We NEED to Talk About the Energy Crisis! 

Well said Nick 👍

Off-Grid living is being completely crushed by over-regulating Governments all over the world. They don´t want you living off of Nature in harmony with it, it makes it harder for them to control somebody if they are debt free, producing their own food and some clothing. They want people living in the Mega-Chicken Coops, pardon me, Smart Cities. I sound like a Tin Foil Hat guy talking but that´s the way all that´s been happening makes some sense. In my country (Portugal) they even require you to register your chickens (if you have more than 350). The policies and "Codes" are so derranged that it basically bans people from living in the hills. The forrests need people living in and arround them, people manage the dead wood and conservation of ib because they need it, thus reducing forrest fire hazzards and "for profit forrestry". I´ll shut my trap now... and, by the way, EU=USSR 2,0. There, I´ve said it...

Think how we will feel when our kids are suffering in the future and ask us what we did to help. This is an emotive subject, but as you said, needs to be a focus priority. Would Robert run for Government?

"little to choose between the two candidates". I did hear someone else say it's like having to choose whether you want cat shit, or dog shit in your sandwich.

@@steveedwards5280 Corbyn's Labour 2017 and 2019 manifestoes had lots of really good stuff. Unfortunately, as has been revealed in the Forde Report (and feverishly swept under the carpet), the Labour right, who never considered Corbyn a legitimate party leader, diverted funds and otherwise sabotaged the 2017 campaign, potentially costing the margin of victory in what was an astonishingly close election (especially given that May had called the election with the expectation, commonly held, of dealing Labour a death-blow). Since then, of course, the Labour right with Starmer at the helm have purged Corbyn and anyone who supported or ever said a kind word about him, and brought the party back to the age of Blair and Brown. As an American, I recognize that party - it's our Democratic Party, of which you already have one - the LibDems - so why do the Labour right feel like they need to be another? Except of course that Labour took a spot in your duopoly after WWII and relegated the Liberals to the sidelines, while we've never had a working class party in power & so the people who might be able to build one have buried themselves in the Democrats instead. The difference being, even when Blair & Brown ran Labour, it was still, in its DNA and at its core, a working class party; whereas the Democratic Party, even at its most left under FDR and LBJ (with the New Deal and Great Society programs, respectively), was _never_ a working class party, but _only ever_ the element of the capitalist party that was willing to make a deal with the working class in order to keep them contained and constrained. Don't let Labour become like our Democratic Party. If it is still possible, it is _necessary_ for the working class to regain control of its party. If that's not possible anymore, the only other alternative is for the working class to build _another_ party for itself. That's where we're at in the USA, and while it's actually, technically, quite doable right now, it's _psychologically_ impossible because, as noted, the people & groups with the skill sets and other assets necessary to build one don't _see_ it as possible, and so they remain buried inside an enemy party, doing the only thing that party requires of them - to stay in, and not break out. *The working class needs its own party* one way or the other.

There's a Dutch external insulation called Enegiesprong, who will scan the outside of your house, manufacture the insulation off-site in a factory, then deliver it to site and crane it in etc.

@You Tube we see the exit of the worst prime minister this country has every known and the arrival of the person most likely to steal that crown.

money and power

I wouldn't have thought it was a very good strategy to force your customers elsewhere by becoming unaffordable though?!?

@@alanhat5252 What do you think the owners of "Big Electric" will do when they become the Monopoly ?! Money and Power...

@@Pedrombsantos which is why the Grid should be a government entity and definitely not a for profit organization. By nature it is a physical monopoly, and as such has no market forces to prevent profiteering harming the vendors, employees and consumers. The generation can be for profit, but the grid itself needs to be governmentally managed (of course helps if you actually have a benevolent representative government that makes decent decisions for the benefit of citizens) A centralized government owned grid could have incentive to encourage endpoint generation, reducing strain on the grid (reduce spending on grid expansion) and reducing the purchasing requirement from grid scale generators. A government owned grid can preferentially purchase from green grid scale generators. Or supplement green generation with high efficiency gas peeker plants and storage tech which has little financial incentive. The for profit grid is what is preventing wide scale adoption of green generation, endpoint generation, and because it is owned largely by the petroleum companies it also resists transition to EV.

