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| "Gas Armageddon": Energy/electricity prices in EU/UK (and how to deal with them) |
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| tom66:
--- Quote from: tszaboo on August 29, 2022, 07:08:49 am ---And there was a toilet paper shortage not that long ago, artificially created, and done by mass hysteria. The russians have a name for these people, it's UI or useful idiots. We are prepared, the gas storage in Germany is 80% full, and it's enough for months. The only loosing method for us is to change policies. Otherwise let the Ukranians and Lockheed Martin and the others take care of the situation. I'm not sure about the UK though. You guys seems to be perfectly capable to shooting yourself in the foot for no reason every time. --- End quote --- To be clear I'm fully in support of Ukraine and if it means high gas prices, so be it. However I know the average person in the UK may be lucky to have £100 to their name by the end of the month - they simply cannot afford a £500/m energy bill. Therefore I wonder if the resolve in Europe and UK will begin to crumble. If, indeed, it is just a short term hike in prices, and in a year or two things return to normal, then I think it could be managed. Support can be given to those on the lowest incomes, and businesses will just have to be frugal with gas. Inevitably there will be some economic shrinkage, but I don't think it will be a total disaster as some have predicted. However, if the war in Ukraine drags on for half a decade, as some have suggested, then it becomes a lot more existential for the EU. The absolute earliest Germany will have enough LNG *terminals* is 2027 and there's an even longer lead time on the ships. The UK is currently bringing the Rough storage facility back online but still we will have under a month of storage. However we do have three LNG terminals, which are regularly used and have contracts for supply set up already. This is probably one reason why the gas price in the UK has not risen as high as it has in the EU, in relative terms to the 2019 average. (It is about 12x for UK, 18x for EU.) |
| voltsandjolts:
--- Quote from: tom66 on August 29, 2022, 09:28:11 am ---To be clear I'm fully in support of Ukraine and if it means high gas prices, so be it. However I know the average person in the UK may be lucky to have £100 to their name by the end of the month - they simply cannot afford a £500/m energy bill. Therefore I wonder if the resolve in Europe and UK will begin to crumble. --- End quote --- I sincerely hope resolve does not crumble. There should be more urgency in UK preparedness, it's not visible to the public AFAICT. Yes, high prices will encourage many to reduce fuel consumption, hopefully enough such that coupled with a mild winter we will not see shortages and blackouts. But there should be government information broadcasts, at least stating the obvious; drive less, drive slower, insulate homes etc. But also preparing the collective mindset for the event of fuel rationing, such that it is not such a shock when it arrives - because it is that shock itself that causes the cracks in resolve. |
| BravoV:
One sure thing, just hope or even pray, that this coming winter will not be brutally cold. :scared: |
| JohanH:
--- Quote from: tszaboo on August 29, 2022, 09:26:09 am --- Also if you mention heat pump, no Dutch person will think about air conditioning. If I go to the website of any HVAC company, it will be a different category. I guess it's the lack of awareness which is the biggest issue. Also no subsidy for air conditioning, because... Well because it would make sense, and that's not what governments do. --- End quote --- Interesting. Over here, if you mention air-to-air heat pump, everyone knows you can run it as AC in the summer and heating in the winter. They are very popular as complimentary heating, e.g. if your main system uses oil or electricity. People install them in garages and everywhere. I had one for ten years in addition to the oil boiler and it reduced energy bills somewhat, but most importantly increased comfort in an old drafty house. I still use it as AC in the summer, but the ground source heat pump now takes care of heating and hot water. The air-to-air unit is soon 15 years old, still running without issue. I've never had to defrost it, only cleaned the inner unit a few times. |
| tom66:
Ridiculous thing is if you had an A2A fitted as part of the "renewable heat incentive" the air conditioning mode had to be disabled. Even if you personally spend many thousands of pounds on it, they do not allow a function that exists in the unit to be used. Fortunately on most indoor units, it's just a dip-switch to turn it on again. |
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