Good news thread..

[Ayrshire Chris]

37 minutes ago, Neil said:

a few weeks ago i contacted a solar-panels-on-roof-company , after an initial chat a visit was booked in for tonight, last week the step daughter got covid, so i cancelled the visit, the poor geezers, just arrived cos nobody told them it was cancelled.

Is there still grants available for getting them installed? 

[grumpyhack]

Neil, on Solar Panels:  we had them fitted on our roof about five years ago.  You get a Feed in Tariff (FIT) payment every quarter which, in theory, helps recoup the cost of the investment.  The trouble is that you get less per unit for the electricity that you export to the grid than you pay for the electricity that you consume.  One problem is that it's not easy to 'store' electricity but we had a gizmo fitted called an IBoost.  The electricity generated by the panels is diverted to our hot water immersion tank.  Only when the tank is hot does the remaining electricty generated get diverted to the grid.  So, effectively, we get 'free' hot water plus a FIT payment for the remaining electricity we export to the grid.  Our annual FIT payments come to around £750 a year.

I think the FIT tariff has come down steadily over the years but the rate you get is pegged to the rate prevailing at the time you buy in.  Although the FIT tariff is lower now than it used to be, so is the cost of panels.  It's generally reckoned that you get the outlay back after between 7 and 10 years.

[Neil]

14 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Is there still grants available for getting them installed? 

not with the guys i spoke to, i have to pay the costs (and would own the system outright), costs can be offset against future income from the panels.

[Ayrshire Chris]

2 minutes ago, Neil said:

not with the guys i spoke to, i have to pay the costs (and would own the system outright), costs can be offset against future income from the panels.

Ok. Just recollect in the past adverts mentioning grants. Anyway up here it’s probably more sensible to install a wind turbine rather than solar panels! 

[Neil]

1 minute ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Ok. Just recollect in the past adverts mentioning grants. Anyway up here it’s probably more sensible to install a wind turbine rather than solar panels! 

why? these panels, have a battery attached, so provide power during the night.

[grumpyhack]

12 minutes ago, Neil said:

why? these panels, have a battery attached, so provide power during the night.

240 volt or are you going to switch the house to 12 volt?

[Ayrshire Chris]

11 minutes ago, Neil said:

why? these panels, have a battery attached, so provide power during the night.

Sunshine is rare commodity here, but plenty wind! 

[Neil]

1 minute ago, grumpyhack said:

240 volt or are you going to switch the house to 12 volt?

240v i guess, I don't know details cos the meeting didn't happen.

[guypjfreak]

And sleep 

And up at 5am..... Then lady Ruby and baby Evie till 3pm

Now shattered waiting for a call to say daughter in law has gone into labour.. Any day now we hope... We've not been out for a few weeks now.. Going to miss the WDA anniversary but hoping that we can go judge jules next week.. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by guypjfreak

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I am experiencing a little bit of respite. That is a happy thing - I guess;

 

 

 

[Ayrshire Chris]

Not the most picturesque spot for the Olympic ski jump compared to what we usually see in the Alps etc! There’s a few towns in the west of Scotland that should have bid for the Olympics if that’s the sort of area they need

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ayrshire Chris

[steviewevie]

31 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Not the most picturesque spot for the Olympic ski jump compared to what we usually see in the Alps etc! There’s a few towns in the west of Scotland that should have bid for the Olympics if that’s the sort of area they need

the whole thing is ridiculous. Either hold it in places with actual snow, or don't hold it at all.

[Neil]

21 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

the whole thing is ridiculous. Either hold it in places with actual snow, or don't hold it at all.

scotland would struggle for guaranteed snow, wouldn't it......?

[squirrelarmy]

2 minutes ago, Neil said:

scotland would struggle for guaranteed snow, wouldn't it......?

Qatar will be bidding for it next time. 

[Crazyfool01]

57 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Not the most picturesque spot for the Olympic ski jump compared to what we usually see in the Alps etc! There’s a few towns in the west of Scotland that should have bid for the Olympics if that’s the sort of area they need

they could have put a better zoom background on it surely ? 

[Ayrshire Chris]

24 minutes ago, Neil said:

scotland would struggle for guaranteed snow, wouldn't it......?

No, I spend my childhood sliding down Lanarkshire coal spoil heaps (hills of waste from mines) on a tea tray. Didn’t need snow. I think this olympics most of the snow is artificial anyway. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ayrshire Chris

[Ayrshire Chris]

1 hour ago, crazyfool1 said:

they could have put a better zoom background on it surely ? 

It’s pretty brutal. Maybe just the Chinese emphasising their commitment to industrialisation. 
and I have just realised what’s missing from these games.  The incessant clanging of cow bells that you normally hear  in other European ski events! 

[mattiloy]

2 hours ago, steviewevie said:

the whole thing is ridiculous. Either hold it in places with actual snow, or don't hold it at all.

Speaking of ridiculous tournament locations… and good news… and glastonbury

Was thinking today, one rarified upside to the Qatar WC - no world cup/glastonbury clash!

Hows that for bringing a few loose threads together. A+ contribution by me

[Ayrshire Chris]

8 minutes ago, mattiloy said:

Speaking of ridiculous tournament locations… and good news… and glastonbury

Was thinking today, one rarified upside to the Qatar WC - no world cup/glastonbury clash!

Hows that for bringing a few loose threads together. A+ contribution by me

I’m not worthy 😉

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

6 hours ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Not the most picturesque spot for the Olympic ski jump compared to what we usually see in the Alps etc! There’s a few towns in the west of Scotland that should have bid for the Olympics if that’s the sort of area they need

Wow. Just wow. I had no idea that Smethwick was in China! 

[Ayrshire Chris]

3 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Wow. Just wow. I had no idea that Smethwick was in China! 

Quite the most incongruous place to site an Olympic ski jump. Just think the incorruptible Olympic committee visited this site as well as others in Norway, theAlps etc yet chose this absolute dump, with no snow .   I wonder why, surely there wasn’t any backhanders? 😉

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

22 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Quite the most incongruous place to site an Olympic ski jump. Just think the incorruptible Olympic committee visited this site as well as others in Norway, theAlps etc yet chose this absolute dump, with no snow .   I wonder why, surely there wasn’t any backhanders? 😉

Yes, it would be hard to defend the Olympic Committee's judgement on this. One does indeed suspect that they aren't exactly pure as the driven snow - if you'll excuse the pun. 

[guypjfreak]

Not one medal 

O well 

[Neil]

15 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Wow. Just wow. I had no idea that Smethwick was in China! 

warsaw walsall is in poland

[parsonjack]

2 hours ago, Neil said:

warsaw walsall is in poland

I was born in Walsall.  Since moving South West I've lost count of the amount of times people have confused it with Warsaw 🤔