Seen in the News

[Tizer]

The average across the country is grade C so grade E is extremely low. It will be the grade found most in buildings with solid masonry walls with no added insulation, no loft insulation, single glazing or early DG windows, no LED lighting etc. However the energy ratings are crude, limited and fail to take into account some improvements to houses. The surveyors are tied by the regulations and can't use their initiative. We were caught by that in the previous, old house when we sold it after having done all that wall and floor insulation. In practice it was up to the insulation and energy saving levels of any average new UK house but we got a low rating because the surveyor couldn't `see' the insulation and wasn't allowed to take the builder's invoices as evidence of it being there.

I notice that article says: `One example is Goldsmith Street in Norwich, which won the Stirling Prize for architecture, and is built to the Passivhaus building standard. It means the homes use new technologies to ensure low energy use, the windows are triple-glazed and the homes are positioned so the sun heats them in the winter and helps them stay cool in summer. Passivhaus buildings can, however, be around 8% more expensive to build than a traditional house, but they are intended to be more efficient and cheaper to run. Those standards can also be retrofitted to existing homes.

That last sentence is not correct and shows a lack of understanding of the standard. It's essential to distinguish between `Passivhaus buildings' and `passive house buildings'. Retrofitting to an old house is possible using passive house techniques to make them better insulated and less demanding on energy use. In contrast, a `Passivhaus' building has to reach the official Passivhaus standard (German in origin, as you can tell from the name) which is very strict and I doubt you could ever `retrofit' those standards to many of our old buildings. For example, Passivhaus requires the building to be completely sealed, airtight and using mechanically controlled ventilation, and it doesn't need heating because sufficient heat comes from human (and pet!) body heat, appliances and so on.
[Edit: I should have added `..and heat from passive solar collection, ground and air source etc'.]

[Stanley]

My mind goes back many years to the house of a man I knew who worked for a firm that made automatic controls of various sorts. He had taken full advantage of these and even had a shutter in the flue of his gas boiler to close it when the boiler was not on demand. He had very low energy bills but the house stunk like a ferret hutch! Include me out.

[Tizer]

The mechanical ventilation used now wouldn't cause that problem. It doesn't recirculate - instead it draws in fresh air and warms it using the heat from the outgoing air. Arguably it's also better than conventional ventilation because (a) it's controlled, (b) the incoming air is filtered to remove pollen etc and (c) it can be directed where it's most needed.

[Stanley]

Yes, you'll be right, that was over 50 years ago. Time slips by doesn't it!

[plaques]

The mechanical ventilation used now wouldn't cause that problem. It doesn't recirculate - instead it draws in fresh air and warms it using the heat from the outgoing air.

Ideal for spreading coronavirus. A typical pollen size is in the micrometer size. 1 micron is 1000 bigger than a namometre The coronavirus is about 34 nanometres. (1 nm = 10−9 metre) far smaller than the capture size of most particle filters.
China has explained that his units do not bring new air in from the outside, as long as he stays indoors and carries on talking to his chickens he should be OK.

[Tizer]

`Coronavirus: Drug shortage fears as India limits exports' LINK
`There are fears of global shortages of some common drugs after India limited the export of certain medicines due to the coronavirus. The world's biggest supplier of generic drugs has restricted exports of 26 ingredients and the medicines made from them. The restricted drugs include Paracetamol, one of the world's most widely-used pain relievers. It comes as many drug ingredient makers in China remain shut or cut output. India's drug makers rely on China for almost 70% of the active ingredients in their medicines, and industry experts have warned that they are likely to face shortages if the epidemic continues. "Even drugs that aren't produced in China get their base ingredients from China. Globally there could be a shortage if China and India both get hit," warned analyst Shaun Rein from the China Market Research Group..'.

We've left ourselves exposed to drug shortages by becoming reliant on India and China. India is the global leader in generic drug production and manufactures 25% of all medicines used in the UK. A parliamentary report on the impact of Brexit on the pharmaceutical sector, published in May 2018, highlighted that 80-90% of generic medicines used in the NHS are imported, with China and India in the top five providers of UK medicines outside of the EU.

