The Queen and COP26

I think the best option for replacing a gas boiler is an electric boiler.
www.greenmatch.co.uk/boilers/combi-boilers/electric-combi-boilers

That’s what I’ve actually got myself Chestnut, it’s a closed system and it’s very efficient. We don’t have gas where I live so that was never an option. My only reservation is that it wouldn’t suit a very large house because of the pump power. We previously had an electric storage boiler system, which was a lot more expensive to run.

I believe the Scandis use renewable hydro/wind/solar etc.

I am listening for a solution to my immediate problem but a neighbour and friend who have air source heating say it just doesn't work.
They have had to install a new gas boiler to get water hot enough for their family of 6 plus granny annex.

We have the will in this country to cut emissions but the logistics have not caught up yet, sadly.

The Cop 26 conference is welcome by bringing the crisis to the forefront of our thoughts and that can't be bad.
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Is the noise inside or outside the house, Casdon? I’m going to take a meander to my neighbour one day and have a listen! I suspect my Dh might invite himself up there to have a look anyway. They previously had a mix of storage/convector panels and their electricity bills were £4000pa. They weren’t even warm with that!

A couple of neighbours have now got electric boilers but the houses are too big for them to be an economical option. One of the houses has had to add a supplementary boiler of some sort. Insulation has a lot to do with it, too. Most houses here have been double glazed and the attics insulated but the houses are 40 years old and weren’t that well insulated.

The noise is outside where the unit is, but it’s loud enough to hear when you are in the house if you don’t have the TV on at my friend’s house SueDomin. She can also hear it when she’s in bed, which would put me off, but may not bother others.

I guess they’re like air conditioning units, then? A frequent humming sound.

Yes, very similar.

I’m remembering now that I read something a while back about them sounding like a domestic fridgefreezer. Well, our ff makes the most atrocious sounds! It always has (15+yo) and it actually came with a note to say it made noises and not to be alarmed. Sometimes it CRACKS really loudly and we jump out of our skin! It also creaks and groans. I wouldn’t want to sleep with that nearby.

I got this off YouTube, gives you a good idea I think.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDF5a47eJk

SueDonim Our fridge freezer is the same! That cracking!
It rumbles away, builds up to it and then CRACK - whatever is the poor old thing doing to itself to make that noise?

The whole thing groans and creaks away like a galleon at sea and has such personality I sometimes think it's like a lodger not an appliance.

Hahaha, Scones - you’re never alone with a fridge freezer in the house!

That’s quite a drone, isn’t it, Casdon? That would annoy me, I suspect. Even worse when everyone has one!

We have a large air sourced heat pump next door for a care home and they had to build soundproof housing for it because we all complained about the noise. Even boxed in it makes a humming noise when it's working and I can still hear it in bed and in my living room. I doubt our complaints will be taken up again by the council because it's probably not loud enough now to be deemed a nuisance.

I don't see why Price Charles needs to go to COP26. Although the Queen is unable to go she has used Zoom to speak to them all. Let's hope Boris and Biden were awake for that! What bothers me so much more than whether Prince Charles makes an appearance is the 400 private jets that have been used, very often carrying just 1 person and Biden's 20 strong gas-guzzling motorcade. They just don't get it, do they?

Chestnut I remember seeing a house with a similar problem on a TV property show (Location I think). It was a beautiful Victorian house if I remember rightly but the viewers were put off by the pump. It was right up against the neighbour's fence and very loud. Not enough is said about the impact of these pumps on those around them.

Sarnia He not only attended, he made a very good speech. If you missed it, you can watch it here -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTzaCd_Suo

David Attenborough's speech is here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjq4VWdZhq8

Both are worth watching.

Casdon Are the electric combi boilers noisy? Or the domestic biomass boilers? I just can't tolerate noise so I'm looking at alternatives to air sourced heat pumps.

Elegran

Sarnia He not only attended, he made a very good speech. If you missed it, you can watch it here -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTzaCd_Suo

David Attenborough's speech is here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjq4VWdZhq8

Both are worth watching.

Thanks for that. I will watch them both. I do struggle to get my head around Biden needing a 20 strong motorcade. Just why?

What can the royals offer Cop26? A pledge to rewild their vast estates
Chris Packham

Young people look at the monarchy and its sterile acres and see a huge opportunity to help cool the heating planet

My combi boiler isn’t noisy at all LilacChaser, you only really hear it when the heating switches on, I’d recommend it.

The biomass boiler I know isn’t noisy either, it roars a bit when you’re close to the boiler, but it’s not intrusive. The only downside I’ve seen is that it needs to be topped up with pellets each day.

Sarnia Why does Biden needing a 20 strong motorcade? Because he is from the great US of A, where it is obligatory to always be the biggest, including the biggest producer of the carbon that supposedly you are meeting to plan how to minimise. Heavven forbid that someone else might have a bigger motorcade of gas guzzlers!

Interesting to hear about the replanting of trees when forests have been cut down to push through HS2. It would help a lot if the railways were brought up to date, if closed stations were opened and if fares were affordable.

Elegran

Sarnia Why does Biden needing a 20 strong motorcade? Because he is from the great US of A, where it is obligatory to always be the biggest, including the biggest producer of the carbon that supposedly you are meeting to plan how to minimise. Heavven forbid that someone else might have a bigger motorcade of gas guzzlers!

Sad but true.

Thank you, Casdon