@@david.j.bunney ....and the oil industry isn't? The problem with critics of the brave new world we are entering is that they find fault that is obviously there but they have never bothered pointing it out for the previous technology where it is substantially worse. The perfect world is still some way off but we are getting towards it and I am loving where it is taking us. Incidentally, I am what you would call a petrol head. I have always loved my car and motorbikes and still do, they are just electric ones now to reduce my polution levels. I did a calculator recently to see how I was doing. It was a rudimentary thing only taking into consideration CO2 but my average is where we need to be to prevent things getting worse. I could reduce it further by ditching the car and/or eating less meat but I reckon if I'm at the level required then I shouldn't feel too guilty about actually living. My point is that I've not really made any sacrifices to get to this level, so why do so many people bleat on about it and refuse to do the blinking obvious?

Yes yes yes 🙌 and ripple should expand to battery storage. I live in a Victorian terraced house like at least 5 million other people. Once you've insulated your roof you can't do anything else. So Ripple all the way.

Doesn't make sense. Scottish Islands with MWs they can't use and manufacturing urban areas without enough energy.

@@oracleoftruth "excess sold to the grid/industry" covers your objection quite nicely I think.

Yes absolutely. I picked up a share to cover 50% off my energy usage earlier this year, and a couple of weeks later after the Ukraine conflict kicked off and it became apparent there could be long term impact from Russian energy dropping out of the equation I upped to 100%. I consider myself incredibly fortunate that I will have only 12 or so expensive months before my turbine removes my electricity bill for the next 25 years. However, I'm also very aware that its a classic example that those well enough off can help themselves out, whilst those unable to spare several thousand pounds may end up paying that directly on their bills instead.

@@oracleoftruth my ripple windmill is in Ayrshire, I live in Bristol. And I can move and the benefit moves with me.

Can you quantify what the actual reduction in energy bills is?Professor David MacKay in his "reality check on renewables" said wall and loft insulation would reduce your bills by 25%. And he actually had got the "fluff men" in so I guess he knows what he's talking about. If you want Swedish levels on insulation you need insurance on the building exterior, good luck doing that on a Victorian semi. Or you completely got the house and install kingspan or such like. Done with great effect on a Glasgow tenement, £40,000 per flat. Multiply that by 10million for the UK... well it gives you an idea of the scale of the challenge. Screaming "INSULATE BRITAIN" and gluing yourself to some tarmac won't necessarily achieve this.

INSULATE the exterior. GUT the building. Sheesh!

@@colinmacdonald5732 yep, destroy the outside of a beautiful old house.

We don’t have a cavity so managed to get external insulation and render applied. As well as sealing up some draughts it’s cut our heating consumption by 1/3. Get that cavity filled!!

@@salibaba Indeed. You put the insulation on the outside which gave you a pretty decent heat saving. I myself don't have that option. I live in a flat. However I can cut my heating bills by simply grasping the thermostat and giving it a good yank to the left.

Exactly, the general public dont realise that the governent doesnt have any money. It comes from taxpayers and QE. It has to be paid somehow.

Isn't that what Labour are proposing? The cost of their plan would be paid for by having an effective windfall tax on the likes of Shell & BP? At least that's my understanding of it.

@@keithhobbs1 Yep, pay the money "this end" to hold down the prices for the citizens and recover it at the other end when the BPs, Shells and Ineos's of the world get their profits.

@@keithhobbs1 That approach seems to make far more sense to me. When you have the likes of BP alone posting quarterly profits in the region of £7 billion while the country is seriously struggling, something is clearly significantly amiss.

Your property, your cost unfortunately.

That sounds like a great idea for a series of Fully Charged shows. The Houses of The EV Fans of Fully Charged. I'd definitely watch all of them, and I know there's millions of people on RU-vid who love home renovation type builds. You could intersperse a persons journey from old type house to a fully renewable home, with updates in each episode.

I bought near 3k worth of superwrap and tacked it to all my exterior ceilings , i can now keep an upstairs room warm on just a PC running and the silver ceilings work well with lighting . I have stopped using my wood burner too and just create wood heaps for wildlife with what i used to burn . The increase in my health with no ash or smoke is well worth the loss. A couple of solar panels needed to charge my ebikes and I'm sorted . My hot water solar panels worked well until a severe frost split some pipes so awaiting to repair those .

The big issue is: you have to have money to invest into these things and probably actually own your home to be able to do it.