[Stanley]

Been like that for years Tiz. I knew a bloke 40 years ago who made a very comfortable living buying generic aspirin etc in Hong Kong and re-selling it here in the UK.
In terms of trade, I begin to suspect that this is the elephant in the room which nobody is talking about. Covid19 is serious, nobody can dispute that but the degree of attention in the media is beginning to cause panic and in the end this could be the big danger. Already we see airlines getting into trouble, see my post on FlyBe. Events Dear Boy!

[Marilyn]

We are being urged to cease and desist buying industrial quantities of toilet paper. We are reminded that Coronavirus is NOT a gastro virus...

[Stanley]

I still feel more comfortable if I have an adequate reserve of toilet paper Maz. My mother taught me well!

[chinatyke]

China has explained that his units do not bring new air in from the outside, as long as he stays indoors and carries on talking to his chickens he should be OK.

The official advice we are receiving is to thoroughly ventilate rooms at least twice a day for 30 minutes if you are in self-isolation. How does that work? Move the virus outside?

In any case, it is normal to keep apartments in the Tropics well ventilated or you get black mould in static areas, so our windows and doors remain open most of the year.

Typical domestic air-cons move refrigerant through the boundary walls not air.

[Stanley]

I wonder what effect black pipe tobacco smoke has on the Covid19 virus?

[Cathy]

Email from CEO of Woollies Supermarkets.
Re shortages due to Covid-19, he explains that 4 toilet roll manufacturers have all increased their production to meet demand. One is now producing 7 days a week and one has tripled their normal production.
The vast majority of products sold aren’t affected and most stores aren’t seeing significant shortages. But some ‘common sense limits’ for a few products have been introduced -
Loo Paper - 4 packs per transaction
2 kilo of Rice (and over) - 1 per transaction
And where available Hand Sanitiser is now at the customer service desk and limited to 2 per transaction.
So things are no-where near being bad.
(No mention of Tea yet .)

[Marilyn]

Buggar Tea! ( which we have only started drinking again this week because suddenly Coffee tastes horrible...for both of us...despite the fact we drink different types!)
Do let me know immediately if there are wine shortages!
Keep your eyes peeled, Cazza. ( “ I am relying on you” as Mrs Bouquet would say)

[Stanley]

Hopefully people will begin to calm down when they realise that Covid19 while serious isn't the end of the world!
It was Mrs Bucket Maz but she insisted that it be pronounced 'Bouquet'!

[Marilyn]

I write it as she would wish it spoken, Stanley... ( sniff)

[Cathy]

Didn’t you get the email Marilyn?

[Marilyn]

What email?

[plaques]

Stock piling is now a big thing with restrictions on quantities at some supermarkets. I've got round the problem but placing a daily advanced order at the local Indian takeaway, The big incentive is that they are giving away a toilet roll with each meal. That's what I call a backup.

[Stanley]

Have a look at Medical matters.... Amazon has gone mad!

[Stanley]

Matt Hancock accused of lying about about having had discussions about home deliveries with supermarkets in some papers and see THIS Guardian article, his mates are trying to bail him out..
"The government has asked supermarkets to increase availability of home delivery services to help people in self-isolation with Coronavirus get access to food and other essentials. Top supermarket executives held a call with George Eustice, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs on Friday afternoon. The teleconference came after the health secretary, Matt Hancock, claimed he had been in touch with supermarkets and he was “confident” food supplies would not run out. However, several supermarket executives told the Guardian that until Friday there had been no communication from the government about managing potential shortages during the outbreak."

[Marilyn]

I was just reading that of the 3,000 people who have died of the virus, 72% were men.

Strangely comforting...

[Stanley]

Yes Maz, I saw the same statistics. However I tick all the boxes for being most likely to die. 84, a smoker, diabetic and under treatment for cancer. Deep Joy!

[Tizer]

I was just reading that of the 3,000 people who have died of the virus, 72% were men. Strangely comforting...

That probably reflects the difference in attitude to hand-washing between men and women.

[chinatyke]

A hotel that was being used to quarantine covid patients has collapsed in Quanzhou, Fujian in Eastern China. Many people trapped though quite a lot have been freed.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society ... east-china

[Marilyn]

How unlucky can you be!?
Was overcrowding an issue China?