Prices of the electricity we use to charge

[MikelBikel]

Energy price cap: Why are gas and electricity bills going up and can I fix?

Gas and electricity bills rose again on 1 April, when the latest energy price cap took effect.

www.bbc.co.uk

"Why are UK electricity bills so expensive?

I recently built a website that breaks down the cost of a UK electricity bill."

Electricity Bill Breakdown | 2024-2025 Average, historical data

UK electricity bill split between wholesale generation, network charges, subsidies and policy costs. Includes historical data on BSUoS, DUoS, TNUoS, CfDs, FiTs, Renewables Obligation and more.

www.electricitybills.uk

So the 'green' part are the parasites?
And the rest of the 'cool' side is questionable too?
Y, definitely needs trimming, snip, snip!

 

[MikelBikel]

Rocket scientist’s cast iron pan threatens to topple Le Creuset

"It is claimed that on a gas hob, the FireUp pan technology increases heating efficiency to 80 per cent from 30 per cent."

Rocket scientist’s cast iron pan threatens to topple Le Creuset

New and improved Dutch ovens boost heat distribution and lead to quicker cooking

www.telegraph.co.uk

Ultra-efficient Cast Iron Cookware | FIREUP | Made in France

The world's first science backed Dutch oven. Fireup Cookware launches cast iron cookware that heats faster and cooks more evenly than conventional cookware. It is build by a rocket scinetist at the University of Oxford.

www.fireupcookware.com

"Rocket Scientist", hehe, "It'll never take off"

Gas Saver Kettles were a thing, for a while. They had a deeper rim at bottom with vents to better catch hot flame of gas ring.
(Le creuset are too damn heavy, my mum never used the set I gave her. Probably OK if one hires a strong cook! ;-) )

 

[flecc]

So by cancelling local elections in favour of "shadow local authorities", Herr Farmer Harmer will Lock in Liebor with Gowlieters, err I mean Mayors, to keep the regional Gau's in line. Verstein?
(Spelt phonetically on purpose, for the "intellectuals" )

MGUY and all those like him just dont get the whole picture.

Since I joined the trade as a trainee motor mechanic in 1950, I've always wanted an e-car, even though they didnt exist. Talk of climate change didn't exist back then, my reasons being that I knew how much better the e-car was at the dawn of motoring in the 1900s and the vast superiority of electric propulsion anyway, just ask the railways.

Of course batteries were the limitation in both the 1900s and 1950s, but for many of us that is no longer the case, so we can enjoy all the EV superiorities and have much cleaner air locally in our large urban conurbations where 86% of we English live.

Most of the objections from MGUY and his like are irrelevant in a country where the average annual car mileage is 7200, 20 miles a day, hardly a problem with 1.2 million UK charge points (yes really) but only 8000 petrol stations.

Of course the politicians have different objectives and I agree that control is one of them. Damn good thing too, we travel far too much:

Definitely causing serious environmental harm in numerous ways.

Killing and maiming huge numbers of people and other creatures.

Vehicle dominance often making urban life a misery for pedestrians of all species.

So roll on the change, even though I won't be around to see it.
.

 

[guerney]

A taxi driver told me the other day, that when recently the electric car belonging to one of his colleagues out of juice, it stopped in the middle of the road, and he couldn't push it out of the way of traffic. The AA had to lift it, after it had blocked the busy road for ages. He claimed this was because the brakes engaged automatically when the battery ran flat. If that's true, sounds highly inconvenient. His taxi driver mates favour hybrids, apparently. And they're all unhappy about the push to electric because of the price of repairs, most notably battery replacement, which can cost as much as the car's value with a fully functional battery. One of my customers runs a Nissan dealership, says hybrids are selling like hot cakes because of range anxiety. But repair cost anxiety remains rife.

My Leaf does have a Neutral to allow some limited moving, for example on the car washes that transport a car through on a conveyor, but there's no full speed towing permitted.

It's trickier to engineer out than might be thought, for example so many e-cars are four wheel drive with motor units in both axles.
.

Wouldn't have that problem if electric cars were mid drive - replace the engine with a big electric motor, fuel tank with the battery, and keep everything else the same.

 

[MikelBikel]

MGUY and all those like him just dont get the whole picture.

Since I joined the trade as a trainee motor mechanic in 1950, I've always wanted an e-car, even though they didnt exist. Talk of climate change didn't exist back then, my reasons being that I knew how much better the e-car was at the dawn of motoring in the 1900s and the vast superiority of electric propulsion anyway, just ask the railways.

Of course batteries were the limitation in both the 1900s and 1950s, but for many of us that is no longer the case, so we can enjoy all the EV superiorities and have much cleaner air locally in our large urban conurbations where 86% of we English live.

