southhamster

Interesting article on people taking part and enjoying the experience. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/24/the-kids-loved-it-readers-on-taking-part-in-national-grid-energy-saving-trial?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

If you're not that bothered about fancy haircuts an electric clipper can be a good saver. An all over no.3 can look pretty good, or get someone else to do it Mrs. SH does mine but she had some basic hairdressing training in her punk days. For some reason she won't let me loose on her hair though.

Haha. Never knew that was a thing. It is confusing when acronyms get pinched for something else. I used to work for a company called IBS which became the butt of a few jokes when Irritable Bowel Syndrome appeared...

Your lights may not be on at all before long! I bet there's a ton of 3G stuff that is forgotten about. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/3g-switch-off

Assuming the manufacturer has not gone bust. One of my schools had underfloor (wet) heating controlled by an obscure Italian boiler manufacturer who went out of business about 10 years later. Although the the timer part worked the thermostat had failed closed so it was essentially on and very hot or or off and cold. The council maintenance contractors wouldn't touch it with a bargepole and the replacement costs were allegedly astronomical.

What happened to your solar PV battery system? Has it been fixed yet as that might have helped with your evening usage!

Is it worth seeing if you can beg/borrow a thermal i/r camera, or even get a survey done? Could be missing wall insulation or some other builder's bodge.

They are tough little beasts! Make sure you keep them caged though or they'll be roaming the corridors at night setting off intruder alarms, scaring rats...and starring in their own film, Rise of the Killer Beebots.

Yes really enjoying this too. Hopefully life in the Calder valley is not quite as grim as in the series!

That's just Bristol spelling!

One of mine was using cut down plastic milk cartons screwed to the wall next to smart boards to hold the remote controls.

Isn't @ZeroHour in the Shetlands? Maybe he could get some "spare" oil from Sullom Vote. I'm sure they wouldn't miss a few thousand litres..[emoji853]

Sadly not it was about 86p/litre. Boo hoo.

Finally managed to get our oil boiler fitted with a plug/socket on the fused spur. Tested it this morning with my mains inverters and lifepo4 battery and it worked perfectly. Nice to know we can have hot water/heating etc. for a few hours if the power goes out.

Oh, loved the Specials. sad news indeed.

Something like this? Had mine for ages and it works reliably. - I think there's a newer version. Just been using mine to measure how much power our ancient oil fired boiler uses (230 Watts on c/h firing as I'm sure you really wanted to know!) A bit fiddly, the cable hangs down in front of the display and it needs batteries to work

I am pleased to say I don't look like Julie Andrews, and neither does Mrs. SH. Us hamsters do try and stay safe from harm. I will now return to my burrow and hibernate for the winter.

I had an amazing experience this morning. Was just about to throw some bird food on the ground and a hungry robin came and ate from my hand completely out of the blue Never had that happen before! I did wash my hands thoroughly as I'd hate to start another COVID/SARS virus crossover.

Spotted at our local steam railway station.(they are running fake Polar Express trains for Christmas). It's very atmospheric hearing the whistle at night.

Oh dear, was that me? I once had an MG midget that dropped it's exhaust pipe in 2 pieces. Luckily a coke can and 2 jubilee clips got me home (noisily)

"I would rather dress up as Princess Leia at a Star Trek convention shouting Lord of the Rings quotes" Go on, you know you want to!

Not always.... https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/local-news/sparks-fly-driver-takes-cornwalls-2751272.amp PS. Don't try this at home. Or anywhere else actually.

Worth a look at this website. We are currently grabbing power from all over as there's very little wind generation. This time last week wind was over 50% and we were exporting 12% or so to Europe. I dread to think how much the open cycle gas plants cost to run (no heat recovery, so basically a jet engine). https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

And that's in site of demand reduction of about 10% apparently. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/nov/27/uk-households-have-cut-energy-consumption-by-10-say-suppliers?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

This worked for us. 45C has saved us about 10?% of our oil. Unless it's below about 5C/windy outside when we have to bump it up to 65C or more. The boiler is undersized anyway, an old Worcester 14Kw open flue model. I'm waiting for it to die so we can replace with a heat pump.