Better start saving for next winters fuel bills

Village dweller here. WiFi works with two booster units - I live in a Georgian agricultural cottage that was extended in Victorian times and again in 2005, so lots of former external walls inside. Fast fibre connection. Mobile signal iffy. Power cuts when it's windy. Bus reliably every two hours. Veg cart, eggs from farm, milk delivered, weekly bakery van, café, church, nice people and friendly dogs. Happy here!

We had our copper cables upgraded to fibre optic and more mobile phone masts put in, so you can get signal most places now, although you do stil get a few "ping, Welcome To Ireland" messages on the coast.

You certaily have to be far more organised living in the country than in towns, but even in towns there are lots of buildings who's walls don't permit signals to pass through easily, even our signal boosters have boosters!

Hi CW

Thanks for starting this thread, Im finding it interesting reading the various perspectives. There’s nothing particular or meaningful I can add to the discussion around global politics, particularly as I no longer follow the news due to too many triggers for my c-ptsd, but it is interesting to see what others here think. 

Despite being essentially a city girl all my life I lived in rural Derbyshire for four years caring for my mum so have some insight into country living. There was no gas in her village so she had fuel oil heating, which of course has no price controls. Ordering it was hugely stressful, getting it delivered was a lottery especially in the winter as the roads were narrow and often blocked. Periodically electricity poles were blown down so no electricity. The post office was the only shop which quickly ran out of essentials in a crisis. Buses were one an hour, in perfect circumstances! When I was there the internet was still reliant on old and slow copper cables. The cost of living was significantly higher due to all these factors than say Derby to the east and Stoke on Trent to the west. 

When she passed away in 2019 I moved immediately back to the urban north west of England. 

Only my opinion but I think it would be a lot of work, new ground floors have a minimum of 150mm of insulation under them. The plasterboard has insulation on the back of it,

They have a system in the loft that removes the stale air but reuses the heat, the windows have a higher U rating. 
The engineers thoughts were that people are guided by the subsidies, his company fitted a heat source system for a customer, the customers often think a bit of extra loft insulation is all they need, the customer in question is now suing the manufacturer for the ’promises’ they made.

Thats exactly what I thought the answer would be, is there any way you could insulate your home enough to make it worth while?

Excellent, Roy  - that's the nub of it.

Very typical of a narcissist. I'm not religious but admire the Pope for being tolerant in the face of his faith being ridiculed. We need peacemakers more than ever in this world.

That’s good to have a first hand account about heat pumps. 

The diesel situation is concerning. The government was dismissing claims of upcoming shortages two weeks or so ago, yet the service station forecourts tell a different story. 

I’m going to fill the car up with petrol in the morning, even though it’s still 3/4 full. 

I spoke to a heating engineer last week, my house is stone built and was built in 1850. He said a heat source pump wouldn’t work. Most probably okay in a new air tight property with masses of insulation. In an old property just a waste of time.
I drove up the M5 & M4 on Sunday, not one service station had diesel. It’s thought the UK has about 3 weeks of fuel left.

TheCatWoman said:

I wonder if heat pumps work in all buildings, would they work as well in a house built of fieldstone? Do you really need underfloor heating for them to work well? stuff like that

I don’t know all the technical ins and outs of installing heat pumps, but I believe not every home is suitable. The last time I looked for information, it came mainly from suppliers rather than independent sources. 

The government should have been looking at the practicalities of our energy needs and infrastructure years ago, I agree. I haven’t seen anything that would indicate the current government is taking a big picture approach to infrastructure, despite what they say. It all seems rather disjointed.

Trouble is, that like so many things, government don't think about the practicalities of rural living that our infrastructure is generally so much poorer, cables and substations that can't cope with demand, power cuts because of storms.

I wonder if heat pumps work in all buildings, would they work as well in a house built of fieldstone? Do you really need underfloor heating for them to work well? stuff like that

The image was blasphemous and in contravention of the First Commandment. So, in combo with dissing the Pope, it's well bad!

TheCatWoman said:

to me it's absurd that we have so many people reliant on oil when there are so many alternatives

I agree. Government ministers talk about alternative energy but they don’t seem to act on it. Surely grants should be given for air source heat pumps and solar energy installation, starting with those on the lowest incomes. That could really help those who need help most and less demand on fossil fuels would also have a positive impact on the whole population and the earth. 

Those plug in solar panels that can sit somewhere in a garden or on a home look like an interesting potential but temporary solution.

I think there are always pro's and con's when it comes to protesting, I think with the fuel protests it depends on if its you stuck behind a really slow moving tractor.

Whats worse is none of this is a new problem, governments have known for years how vulnerable we are to fuel price hikes and heating oil in particular, to me it's absurd that we have so many people reliant on oil when there are so many alternatives.

TheCatWoman said:

the only way these maniacs on both sides will stop is if, we, the people, force them to with our protests

I am weighing up the for/against of fuel protests, but like so many other things when it comes to moral questions, I am unable to decide if it is morally justified.

I don’t have the full facts and figures of how many people from whatever sector will be worse off financially because of the protests, and if and by how much it would influence government policy in addressing the public’s financial concerns. So that’s my dilemma.

Ideally, fuel protests would ultimately lead to the public pressurising governments to be tougher on those involved in the illegal war, with a view to the US stopping what they alone started in a country that is not in their jurisdiction. 

Petrol is £1.539 here today.

I paid £1:51.9 a litre yesterday for normal unleaded and that's the cheapest I could find, most are a few pence dearer. Deisil is about £1:89.9 a litre.

I know what you mean ArchaeC, ordinary people in Iran and Lebanon are really suffering and it does seem a bit harsh to be complaining about our lot in comparisson, but the only way these maniacs on both sides will stop is if, we, the people, force them to with our protests.

It looks like Britain will be the worst hit of all the major economies we rely so heavily on imported gas and oil. Now everyone expects the government to flick a switch and make it all alright again and they can't, I'm sure they'd like too. We have a former NATO leader saying we're woefully underprepared for conflict, but again thats something you can't just switch on, it takes a couple of years to build ships, fit them out and then have the people to sail them, we've had decades of underinvestment, not just in the military but everywhere.

I feel guilty complaining when innocent people, including children, are being killed in Iran, but people here and in the rest of Europe are pretty fed up with 'yer man' (It's painful to say his name).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2e8wevpwyo

My state’s governor just suspended gasoline use tax for a month, but we still have our normal fuel tax in effect. It helps a bit, gas is apparently much cheaper around my area than in other parts of the country. I feel pretty fortunate.

I can’t imagine how much worse it is over there. Fuel protests? That’s wild.

Given that he should be maintaining the dignity of the office of president, he is at least unhinged. 

Petrol prices are continuing to rise and we have fuel protests. Tractors and other vehicles are blocking roads in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.