ENERGY MATTERS

[Tizer]

Watch the flames shoot out from underneath where the batteries are located - and new batteries had just been fitted to the car...
`Firefighters tackle raging Texas Tesla fire' BBC video

[Stanley]

"and new batteries had just been fitted to the car..."
I wonder how much that cost? I'm so glad I don't have the bother and expense of a car any more. I can devote my time, energy and financial resource to things like new starter switches and computer sticks!

[Tripps]

I've just bought a gadget which is a thermometer which is also a clock and a hygrometer. I've had it a couple of days and it seems to be very accurate and correlates nicely with the room thermostat. Amazing value for a little under a fiver.

The room stat is set for 20 degrees, and the gadget reads 20.4. Interesting to see how long it takes to get to the dialled temperature. and it takes a long time to lose the heat when the boiler is switched off. It drops to about 15 degrees by the time I get up. The relative humidity is interesting to see, and a pleasing 52%.

I've bought a new large heated throw too - which is wonderful. Winter - do your worst. . .

thermometer.jpg

[Stanley]

Be careful with the heated throw David. If it has electrical elements it is dangerous. Susan had one and it set fire to her bed!

[Pluggy]

Watch the flames shoot out from underneath where the batteries are located - and new batteries had just been fitted to the car...
`Firefighters tackle raging Texas Tesla fire' BBC video

Theres little evidence that electric car fires are any more common than other car fires but they burn a lot hotter and are far more difficult to extinguish. The temperature a petrol fire burns at is is limited by how much air can get to the burning fuel and will go out entirely if deprived of oxygen , Lithiom Ion batteries happily burn in a complete absence of oxygen. Fire extinguishers that smother a fire (CO2 or other inert gas and foam for example) are useless against a battery fire. The battery needs to be cooled with a lot of water. Some fire departments in the US have large inflatable pools or steel tanks carried on the back of a truck that they fill with water and use an excavator or similar to dump the burning car into (unsurprisingly the car is then completely beyond salvage) .

Car insurance costs are going up, but electric cars are going up a lot more.. The problem is that if an electric car is damaged in an accident and the battery is at all damaged they tend to write the car off. Modern electrc cars use the battery as a stressed member in the body to reduce weight and they are often glued together and next to impossible to open up and check/repair internally. So often a trivially damaged car is written off because the cost of a new battery exceeds the value of the car, even if the car is near new. There is evidence that the government (I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch of the imagination BTW) is suppressing the reporting of electric car fires because it brings the official narrative into question. There is pretty reasonable evidence that the recent Luton Airport fire was started by a Li-ion battery in a hybrid Land Rover catching fire but the official report just says it was a vehicle fire that started it. Petrol or diesel usually wont burn hot enough to destroy concrete, but a battery certainly will. Even if it wasn't started with by an electric car, the electric cars that were parked there would have had a big impact on the destructive capabilities of the burning fire. This stuff among a lot of other information from the "Green" revolution turned me from an advocate (I do have solar panels and a heat pump) to a net zero sceptic.

[Tizer]

Thanks for an informative post, Pluggy. That set me off googling and I was surprised to find that the electrolyte in lithium car batteries is a hydrocarbon. I found this report which is very long but the useful bits can be found easily. It's worrying to read how many things can lead to the battery being damaged, leading to the possibility of fire. OZEV

[Tripps]

There is evidence that the government (I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch of the imagination BTW) is suppressing the reporting of electric car fires

I agree.

It's not just EV batteries
Bin Lorry fires


That document is long and complex. It beat me. Reinforces my view that too many people are regulating things. Hard to say that any part of it can be ignored though. It will take a Grenfell Tower event to get any action. Sadly I think one is inevitable.

[Tripps]

Be careful with the heated throw David. If it has electrical elements it is dangerous.

These are going on sale at Lidl next Sunday. Heated Throw Must be OK - they are made by Silentnight.

[Stanley]

Interesting and frightening stuff about electric batteries Stephen and so well and clearly written it is easily understandable. I hear and understand your reaction to your knowledge and the effect on your opinion of net zero. I am at the stage where I am muttering to myself; "It's a good thing but....."
As for the heated throws being made by Silentnight.... Hmm, are we sure of that David or are they just the importers?
On a parallel subject.... I was listening to a lady the other day on R4 who seemed to know of what she spoke talking about the elements of wild swimming in winter that are so good for the human body. Evidently it is the initial shock of entry into the water that has such an exhilarating effect on the body. If the shock to the vagus nerve doesn't stop you breathing that is! If this is the case my nightly immersion in the freezing cold of my Pure Cotton Christy duvet covers is a GOOD THING and is to be encouraged.....

[Tizer]

As for the heated throws being made by Silentnight.... Hmm, are we sure of that David or are they just the importers?

Good point. They might be made in China. If exports got mixed up you might get one that was intended for Taiwan!