Most of the objections from MGUY and his like are irrelevant in a country where the average annual car mileage is 7200, 20 miles a day, hardly a problem with 1.2 million UK charge points (yes really) but only 8000 petrol stations.

Of course the politicians have different objectives and I agree that control is one of them. Damn good thing too, we travel far too much:

Definitely causing serious environmental harm in numerous ways.

Killing and maiming huge numbers of people and other creatures.

Vehicle dominance often making urban life a misery for pedestrians of all species.

So roll on the change, even though I won't be around to see it.
.

"Railways": Electrified Trains run without batteries on rail or overhead juice. And the only "battery" ones trialled have diesel backup units to push the dead hulk home.
I recently showed an example of a German trial of battery less, Overhead line powered electric/diesel hybrid truck. And that was immediately criticised as impractical.
Careful what one wishes for..it might come sooner than one wishes..
The gov may deem Your leccy car unnecessary, as you're retired, and reallocate it to somevolk more "essential", ja?
Happy St Stevens day, yo ho hey

 

[MikelBikel]

Wouldn't have that problem if electric cars were mid drive - replace the engine with a big electric motor, fuel tank with the battery, and keep everything else the same.

And sets of pedals for driver and passengers , yeah?
Big toys for Big boys, yippee!

 

[flecc]

Wouldn't have that problem if electric cars were mid drive - replace the engine with a big electric motor, fuel tank with the battery, and keep everything else the same.

I disagree. Mid electric motor brings back all the transmission disavantages of propshafts, extra UJs etc.

Battery replacing the fuel tank is a non starter, far too rear-heavy and crash vulnerable. The EV battery underslung with low C of G and protected between the two axles is the only right place.
.

 

[MikelBikel]

I think the problem is legacy automakers don't have the money to invest in new plants and shutdown old ones.
We in the west (and also in Japan and South Korea) finance our investments with borrowing. We loathe any project that involves government subsidies, causing opposition to projects that are not low hanging fruits. We load the cost of financing onto the cost of production so much that makes our products uncompetitive. We are at a disadvantage competing against directed economies like communist China where the financing cost is shared between the state and investors.

Not overnight but in a couple of years. The cost of LFP cells is currently $53/kwh, making a 70kwh pack cost less than an average ICE motor. The main issue facing European automakers is they pay typically twice the price Chinese competitors for their battery packs and labour.

Are you selling a 1kWh battery for $53?
If so, I'll have one please, hell, I'll have 2, thanks.
yippee

 

[flecc]

"Railways": Electrified Trains run without batteries on rail or overhead juice. And the only "battery" ones trialled have diesel backup units to push the dead hulk home.
I recently showed an example of a German trial of battery less, Overhead line powered electric/diesel hybrid truck. And that was immediately criticised as impractical.

As usual you pick out tiny minority cases, totally irrelevant.

Well over 99% of railways are electrified from overhead lines. As I posted, electric propulsion worldwide proving far superior to I.C.

Overhead line powered electric/diesel hybrid truck. And that was immediately criticised as impractical.

I didn't criticize it. Indeed it is already thought of as the best future solution for national distribution. But it's probably about 40 years away for the first motorway example in Britain.
.

 

[guerney]

I disagree. Mid electric motor brings back all the transmission disavantages of propshafts, extra UJs etc.

Solves the problem of taxi drivers not being able to push their electric cars away from the middle of the road when they ran out of juice, causing traffic jams. The darn things wouldn't need to be lifted to the side of the road or onto a flatbed.

Battery replacing the fuel tank is a non starter, far too rear-heavy and crash vulnerable. The EV battery underslung with low C of G and protected between the two axles is the only right place.

Not if the battery was very small and light, being zapped with converted energy transmitted every few yards by perfectly timed microwave laser pulses, embedded under or over (clamped to streetlamps?) every road. Drivers would always have warm sandwiches, bonus. Could dispense with warm clothing.

 

[Woosh]

"Railways": Electrified Trains run without batteries on rail or overhead juice. And the only "battery" ones trialled have diesel backup units to push the dead hulk home.
I recently showed an example of a German trial of battery less, Overhead line powered electric/diesel hybrid truck. And that was immediately criticised as impractical.
Careful what one wishes for..it might come sooner than one wishes..
The gov may deem Your leccy car unnecessary, as you're retired, and reallocate it to somevolk more "essential", ja?
Happy St Stevens day, yo ho hey

How high you want to run your overhead cables? How many lorries are allowed to charge on one set of cables? What is the voltage? What is the procedure if one lorry breaks down? It does not compare well with magnetic loops buried under parking spots.

