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Energy Bills

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rf_fozzy Mar 2024 11:37am, 27 Mar 2024 21,851 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy If memory serves OCT is ~30%, CCGT are >50-60% Modern CCGT (which the UK doesn't have (m)any of) are close to 70% efficient. (This is from memory, so I may be a little out on the numbers). So it does matter. Reference is thermal coal is 30-45% - modern ones are at upper end of the scale. Most of the UK coal plants were close to 30-35%
rf_fozzy Mar 2024 11:45am, 27 Mar 2024 21,852 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy Btw, gas use is also declining (so to those of you who told me I was talking rubbish in 2015-2016ish....) UK use has fallen from 120 TWh in 2016 to 86TWh in 2023. That's of the same scale as the coal death-spiral decline...
Diogenes Mar 2024 11:49am, 27 Mar 2024 85,227 posts	Quote Pin Diogenes I've a question regarding solar panels. I'm of the opinion that my house isn't suitable for solar panels because of the direction the roof face. We have a pitched roof which runs up from the front to a middle ridge and then down to the back. The only houses in our street that have panels all have them facing at 90 degrees to our house, i.e they face directly towards the side of our property. Therefore, if we had them they'd have to be mounted in such a way that they were raised from the roof. No other houses in the same alignment as us have solar panels. Am I right that solar panels are not for us? (our garden isn't big enough for ground panels.)
rf_fozzy Mar 2024 11:55am, 27 Mar 2024 21,853 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy Best aligned for peak generation is to have them on a S-facing roof But. If you have an E-W facing roof, you can mount them on both sides meaning one side generates in the morning, the other in the afternoon. The peak will be less but you generate for longer. The downside is that this will be more expensive to install (double the number of panels @ ~£250-300 per panel, plus a little more for time to fit and scaffolding) and so pay off time will be longer. I have panels front and back - my back roof is SW facing, so I get evening sun from now until Oct in on the front, so I had 6 panels stuck on the front too. Extra cost was about £2000 on top of a ~£8-9k quote to just do the back (price includes inverter and battery on that)
rf_fozzy Mar 2024 11:56am, 27 Mar 2024 21,854 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy Increased my payback time from ~7 to ~9 years.
rf_fozzy Mar 2024 11:58am, 27 Mar 2024 21,855 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy Sorry, I've got my directions wrong. My back roof is SE facing
jda Mar 2024 12:06pm, 27 Mar 2024 16,757 posts	Quote Pin jda Agree with fozzy, though it depends on roof angle etc. You can get people to do a calculation (or have a go yourself with online sites). It may not be right for you.
Windsor Wool Mar 2024 12:12pm, 27 Mar 2024 6,249 posts	Quote Pin Windsor Wool If memory serves OCT is ~30%, CCGT are >50-60% Modern CCGT (which the UK doesn't have (m)any of) are close to 70% efficient. (This is from memory, so I may be a little out on the numbers). So it does matter. Reference is thermal coal is 30-45% - modern ones are at upper end of the scale. Most of the UK coal plants were close to 30-35% UK CCGT fleet certainly around 50-55% efficiency right now. I see there’s been a recent call to build new plants which has upset some but is probably a reality in the medium term. It helps that gas prices have fallen again, of course. RES penetration and high prices has indeed put the pressure on gas demand but I’m afraid that imho the outlook for gas isn’t quite as terminal as it might be for coal (in the UK).
rf_fozzy Mar 2024 12:39pm, 27 Mar 2024 21,856 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy 1/3 decline in gas use over 8 years is pretty significant. You're right it won't spiral to nothing like coal did, until widespread grid storage comes online (~10yr?), but I expect it to keep dropping much further as renewables continue to penetrate.
RunningRonnie Mar 2024 12:40pm, 27 Mar 2024 3,038 posts	Quote Pin RunningRonnie Question: I have an oil powered combi boiler. If I am away on holiday and not using any hot water, will the boiler be firing up occasionally in order to keep a tankful hot or does it literally use nothing until you turn a hot tap on in the house? Wondering if it's worth turning the water to 0 when we go on holiday or just leave it.