What extra support measures or regulations do you expect the government to bring in this winter?

Evan3020

Solar or wind incentives for home owners maybe?

QrizB

Evan3020 said:

Solar or wind incentives for home owners maybe?

Domestic wind only works for the tiny percentage of houses that are built at low density on windswept hillsides.

For the vast majority of the UK housing stock, it's pointless.

Domestic solar is already economic, even without subsidies.

Telegraph_Sam

I was lucky enough to get my solars installed 6 (?) years ago when the costs were beginning to come down, but before the govt cut back on the FIT subsidies. At the time I can remember doing some back-of-fag-packet calculations and concluding that the payback period was of the order of 13 years - provided that I didn't move house. In defence of the technology this was based on the relatively predictable FIT subsidies only. I have yet to find a way of evaluating just what contribution solars can make to reducing one's electricity bill.
I believe that subsidies are less generous than before for new installations. On the other hand the value of each kWh that can be supplied from solar instead of from the grid must have risen and it looks like it will continue to do so. Given the complexity of daytime electricity tariffs I would not like to stick my head out and predict how long it will take for me or anyone else to break even. I suspect that there are those who can.

Telegraph_Sam

Coffeekup said:

Evan3020 said:

Then 4500 kwh of gas in a year is not a lot. How did you manage that?

*Didn't have the heating on at night when I was in bed.
*Didn't have the heating on in the morning before I left the house with my daughter to school. If I did because it was cold it was for 30 minutes before she got up.
*When the heating was on during the coldest months/days it was on between 5-7pm. As by 9pm she was going bed, and the heat stays in the house for around an hour.
*Sat on the sofa with a blanket over me/us watching TV.
*Wearing more layer's.
*Obviously not having the heating on whilst out at work or shopping.
*Acclimatize... Years ago I used to put heating on in late September or October soon as there was a chill in the air. It went on in November sometime (can't remember exact date but there was a thread here called is you heating on yet?.) Even then it was on and off for a few weeks after. 
*Turning the boiler in manually instead of having a thermostat or other device do it for me.
*Washing hands in cold water so the combi doesn't kick in... On a side note my eczema has almost gone now... I know this because hit water irritates my skin... I used to think it was the hand soap/gel's I used. But the cold water has a cooling effect on the skin.
*Heating was off after the first week of March.
*Having the combi boiler water set to 40C ... So the boiler doesn't work any harder than it needs to.


Things to note...
*2 bed mid terrace with loft insulation, but the back of the house is the coldest as the kitchen is not well insulated. If I sorted this draughty mess out I'd guess the heat would stay in the house a lot longer. 
*Last year was a mild winter.
*I never suffered any colds or snivels last few years since I have cut back on artificial heating (maybe a coincidence tho)
*There is 2 of us in the house, only I operate the heating control's.

My gas energy kw'h's during the summer months range from 70-110 units used and November to March it ranged from 300-800 units used per month.

Edit: So in a nutshell being a total skin flint. The sad thing is I won't get the gas usage any lower this year I guess that's my low point till I insulate the kitchen and refit it.
I have thought about lowering the ceilings in the front and back room as the current height is around 3m so I'm heating alot of cubic meters I can't feel the heat from.

Further thoughts:

* Having thick lined curtains is a pretty obvious and cost effective measure but seems to get little publicity
* Many of the older houses in Scotland (and no doubt elsewhere) have internal window shutters. Very effective at night time but not fashionable in new builds
* I prefer to set and leave the 24/7 room thermostat to do its thing. Takes the subjectivity out of when to turn the heating up.
* If you are prepared to do the legwork the latest Time-of-Use tariffs can provide significant savings though not all energy providers offer them
* Wherever practicable I have got into the habit of taking hot water as required from an electric kettle rather than from the gas combi. Whilst the cost for a kWh of electric can be much higher than for gas (depending on the tariff and time of day) logic tells me that heating just the amount of hot water required on demand and no more has got to be more cost efficient than heating it in and drawing it off the boiler. Showers excepted of course.
* I wear round the house a fibre pile jacket and trousers such as used for outdoor activities. I reckon that this reduces my "comfort zone" by several degrees and the garments must have paid for themselves several times over.
* I am still trying to find out how to get subsidies for (additional) loft insulation and what the latest regs are. Could be very cost effective.

Alnat1

The loft insulation grants tend to involve you paying towards a company coming and fitting it.

Works out much cheaper buying and fitting it yourself (or asking a relative/friend to help) from a DIY store.

Telegraph_Sam

Makes sense. Except that I seem to be having difficulty in locating and tapping into these "ECO" (?) grants going by the responses I"ve had from more than one installer to date.

brewerdave

Evan3020 said:

Solar or wind incentives for home owners maybe?

As I said on another thread recently - Government handouts for solar installs will just see an explosion of cowboy firms appearing to get their sticky mitts on "free" money !!

Auti

brewerdave said:

Evan3020 said:

Solar or wind incentives for home owners maybe?

As I said on another thread recently - Government handouts for solar installs will just see an explosion of cowboy firms appearing to get their sticky mitts on "free" money !!

For me the problem is the council have decided vast swathes of Victorian terraced houses are now in a conservation area so Solar panels are a no no. I am even more stuck (like quite a few) that I have a road at the front and at the rear of my property so the ‘roof can be seen from the road’. When I bought the property there was no conservation area! Looking at heat pumps not even sure the property would meet the rules for siting either.

Telegraph_Sam

Strange that the few ECO registered installers that I approached seemed to be amything but enthusiastic when I described my plans to top up the insulation. 

MattMattMattUK

Telegraph_Sam said:

Strange that the few ECO registered installers that I approached seemed to be amything but enthusiastic when I described my plans to top up the insulation. 

They generally like clean installations of insulation, topping it up is a nightmare.