@@autohmae Yes , but i went without holidays and cars and a telly even and illegally rented my bedrooms out and we slept in the living room , but yes i managed to own my own home . I have no idea how people on low wages like me can even get a foot in these days ! I had to lie on my self certification earnings to get my mortgage,,no chance doing that now . It was the last of my savings that was going on a real holiday i spent on the insulation . No regrets now except life is for living really and i think i put my family through hardships to `own `a home .

@@autohmae Small boat is a much cheaper option.

I'll soon be getting an MG ZS EV Motability car. It should be cheap to run and great for local pollution but these cars are anything but good for the planet, even if we could supply enough green energy to run billions of them.

The UK still uses lots of natural gas for electricity so unfortunately that's a part of the equation. As you get more renewables every year, that share of the cost will drop.

@@udishomer5852 until we have bulk energy storage you need gas to balance the grid when the wind dose not blow and the sun dose not shine.

We need nuclear energy

@@udishomer5852 But surely it should be possible given the highly sophisticated software monitoring systems the National Grid has, to differentiate between types of generation and have prices adjust accordingly. I remember Fully Charged going to their control room & National Grid could see where the electricity was being generated at any given moment. Electricity pricing is granular where supply and demand is matched instantly - it's called the Spot Market.

@@MichaelGreenLagos So you prefer to pay even more for your electricity than you do now, both directly via energy bills & indirectly via taxation for huge subsidies & 24hr armed police guards? Then there's the 10,000 year+ ☢️ waste storage headache. And since nearly all UK ☢️ power plants have to be located at the coast, climate change exacerbated increases in storm frequency, intensity & sea level rise, pose not a small level of risk over the 30-50ish year life of the average plant. Since no magic wand exists to wish away faster than expected tipping points such the Greenland & Artic/Antarctic sea ice/land ice sheets collapsing far sooner than predicted, should that happen, as an island nation, the UK will be well & truly totaly fluffed. ☢️ power is THE most expensive form of electricity generation across-the-board.

No one is forcing one to pay it. Switch to electric and renewables means that people have options.

The supply of gas from U.K. waters is only around 50%, 30% comes from Norway and the rest is a mixture of LNG and some from the European inter-connector. Unfortunately gas is an internationally traded commodity so U.K. gas prices follow world prices.

The North Sea is criss crossed with pipelines sending gas to different countries. At this time, we are landing LNG in UK ports and then pumping it to Europe to fill their storage before the winter. We'd fill our storage too if it hadn't been closed down by the Tories.

I think everybody commenting here should use their actual name. It really bugs me that on social media it is all to easy for anybody to use a platform to slate governments (of any colour) and yet we have no idea what political agenda is behind the comments. And yes lots of governments have done a lot of bad things with regards to energy, often influenced by external parties be-it corporations or unions but continuing to go on about the past just helps polarise opinion when we actually need people to work together.

What ever you think about Boris, his government has put in place plans for a massive increase in offshore wind power (more than quadruple by 2030) and also onshore solar. They've also supported the creation of the battery factory in Blyth and other energy storage methods. Credit where credit's due. They've also steadfastly resisted the siren calls for fracking, to date. Indeed, it could be argued that they've been the greenest government we've ever had. It's too easy target them just because (in some cases) you despise the Tories. It's incredibly disappointing to hear the word "scum" used. To my mind, reducing the debate to that level is totally counterproductive.

@@trevorheley1045 in the uk we have a government that is openly flirting with making criticism of the UK government an offence, the reality, as much as you may choose not to see it, is that Britain is dealing with incipient fascism. Only a fool would deny the need for circumspection in Britain in 2022.

There are grants available if your income is less that £31,000 - what's your county council? They should have a scheme going funded by BEIS ... but need to register soon.

@@bambit08 thanks bambit08 live in Hampshire Barton on sea, New Forest council and our income is less than that. I will make some inquiries. Many thanks.

@@andyl2201 EPC needs to be E, F or G as they are prioritising least energy efficient homes.

@@bambit08 we are band D 😟

You can start from the cheap stuff like an Infra-Red Heater (which is more efficient) and a smart thermostat. Maybe double glazed windows.

I wish they would bring back FIT . i have extra panels i cant get SEG for so my neighbour pays for my excess and her energy company has free power

Exactly my experience as well. I am left frustrated by a recent solar installation because I have been sold what they had to sell not necessarily what is best for my needs long term. The advice they gave on reflection was ‘need to know’ so they could sell me a system and I didn’t know any better. Only since then have I learned about what would be better and definitely would have been prepared to build up a complete system over time instead of getting an off the shelf one now. This week I contacted 6 ‘installers’ about expanding my array and adding batteries and one replied. There is a real lack of system designers vs sellers.

