I've come to the usual site for recommendations. With the current/ future energy crisis, I've realised I need to take control of the amount of heat we waste. What are people's thoughts on the best smart heating systems? In terms of reliability, cost, usability etc? Are savings substantial? Can they be added to my current (fairly new) combi boiler? Is it literally one central thermostat which is plugged into the router, and then smart valves fitted to those radiators you choose to upgrade? Is installation a DIY job? Any thoughts please!
I travel a lot with work etc so my home is often empty, I have the hive system installed that allows my to control it all from my phone. I turn it of etc when away and can pop it on or schedule it to be on when I know I'm going to be back. Works great for me and my gas/elec bill is currently approx £60/65 a month
I had a Nest in my last house and will buy one for this house at some point. With smart thermostats, people always talk about being able to control them remotely with their phone, but I think that's missing the point. With the Nest, I had my ideal temperature set, a schedule set which was basically just the times we're likely to be asleep, and then it uses a combination of a motion sensor and your phones' locations to determine whether anyone is home, and if they aren't it turns it down. With all that set up, I didn't ever need to adjust the heating, which is why I say the ability to control with your phone is missing the point.
I'm going all electric this year. Electric boiler will be replacing 25 year old gas one plus all new rads. Getting gas meter taken out as even if don't have any gas appliances they still charge daily standing charge. Don't need a yearly service for electric boilers either. Take that Mr Putin. That'll teach him.
just googled it. Coal is only 1% of the total contribution to our elec supply, we go for long periods without needed to turn on the coal stations https://assets.publishing.service.g...data/file/1032260/UK_Energy_in_Brief_2021.pdf
Well not far away is Drax which sits on top of some of the most efficient and clean burning coal in the world, however it largely burns wood pellets imported from the USA. 7 million tons which equates to about 25 million trees. Due to the situation in the East a proposed shut down of the remaining coal burning bit has been put on hold.
Drax burns more wood than the UK produces, even with the tree planting schemes going on at the moment. It also gets six times more in subsidies than is spent on tree planting.
in my previous 'life', I used to buy over 10 million tonnes a year from Russia - I was always at Murmansk and in the Kuzbass around Kemerova and Novokuznetsk - I also spent time in Kiev buying coal from Donets and even sunflower biomass - what's going on is tragic
