C++ Wage Slave

BBC News - Heat pumps for all new homes in England and plug-in solar in green tech drive
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czjw7klkjm2o

It's a pity that it took Trump's Iran war to get us to this point, but it's still great news for the environment.

#HeatPumps #SolarPanels #PlugInSolar

Heat pumps for all new homes and plug-in solar in green tech drive

Solar panels that can be plugged in at home could be available to buy in supermarkets in the coming months.

BBC News
7:36amWeb
Show threadMarjorieR14h ago
@CppGuy something that should have happened in 2016 and didn't happen (thanks Dave Cameron) and has now been put off by another year (this was supposed to happen in 2027 not 2028). Meanwhile most new houses will be sold with gas boilers and no PV.
Show threadC++ Wage Slave13h ago

@marjolica

Agreed, it's too little, too late, given the scale and urgency of the #ClimateCrisis. I'd also like to see meaningful subsidies for rooftop solar. But, at this point, I'll take any decarbonisation I can get. And, on the bright side, boosting the number of heat pumps sold from 2028 onwards should bring economies of scale that make them cheaper than ours were. That should help to drive the retrofit market.

Show threadMarjorieR13h ago
@CppGuy of course one change that they should get onto immediately is decoupling the price of electricity from the price of gas.
The price should only increase for the proportion for generation that comes from gas, with the current marginal pricing policy it just goes up in proportion to the gas price with most of that going to profit.
Ths would immediately transform the economics of heat pumps which with current fuel prices are only marginally cost effective.
With gas prices going though the roof this is the obvious, if not total solution, rather than just faffing about with proposals for various subsidy schemes to limit the impact of the gads price rise on the cost of living.
Show threadC++ Wage Slave13h ago

@marjolica

Absolutely. Before moving to Octopus, we paid extra for a decade in order to get green energy. Now the price of gas is going up and, guess what, we're going to pay extra.

We should price fossil fuels out of the market.

Show threadProScience 🇪🇺13h ago

@marjolica

While I couldn't agree more, it's nonetheless a step in the right direction.

Not from the UK, but I hope that many UK citizens contact their MPs, write letters-to-editors and push for more action:

If there was ever a window of opportunity, it's now—because even many staunch climate crisis denialists acknowledge that fossil energy dependence is surrendering your freedom and sovereignty to either hostile countries or at least to ones that rip you off.

Show threadMartin Vermeer FCD10h ago
@proscience @marjolica Idly wondering if historians of the future looking back will see Trump II Rex as the tipping point where the world scrambled to get off fossil fuels and accidentally decarbonify, saving us from climate collapse. Not looking good at this point, with Asian countries going back to coal. But the big picture?
Show threadProScience 🇪🇺6h ago

@martinvermeer @marjolica

I certainly hope so!

It's impossible for them to switch to renewables within days, so they use what they have (and can import if needed) without too much hassle—although the price of coal will go up, too (more demand, transportation still requires oil/gas in some form).

But I'm confident many—though not all, ofc—will overhaul their energy security strategy. Making oneself as independent from other states as possible is key for a nation's freedom and sovereignty.

Show threadProScience 🇪🇺5h ago

@martinvermeer

PS: These paragraphs from people more qualified than me to comment (https://heatmap.news/energy/energy-supply-iran) are in the same vein as my hopes and beliefs, although it remains to be seen if it comes to fruition.

But for now, I believe that China and also Pakistan showed what's possible within a relatively short period of time.

@marjolica

Show threadMartin Vermeer FCD3h ago
@proscience @marjolica Yes. Although calling the climate crisis a 'moral' argument rather than an existential one is seriously deluded.
Show threadProScience 🇪🇺3h ago

@martinvermeer

💯 % correct

@marjolica

Show threadtired blip3h ago
@CppGuy Very cool news! Heat pumps and mini splits continue to blow my mind every time I read about them and the ways they work in scenarios I would never expect them to work - like being able to extract heat energy out of outdoor air *despite the outdoors being colder than the space they're trying to heat*?!?! Absolute witchcraft, and blasphemy that they aren't absolutely everywhere.