Not possible.

Unfortunately... it looks like China has the most coherent energy policy right now.

Small systems have merit, but if you have the money, or the borrowing capacity, building a properly sized system, and battery pack now, will pay for it self given energy cost.

Presently there is no alternative technology to substitute Air and Sea transportation . Efforts should be focused for now - on those sectors that can be replaced with carbon neutral technologies and procedures .... Leave air and sea for last when the bulk of the carbon emissions have been reduced

Thanks for giving such a detailed report. Hopefully the rest of the country will take your lead!

It happens in the States as well. People who wear tanks and shorts in the winter and sweaters in the summer when they set their thermostats too far in the wrong direction, rather than let it move some degrees with the season and wear seasonal clothing.

Yep that’s a good point …… after a few years off having my winter heating set on 18c constantly ( which itself was a slight drop it had to be 20c minimum for a year or two when my kids were babies) … this year due to cost I’m going to set it a tad lower …… I’m thinking 14c … why that …… it’s the average earth temperature! If flat gets colder then that then the heating will kick in … but being 4c colder then before the heating will come on less often for not as long …… also at that temperature if you get cold unlike with no heating on …it’s as you say a different item off clothing or a tiny amount off exercise (literally seconds) can get you warm enough easily.

@@discodavid26 For comfort I installed 3 years ago a Nest thermostat which ensures that it learns how long it takes to reach a temperature and set the heater on to be where set at a specific time. For me I like it cold my wife sometimes does. Between the Nest and some other adjustments makes a big difference. Plus, helps to also have efficient appliances such as heat pump water heaters and clothes dryers. In Spain electric rates are today CRAZY and with the new rates I don't yet know if heat pump heating, even with its great COP, is less expensive than gas - NUTS!

Me too, excited to get solar. Waiting time for installations is months though...

price of solar has risen slightly due to the high costs of some rare earths and covid disruptions in China but yeh not that much!

It cost me £7500 for 5kw solar +5 KWH battery installed last year in Gloucestershire. Had 3 quotes all similar. Wonder if prices have increased because of increased demand and the high prices of energy.

Costs will vary wildly dependant on equipment quality/brands, availability, job complexity, access equipment (scaffolding) geographic location for installer availability and also local cost of living means a down south installer is bound to cost more than in the north.

Your lucky you have Elon.

But the price of electricity is directly linked to the price of gas. Until renewables are unhitched from this market, it makes zero difference. I live in an Region that only has renewable energy, but we have the highest bills in Europe because of the price of gas.

@@gordonmackenzie4512 I did by fitting my own PV. The grid isnt the only way.

Agreed. I tend to favor a moderate cautious approach to things. But moderate doesn't mean "centrist" Seem to remember a parable involving a baby which might be relevant ;)

Agree, I’d also add or because they appeal to the left

They are welcome to use mine.

