

Rosemary Jane, that was an interesting post. I know a person in Aberdeenshire plugged into a ground source heat pump, so you don't need to be sitting on a busy geothermal area like Iceland to get some benefits. There is also a very real risk that Iceland itself may become uninhabitable due to volcanic activity.

I can't claim technical expertise (hopefully a clever person will pop by a minute) but isn't there a problem with losing electricity the further you transport it? I don't mean that it'll fall off the back of the electricity-waggon like a poorly-secured potato sack, but that some of the current disappears in transmission, and the further that you send it, the greater the loss.

This is a problem with all sorts of electicity generation with some of it disappearing between the point of generation and the point of use. I wonder if the distance from Iceland to the UK, being so much greater than that of France to the UK, might be prohibitive in terms of loss?

But it is certainly an interesting idea. We can live without electricity but we would lose a lot which we have come to enjoy and value.

I do wonder if a more low-powered future might see lots of micro-generation of power at homestead or neighbourhood level with the tendancy to use it for, say, lighting, rather than energy-hogging big appliance use.

On a domestic scale, I was contemplating buying an appliance come the summer but am now thinking that I can do without it as I am in the squeeze which effects so many of us; bills going up several times a year but wages static for many years.

I've been paying a bit over the odds for appliances for a while in order to get the highest energy effiency ratings I can, and this will continue when there are necessary replacements, but other things will be allowed to live out their lives and then not be replaced. I'm looking at my shredder which I think I won't replace (I can cut my stuff up small with scissors using GQ-power). When this huge desktop PC (10.5 years old) either karks it or has to be replaced when XP isn't supported, I shall be shopping with an eye to energy-efficiency.

Katie, I'm a fan of the Columbus II wind-up and solar radio. It's a J Lewis own brand, you might want to look at it on their website. Has a solar cell and can charge off a USB as well as windup and has a torch.

ETA just checked out the Degen solar/ windup against my Columbus and the only difference is that one is green and one is silver. Mind you, Colunbus has a 2 year warranty and was £19.99 in store.

katieclampet

Thanks for radio info, pineapple & GQ, just been on amazon and ordered one!

Also noticed you can purchase a zombie survival can (not too sure whats in it it!) for £2.53, a Zombie backpack for £19.99 and a "Build your own Zombie Bug out Bag" book for £2.53! They sound like they are worth every penny.

I think I might invest my cash in a whole new Zombie defense library. :rotfl:

katie

ginnyknit

Evie13 thank you for the reply. Interesting. I am definately going to speak to our new HA - they bought the houses 2 years ago off the council. they have done a lot of so called improvements to date which havent been too successful :mad: But the latest, removing hedges and fencing all round plus a little driveway for us are wonderful and very well planned out. I shall post soon if I get a reply to my e mail.

And welcome aboard the crazy wagon, a nicer bunch you couldnt find.
(does that sound right?)

GreyQueen

Katie, I once saw a "rottweiller in a can" which was an inflatable dawg not a food product fashioned from a real animal, thank goodness. It's amazing what you can get in cans these days, innit?

Reminds me of the OS phrase a fool and his money are easily parted. Although with some beggars, you're left to wonder how the idjits acquired any in the first place.

Onwards and outwards, going to read before beddy-byes. Parting is such sweet sorrow but I'll check in with ya tomorrow.

If we're spared.

Rosemary_Jane

GreyQueen wrote: »

I can't claim technical expertise (hopefully a clever person will pop by a minute) but isn't there a problem with losing electricity the further you transport it? I don't mean that it'll fall off the back of the electricity-waggon like a poorly-secured potato sack, but that some of the current disappears in transmission, and the further that you send it, the greater the loss.

This is a problem with all sorts of electicity generation with some of it disappearing between the point of generation and the point of use. I wonder if the distance from Iceland to the UK, being so much greater than that of France to the UK, might be prohibitive in terms of loss?

But it is certainly an interesting idea. We can live without electricity but we would lose a lot which we have come to enjoy and value.

I do wonder if a more low-powered future might see lots of micro-generation of power at homestead or neighbourhood level with the tendancy to use it for, say, lighting, rather than energy-hogging big appliance use.

Thanks GQ,
you're right about the distance and the need for more local generation to reduce the transport losses. I just wondered, as the available power appears to be so abundant, whether some could be used as booster stations; but I expect you're right, that the ocean distance would make the idea not feasible currently.

One book I have found interesting is 'Sustainable Energy - without the hot air', by David MacKay.
It is available free as a download ( http://www.withouthotair.com/ ) pdf file, or can be read chapter by chapter online via the same link, or bought as a hard copy on Amazon. I read the download, and then bought the book, as it was easier to read.

Another interesting site is generating electricity while exercising
This chap has had this site up for years, pedals away every morning, powering light and laptop and charging a battery; he loses weight and generates power. He sells DIY plans for his 'prime mover'.
His record-keeping has been going on for a long time, and makes interesting reading.
I just can't quite see one in my home, though I'd like the weight loss!
http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html

Other interesting ideas involve turning your own bike into a generator - although I'm not sure whether there'd be too much wear and tear on the tyre to be justifiable. Here's one such site
http://www.windstreampower.com/Bike_Power_Generator.php

Fascinating stuff.
Rosemary

Butterfly_Brain

the_cake

Just adding my pennyworth: horsepower! My skills mainly involve horses, which I can ride and drive ... the driving could be the more useful one for shopping, but probably need to have a companion to look after the horse and cart/buggy while t'other pops into the shops. Horses can also be used to pull logs out of woodland, plough of course and work the land generally, they produce excellent manure and when they have reached the end of their useful lives I suppose you could make burgers (although I would rather not, unless desperate!). Perhaps horsepower is the future? Or part of it. C'mon, don't say neigh ...

Butterfly_Brain

The utility companies must be renationalised, they rip us off every which way and are making bumper profits, I am another who thinks that they are using scare tactics, especially after I read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/19/eon-lobbied-miliband-sentences-kingsnorth

Fletchers and gunsmiths will be needed for protection.

esmf73

Re solar power. We had some panels fitted in late July last year and had our first payment in January. We received £225. Which is nicer in my pocket than theirs! But it did cost a lot to have them fitted, only worth it if you will DEFINATELY stay in your house for foreseeable future.