Prices of the electricity we use to charge

nigelbb

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 19, 2019
444
377
I bought a new car at the start of February. I looked at the prices and bought a petrol one. So far, in the first 1000 miles covered, almost exclusively on A road journeys between my place in Northumberland and Newcastle upon Tyne at an average of about 57 miles an hour, it has averaged 58 miles per gallon. This includes about 4 miles of urban driving on a 41 mile journey. My previous car, a diesel on the same journeys averaged about 61/62 miles per gallon. I drove diesels for about twenty years up until this car, and I am surprised at how much better petrol engine economy is these days. My old carburetor petrol car from around 2000 did only about 40 miles per gallon in the same kind of driving.
I used to get about 30mpg out of my old 1963 850cc Mini. That wasn't my heavy right foot just the sort of fuel consumption you got back then with even a tiny car like the original Mini.
 
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: Tony1951 and flecc

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,451
16,916
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
I think ICE car manufacturers and petrol companies can do better when they have to. They can make their cars more fuel efficient, 100 miles / gallon cars are very possible. I use E10 fuel which has up to 10% ethanol in the mix, a shift to more renewable fuels is gaining wider acceptance.
 
D

Deleted member 16246

Guest
I used to get about 30mpg out of my old 1963 850cc Mini. That wasn't my heavy right foot just the sort of fuel consumption you got back then with even a tiny car like the original Mini.
Yes - I remember those days. My first car, and 850 cc Morris 1000, used to get about 34 mpg in general and sometimes managed 40. It had 35BHP, and was really struggling over 50 mph. I did have an 850 mini van which on a long journey and very gentle 50mph cruising speed managed 50mpg once, but that was very extreme and I had fitted a 'weak needle' to the carb which was probably quietly burning out the exhaust valves.
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
7,007
3,241
Telford
my smart meter kicks edf ones ass as i can monitor the solar array all there shitty thing does is report the usage atm.
and it allows them to switch off or throttle your electricity remotely.You need a separate circuit with its own ground rod to be able to use your solar panels when they switch you off. Always be one step ahead.

I must admit, I found it strange when the solar installers said that even though I had batteries and solar panels, I'd be cut off when the grid goes off. That didn't make sense to me. Luckily, it only cost £250 extra to get around that. If you want to get a solar or battery system installed, make sure you have that covered.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tony1951

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,998
6,536
i can remove the grid tie and just use a 4 way adaptor but yes if there is a power cut nothing will work otherwise :rolleyes:
 
D

Deleted member 16246

Guest
I
and it allows them to switch off or throttle your electricity remotely.You need a separate circuit with its own ground rod to be able to use your solar panels when they switch you off. Always be one step ahead.

I must admit, I found it strange when the solar installers said that even though I had batteries and solar panels, I'd be cut off when the grid goes off. That didn't make sense to me. Luckily, it only cost £250 extra to get around that. If you want to get a solar or battery system installed, make sure you have that covered.
I had a quick squint at the Octopus feed in rates the other day and some of them seemed pretty generous for current tariffs. I had thought they would be paying 4p a kilowatt hour and reselling it at 26p, but they will pay 15p per Kwhr flat rate which isn't bad for these days. The rates paid in the early 2000s are long gone except for the people who got an index linked 20 year deal.
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
7,007
3,241
Telford
I

I had a quick squint at the Octopus feed in rates the other day and some of them seemed pretty generous for current tariffs. I had thought they would be paying 4p a kilowatt hour and reselling it at 26p, but they will pay 15p per Kwhr flat rate which isn't bad for these days. The rates paid in the early 2000s are long gone except for the people who got an index linked 20 year deal.
Octopus have other tarrifs with variable rates that are much more suitable if you have batteries. In the past, they paid up to £1.25 per unit for your export that you bought from them at night for 12p.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tony1951

lenny

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 3, 2023
2,811
841
Since we all use electricity to charge our e-bikes, I thought I'd post this here as well:

Something very close to home, FUEL PRICES.

For those of you what dont yet know the new prices from April 1st, I've received mine:

I'm electricity only and my current month bill for this 20th January to 20th February is £196.19 including VAT.

Exactly the same bill after the 1st April increase will be £306.87 including VAT.

That's up 56.41%.

I'm one of the fortunate few who won't be bothered in any way by this, but I'm well aware that these sort of costs will be disastrous for many. I can foresee many elderly and vulnerable people dying of hypothermia next winter if the government doesn't do something far more drastic than their present inadequate relief plans.
.
"Indoor Fitness to Recharge
Indoor/Outdoor Switch in 3 Steps "



 

lenny

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 3, 2023
2,811
841
"Mrs Bowen said problems with her smart meter first arose in June last year, when she received a bill of £600 despite the warm weather.

High monthly bills then continued into the winter months, and when she contacted Octopus Energy, she was told it would cost her £200 if a check found no fault with the meter."



 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,998
6,536
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,982
8,565
61
West Sx RH
My 18 y/o 56 plate astra diesel estate (owned for 14 years) is good for another year having had a svc and mot this week, to show how much I use my bike for errands and getting about my car mileage for the mot calender year was just shy of 400 miles.
It doesn't pay me to get rid of it for a newer car or an ev, odo mileage is only 72k.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tony1951 and flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,262
30,649
to show how much I use my bike for errands and getting about my car mileage for the mot calender year was just shy of 400 miles.
Mine was at that 400 miles a year for most of the 1990s and 2000s, thanks to cycling for almost everything

No longer cycling now in my late eighties, I still keep my driving mileage down, 832 miles between the last two MOTs.
.
 
D

Deleted member 16246

Guest
My 18 y/o 56 plate astra diesel estate (owned for 14 years) is good for another year having had a svc and mot this week, to show how much I use my bike for errands and getting about my car mileage for the mot calender year was just shy of 400 miles.
It doesn't pay me to get rid of it for a newer car or an ev, odo mileage is only 72k.
I would have kept my old car, but the rear subframe was rotten and looking at the age of it (14 with 77000 miles) it was pretty much beyond economic repair. If I was able to do the job myself, it would have cost about £500 for parts, but factoring in £60 to £80 an hour for labour at my local small garage, it seemed a dubious proposition. On the other hand, I paid about £4000 in VAT in the price of the new one, so that's a bit questionable too.

We don't always make rational decisions when buying things even when we try to do so.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,998
6,536
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
7,007
3,241
Telford
Silver has gone up 6.23% just today already and gold has gone up 3.64% today. That's about 500 times the inflation rate. Apocalypse imminent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woosh

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,451
16,916
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Silver has gone up 6.23% just today already and gold has gone up 3.64% today.
Chinese dealers are buying up precious metals.
Actually, dealers expect the feds to cut rate. It's a bit too late to buy nowm though.