Electric cars.

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Everyone I know who as one, albeit not many, say they are expensive to run and expensive to service and repair.

My parents have a air source heater, for their swimming pool, that seems very efficient but only in summer
 
Everyone I know who as one, albeit not many, say they are expensive to run and expensive to service and repair.
He mentions this in the video i think he said due to Legionnaires disease they have to be regularly serviced i wonder how much they'll charge for that service.

I have a small yard so no room for the box meaning it would have to go on the outside wall, i can imagine what my neighbours would say when they are enjoying thir gardens in summer and that thing is spinning as the guy says all fans start quiet and become noisy as they wear.

How do you get Legionnaire disease?
People can get Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever when they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria. Less commonly, people can get sick by aspiration of drinking water containing Legionella. This happens when water accidently goes into the lungs while drinking.
 
I flicked through the menu of my brother's one and it said a COP of 4 (not bad) and pulling 2kWh on a mid February day. I wouldn't fancy that electrical bill over a cold winter.
 
He mentions this in the video i think he said due to Legionnaires disease they have to be regularly serviced i wonder how much they'll charge for that service.
The immersion needs to top it up every so often to prevent it. I hope there isn't a bath setting 😂
 
I flicked through the menu of my brother's one and it said a COP of 4 (not bad) and pulling 2kWh on a mid February day. I wouldn't fancy that electrical bill over a cold winter.

Remember how expensive immersion heaters were to run if you were not on an economy tariff these things use one when needed which i can imagine is going to be more than those selling them are going to tell you.
 
Remember how expensive immersion heaters were to run if you were not on an economy tariff these things use one when needed which i can imagine is going to be more than those selling them are going to tell you.
Of course. They will tell you about a COP of 5 but for most of the year in the Atlantic archipelago it won't get anywhere near that.
 
Disabled people can download an app which tells them which nearby fuel stations will assist them to fuel their cars and alerts the station when you arrive, i had never given plugging an EV in a thought.


Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is calling for improved access for all users of electric vehicle charging points.

The 11-time Paralympic gold medallist, who uses a wheelchair, said she had to opt for a diesel vehicle rather than an electric model as "accessibility is being ignored".
She is seeking government assurances that more will be done to make charging points more accessible in the future.
The Department of Transport has been approached for comment.
"It's really simple - I can't reach them," said Baroness Grey-Thompson.
"The problems are... the step, it's the barrier. Some of the bays are quite busy but I have to be able to open my car door really wide.
"A lot of places don't accommodate for that."

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The Welsh government said in a document from 2021 it aimed to deliver "a charging point facility for every 20 miles of the strategic trunk network across Wales by 2025" by working with the private sector.
For every 100,000 people in Wales there are currently 47 charging points, according to UK government figures published in January.
Across the UK the figure is 55. The number is highest in In London, where there are 131 charging points per 100,000 population.
The UK government has just pledged £56m for 2,400 EV charge points in 16 English council areas.

New cars and vans powered wholly by petrol and diesel will not be sold in the UK from 2030.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, chairwoman of Sport Wales, raised her concerns online, tweeting a photograph of a charging point she said was inaccessible to her.
"When it kicks in and we are all having to move to electric vehicles, I want to know what the government is doing to make sure they [charging points] are accessible.
"I put a question in this week to the government," she said, referring to her role as a peer in the House of Lords.
"There was a big announcement about charging points but what is happening to make sure they are accessible?
Charity Motability, which supports disabled people with transportation issues, has published best-practice standards for designing accessible public charge points for electric vehicles after forming a partnership with the UK government.
"If they aren't accessible I would have to take someone with me - it's just ridiculous - accessibility is being ignored," said Baroness Grey-Thompson.
"I can look on my sat nav and find a garage and some pay points but if they are not accessible, I don't know what I would do - I would just run out of charge."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64776960

 
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Here is the monstrosity my brother had to install for a 1800 Square foot house. My jaw hit the ground when I saw it.
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Not really. He has this as well. My house just has a combi-boiler. I would not be happy with that set up.
IMG-20230227-WA0001.jpg
 
Loads of re-furbished houses out here have underfloor heat pumps. The expense with servicing and risk of expensive failure is just accepted. Daft really and not environmentally friendly. We insulated and now have solar thermal that heats my HLT and next will transfer through to our newly finished house. Toasty and now burning ovoids and driftwood.