[Tripps]

They might be made in China.

I assume everything is made in China these days. Mine is said to be "made in PRC"

PS There are no clues here, Silent Nightand the price is double that of Lidl. Mine has ten heat settings and ten time settings, and is rated at only 100w. I'm a fan.

Problem is I am on my third now - two have had failed controllers. The web shows that it is probably a waste of time to try to get it repaired or replaced. Buying from Tesco or (say) Argos would probably correct this, but you would pay double for it. Take your pick.
I like mine, and I think there'll be a queue at Lidl on Sunday.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a high attrition rate David......

[Pluggy]

Regarding stuff made in China, expect less stuff to be made there in future. China is starting to fall out of favour, there are numerous reasons for this. The big one is that wages in China have increased sixfold in real terms in the last 3 decades. Its no longer such a cheap place to manufacture. Apple has been unpicking its way out of China for a year or so now, its so heavily invested there it will take some doing. Another is that its a long way from there to where its markets are and the cost of fuel to move stuff is working against it. Then theres internal demographics, its one child policy which started in 1980 and was cancelled in 2016 is biting it in the backside. Its population is decreasing and workers are getting harder to come by. (probably the main reason that wages have gone up by so much).Since it has been cancelled Chinese women are having less kids anyway. Its standard issue that when a society moves from Agrarian to Industrial the birth rate drops of a cliff. Without Immigration, Britain's population would have been decreasing since the seventies. To maintain population each woman needs to birth an average of 2.1 children, Its presently 1.56 in the UK and 1,28 in China. Worlds Highest is 6.71 in Niger. Recent Chinese government restrictions mean that powerful semiconductors which are highly dependant on Western technology to are getting hard to import to China.

[Stanley]

Very clear and informative Stephen. I had it in my mind that they were shrinking as a source of so many things but now I am clear about both it and the reasons why.

[Tizer]

XI is so concerned about the way China is now falling behind that he has visited Biden and agreed some changes. For example, unlike most other countries China has always refused to curb its methane emissions but now Biden has been able to persuade him to take action.

[Stanley]

Reading the 'expert's' interpretation of China's position during this latest visit by Xi Jinping to the US I get the impression that American commentators are reading an awful lot into Xi's current difficulties. Some are even going so far as to say it's doubtful if China will overtake the US as the worlds largest economy. That strikes me as wishful thinking and far too optimistic!

[Stanley]

BG have rendered their account for November's energy and it is confusing but very good news. As far as I can see I u8sed about £150 of energy but have go something called a Cold Weather Payment from the government with the end result I only owe £3.50 and they will carry that on until the January payment.
As I say, I don't really understand it but I am not arguing!

[Big Kev]

BG have rendered their account for November's energy and it is confusing but very good news. As far as I can see I u8sed about £150 of energy but have go something called a Cold Weather Payment from the government with the end result I only owe £3.50 and they will carry that on until the January payment.
As I say, I don't really understand it but I am not arguing!

You’ll get a cold weather payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over 7 consecutive days.
You’ll get £25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2023 and 31 March 2024.

There has been one instance, since November 1st, that has triggered a payment for the BB18 postcode area.

Screenshot_2023-12-03-14-47-21-473_com.android.chrome.jpg

[Stanley]

Yes Kev but this one is not that Cold Weather Payment but another one.
I've had a close look at the statement and this one is the 'Warm Home Discount'.

[Tizer]

Warm Home Discount Scheme Warm Home Discount Scheme

[Tripps]

That will soon all become irrelevant. Here is the latest morale boosting bulletin on Fusion. The engineering effort, and level of international cooperation is astonishing. Imagine the consequences if it were ever to succeed. A world where oil and gas became irrelevant.

Don't spend too much time on it though.

With the usual Mail trigger warning for those allergic Japanese Fusion.

[Stanley]

Thanks Peter, yes, that's the one.
And thank you David. I hadn't seen that report but have been convinced for many years that fusion is the eventual answer to our energy problems. Only problem I can see is that it will generate a lot more heat and we will have to get rid of that somehow!
At the moment, only owing £3.50 for energy for last month looks like a good outcome for me......

[Tizer]

Perhaps it would make better news if they reported what hasn't been hacked in Britain?...
`Sellafield nuclear site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China: Exclusive: Malware may still be present and potential effects have been covered up by staff, investigation reveals' Guardian

[Stanley]

And I noted that the management deny any knowledge of hacks by foreign powers. I wonder whether that might be a complicated form of words that allows them to deny the report but without telling a barefaced lie?

[Tripps]

Whilst in a minor state of shock after getting my month's bill from Octopus, I bought one of these.

Zipped fleece hoody

It's just arrived. Certainly big enough - and I think that despite the fact that I look a bit of a prune in it - (no one's watching anyway) I think I can turn the stat down during the day so it will probably fund itself, which was the idea.