Here is what we covered:
- Our meeting purpose and format.
- Electrical item wows.
- Is government backtracking on climate policies?
- Does Heat pump efficiency change with level of insulation?
- post meeting: latest UK Annual Emissions report with ref to domestic heating.
What an excellent meeting, free ranging discussion and free beer!
1- We agreed this format is worth repeating, but we should also try to have these in-person meetings at someone’s home or place of work. Any offers for April?
2- We delved into a 30W microwave and 300W heat pump consumption when idle (i.e. standby) conundrum. Was this real, a measuring device error and does it matter? It turns out that these are real and action is necessary. The 30W Microwave idle power would amount to ~260 kWh of wasted energy per year.
Finding out what my electricity is used for is relatively easy using the My Electricity approach. What to do about it relatively easy too, provided you have all the user’s buy-in. The first step to cut out waste, this often needs behavioural change (e.g. turning the microwave off when not in use), that’s not easy for many of us. The second step is to make the device more energy efficient, a reasonable alternative to doing the first step, provided the payback is right. That means; the outlay to improve efficiency (in this case a replacement microwave) will be less than the cost of not doing it (in electricity bills) during the expected life of the item (5-10 years depending on manufacturer). See if you can work it out for this example?
3- It looks like the government has prioritised economic grown over everything else, including tackling climate change. Having pledged to revive the UK’s GDP growth, it is not surprising that the government needs to take ever more drastic measures to counter national and international ‘economic headwinds’. We think this priority is compatible with tackling several of the other challenges we face, in particular the existential ones like climate and ecological breakdown.
We discussed examples of this, starting with the drive to build more and the Future Homes Standard (see our analysis here). We also looked closely at how to ensure the current near Net-Zero target for the electricity network by 2030 remains a priority for government. How can energy pricing be set to achieve this and stimulate economic growth? What are the pros/cons of progressive energy pricing, the role of gas in setting pricing and energy taxation in general. Let me know if you’d like to contribute to this topic further.
4- The question of Heat Pump (HP) efficiency is one of these evergreen topics. What exactly affects a HP’s seasonal performance factor (SPF), that is the heat energy output divided by the electrical energy input. You can find ACT’s current definitive position on this in chapter 3 of the TECs HP Guide.
We love a challenge! If you have any references to articles or studies that suggest the level of insulation in a building has no bearing on the efficiency of a HP, please let me know. So far those articles that we’ve looked at in the past couple of years have not provided sufficient evidence, but it may exist. The most recent ones submitted are:
5- Following on from last meeting’s discussion of dangerous Particulate Matter (especially PM2.5) from biomass boilers, this DEFRA report states that levels of emissions from domestic combustion have been dropping. In 2023 all domestic combustion now contribute 20% for PM2.5 and 10% for PM10 of total UK particulate emissions. Also note the Nitrogen Oxides (Nox) emissions, another very harmful pollutant.
Written by Fuad
Energy group coordinator
fuad@actionclimateteignbridge.org
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