When our current car expires we will look to whatever is developed from the Citroen Oli; The Citroen Oli concept is a £22,000 cardboard car of the future | Auto Express.
 
I actually like that in a strange way. I doubt the flat Hummer-style windscreen would stay.
 
Nowt wrong with a hot water tank. Saved our bacon a couple of times when there's been an issue with the boiler and can't get a plumber for a couple of days, at least without being financially skewered with high emergency call out fees. Can do without heating, but not without hot water.

I'm sure these heat pumps work fine if the installation is done properly and especially if the house is built with them in mind but one of the problems with retrofits of them is the huge radiators you need. We certainly couldn't accommodate them in every room in our house.
 
That's the thing and the big con with these.
Thermal efficiency is not as high as a traditional combi gas boiler when you actually need heat, but they are more efficient than the old economy 7 and electric immersion heater solutions.

But it just doesn't work unless you are in a house that has been built with super high insulation in mind. Even new builds to normal building regs aren't insulated enough to really enable these heat pumps to make a significant difference to a) your energy bills b) measurably reduce carbon emissions over the life of the install (Inc the pump and gubbins itself) compared to a gas boiler.

Electric heating/hot water using renewables is the answer environmentally, but until we can produce enough renewables at a cost equivalent of gas, then it's a no from me.
Yes I live in a 200 year old farm house that doesn't even have cavity walls, never mind A grade insulation....all I have is 500mm rock wool in the roof and double glazing, but have to accept it's a shitty heatsink that leaches warmth for fun. If I had to have one of these monstrous things it would bankrupt me.

Oh and back to ev cars, got a delivery date on my Tesla model Y.... 22nd march. I am very excited, my first ever brand new car!
 
Not yet @Benfleet Brewery as there aren't many worth doing at the moment. Plus my smart meter won't communicate due to the stupid thick stone walls surrounding the consumer unit / transmitter so I don't think I can.
Need to look in to it a bit more, but will probably wait 6 months until leccy prices have dropped to a more sensible level and some good deals start to appear.
However most charging will be done by my wife at her works carpark (free 7k charging) when she uses it for her work.
We only do about 150miles per week, so one charge a week should see it right
 
Got a model Y LR in December. I've got a balanced opinion on it. Got some nice features and drives very well...love the power delivery of electric but miss the noise and 'ambiance' of a good old ICE car. Some pretty big deficiencies with it too...things you just wouldn't tolerate with the established car brands. Love driving the mrs's Cooper S just for the sheer fun of it now. Think with EV driving you need time....if you have time to stop and charge then there is no issue but last weekend for example, we had a quick visit to Cornwall to visit Verdant brewery and Taproom, so wanted to get down there as quickly as possible with it being a very quick visit, so we took the wife's car and avoided an hours worth of charging each way. But if we had the time then would have taken the Model Y.

I'm charging form home on a flat rate of 33p/KWh. Wasn't really worth switching to a lower night rate tariff due to the much higher day rate...I just don't do enough mileage and charging to make it pay.

Mate of mine has just had solar and batteries installed so feel that would be a better solution. though the up front cost are pretty high, but if electricity costs remain high then it has half a chance of paying for itself in a reasonable number of years. If electricity prices fall then it will be many many years to pay itself.
 
Not yet @Benfleet Brewery as there aren't many worth doing at the moment. Plus my smart meter won't communicate due to the stupid thick stone walls surrounding the consumer unit / transmitter so I don't think I can.
Need to look in to it a bit more, but will probably wait 6 months until leccy prices have dropped to a more sensible level and some good deals start to appear.
However most charging will be done by my wife at her works carpark (free 7k charging) when she uses it for her work.
We only do about 150miles per week, so one charge a week should see it right
Defo look into an EV tariff. With the EPG the day rates aren’t a lot, if any, different. I pay 33p for normal leccy but anything through the car charger is 10p. That’s with OVO.
 

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