 

[MikelBikel]

"The Reverse Auction", All the Generators get the Highest price bid by the most expensive operator. Even the "Renewables", even if they bid zero!
See when the power goes off, how many people die? Play Russian Windmill Roulette with Their lives!, not our own? How "Green" ?!

 

[soundwave]

get down the scrap yard and get a load of used tyres will burn for days

 

[MikelBikel]

How high you want to run your overhead cables? How many lorries are allowed to charge on one set of cables? What is the voltage? What is the procedure if one lorry breaks down? It does not compare well with magnetic loops buried under parking spots.

Cables would probably be high enough to clear the roofs of the truck trailers, yes?
They're not charging on the OH lines, they're directly powered from them, No Batteries, Diesel backup.
Voltage would be 440v plus such as industry uses.
They have diesel back up, so they just drive onto the hard shoulder. That's the advantage over trains or trams.
Happy St Stephen's Day, yo hay hey

 

[soundwave]

Cables would probably be high enough to clear the roofs of the truck trailers, yes?
They're not charging on the OH lines, they're directly powered from them, No Batteries, Diesel backup.
Voltage would be 440v plus such as industry uses.
They have diesel back up, so they just drive onto the hard shoulder. That's the advantage over trains or trams.
Happy St Stephen's Day, yo hay hey

 

[matthewslack]

Cables would probably be high enough to clear the roofs of the truck trailers, yes?
They're not charging on the OH lines, they're directly powered from them, No Batteries, Diesel backup.
Voltage would be 440v plus such as industry uses.
They have diesel back up, so they just drive onto the hard shoulder. That's the advantage over trains or trams.
Happy St Stephen's Day, yo hay hey

440V? Railway overhead voltage is 25,000V. High voltage, low current, small wires.

 

[soundwave]

tell the wife the washing machine is going and being replaced with renewable tech that does not use electric



and if ur rags are not clean enough its a power supply problem

 

[flecc]

How high you want to run your overhead cables? How many lorries are allowed to charge on one set of cables? What is the voltage? What is the procedure if one lorry breaks down? It does not compare well with magnetic loops buried under parking spots.

No charging involved, powered from the overhead cables. I lived for almost a decade in a large town entirely served by trolley buses and very nice they were too, clean and silent.

The stage two distant future system envisaged will use electric tractor units still with a battery to get from the distribution centre to the motorway having overhead lines. By then the reduction in car traffic will enable the nearside lane to be solely for trucks, primarily e-trucks. Any rare breakdown passed by the trucks following by lowering the pantograph and switching to their battery drive to pass.

The preceding stage one long distance trunking trailers with diesel tractor units to deliver to out of town or city depots where trailers are dropped for clean local distribution using solely battery e-tractor units, the diesels returning to base with empties.

By the time that motorways are overhead line equipped the traffic reorganisation will allow the stage two EVs to trunk road train style with two trailers at least for economy.
.

 

[Woosh]

Cables would probably be high enough to clear the roofs of the truck trailers, yes?
They're not charging on the OH lines, they're directly powered from them, No Batteries, Diesel backup.
Voltage would be 440v plus such as industry uses.
They have diesel back up, so they just drive onto the hard shoulder. That's the advantage over trains or trams.
Happy St Stephen's Day, yo hay hey

So you would replace a 400V battery of a hybrid or electric truck with a gantry plus infrastructure on the streets to power it? Besides all the usual problems with maintenance, lane interdiction to a lot of other vehicles, traffic management if a truck needs to start stop, ugly looks etc what happens if the truck needs to turn or reverse?
Do you know that batteries are already cheaper than cars and trucks internal combustion engines and will continue to drop in price for many years to come?

 

[soundwave]

it has never been about saving money or the planet it is the other way round for control and more profit and tax.

you need a horse a 1900s washing machine plus slave power and tyres and wood to burn


Smoke Control Areas dictate how much smoke is allowed to be emitted from your chimney. Most areas in England are now covered by Smoke Control areas, and living in one means you could incur a fine of £300 if your chimney is caught producing too much smoke. Persistent offenders may even face criminal charges.12 Sept 2024

the Javelin Park Incinerator

Gloucestershire Energy from Waste facility, also known as the Javelin Park Incinerator is an incinerator and energy-from-waste power station which produces 14.5MW of energy for the National Grid, by burning up to 190,000 tonnes of residual waste each year.

and they fkn charge me to take the rubbish away and burn it

cant even bury the dog in garden vets can set fire to it tho and charge me 300 quid, ill fkn eat the next one box full of dust no good to me