Good that you bring up the 'marginal cost' arrangement, Richard. This is definitely something that the wider UK population needs to be made aware of and is one of the only real things the government can intervene in to create proper system change - sadly though it seems to be a very tightly held Tory value that they should not intervene in markets or restrict companies and individuals from maximising profits. I think I recall Boris Johnson or some other member of the government recently saying that a Windfall tax on energy companies was not something they would consider because it is against Tory values. Changing this marginal cost rule, I would imagine, could allow renewable energy to be offered to consumers at a much lower rate than the inflated prices set by the international gas markets. This would be great for the energy transition because it would likely result in the movement of lots of consumers on to green tariffs and towards demanding more renewable capacity to supply their needs. It is a solution that could also be seen to fit well with Tory values of deregulating / low government interference in markets - effectively it would be freeing up the energy market to become more competitive and deliver better value to the consumers as a result. (As an aside, I have a query around the dynamics of the 'marginal cost' thing as it stands because I have heard of some of Octopus Energy's minute by minute tariffs resulting in people effectively being paid to use excess energy from the grid late at night, I think maybe Robby Lew mentioned it a few times in the Fully Charged channels' output, so I wonder if there is already some way around this 'marginal cost' thing for that to be able to happen? Or maybe there was only renewable generation going on at that moment? Clearly, there is more to understand about the UK energy market's workings because this is a little bamboozling..) Returning to the situation as it is, you mention how costs for renewable energy production remain low but it is also being sold for these higher prices, so the renewable companies should be making larger profits on the energy they sell. I suspect though that this is mainly still used to payback on the upfront investment in renewable generation infrastructure they have made. I say this based on my own experiences planning to install Solar at home and how it takes several years to repay the initial investment in energy cost savings. Whilst it is possible that these unexpected extra profits, or maybe it should be better termed the unexpectedly larger revenue stream could be going into executive bonuses and dividend payouts, I suspect it is mainly serving to bring the companies into profit faster as it pays off their initial investment, but that would depend on the company structures and policies to some extent and the source and terms of the funding they used to build their infrastructure. One would hope that it is seen as an encouragement to invest in more capacity due to faster payback and arrival at a stage of making real profit. Still, most will be aware that these prices aren't sustainable and won't likely hold long term, so will be cautious about making new investments based on current prices and payback rates. Perhaps the higher prices and faster transition to profit will encourage more ready investment from the financial sector. I'm clutching at straws here, trying to see some long-term benefits to the energy price crisis despite the desperate situation it will be putting so many in. Certainly, the inflated costs make renewables much more attractive, further extending their cost per Mw lead over fossil fuels and if people could afford to invest in their own solar panels on the roof and community windfarms it would be taking us in a positive direction with regards to self-sufficiency, efficiency and resilience. We just need a government that is prepared to invest in supporting people towards that. Zero interest long-term loans on the scale they are now proposing could be made available to energy suppliers and could be targeted at individuals and businesses to build their own renewable infrastructure instead, balancing the load on the grid, tackling energy costs for the 25 year plus lifetime of that infrastructure and so reducing inequality and eliminating fuel poverty whilst helping to make real progress in tackling the climate crisis in one fell swoop. Of course, installing all that infrastructure would require massive investment in training and the creation of lots of new jobs, plus many would be left struggling whilst it is built if the prices stay as they are, so combining the two proposals - freeing the energy market to reflect the lower costs of renewable generated energy, and massive investment in individually owned and community-owned local renewable generation and energy storage, should go hand in hand. House building regulation should be updated to require energy self-sufficient housing (maybe passive haus standards?) along with separate waste and grey water drainage, along with rainwater harvesting because this will also help reduce flash flooding by capturing and storing much of rain that falls, thus also reducing the incidence of toxic sewage released into rivers and seas that excess water in the sewage system from heavy rainfall leads to, and also reducing energy use by avoiding wasting energy on purifying drinking water that is only flushed down the toilet. To enable those living in leasehold or rented accommodation to benefit from funding for micro-generation; property law needs to be reviewed and amended so that property owners/ freeholders are not able to prevent tenants from getting these systems installed, and where long-term ownership/costs of install fall on their shoulders they should be eligible for the same long term low-cost loan scheme. As was pointed out in this episode, short-term subsidies/funding lead to a short-lived and precarious industry. We really need a long-term commitment with long-term goals which is unfortunately not what our current electoral system encourages governments to make. It tends to promote short-term "solutions" which are as much about appeasing the masses enough to win the next election as they are about anything else. Having been employed briefly in the insulation industry over a decade ago during a time of significant temporary funding I can attest to the fact that this not only encourages insecurity in the industry but it also attracts opportunist sharks who go after the money whilst it's there, they often don't provide enough training to the staff to do truly well informed and effective work which will hold up long term and as a result, they leave many problems behind like poorly installed or even inappropriate insulation which causes problems with the building structure. (It would be great if the Fully Charged team could gather some knowledge and advice for consumers and installers and dispel a few myths and fears around cavity wall insulation, setting people straight on when it's appropriate, possible problems, and alternative solutions). If we are to have a worthwhile long-term impact we need long-term funding and solid regulation so that companies can see a long-term future and invest appropriately in staff training, infrastructure and know how to do great work building homes and energy infrastructure that holds up over time. Blimey! I got a little carried away there. I think I'm almost halfway towards creating a new party political manifesto!

Scotland have been offering 0% loans through HomeEnergyScotland and the Energy Saving Trust to help pay for stuff like solar and battery installs, Used EV loans, ebike loans. Im in the middle of trying to get a loan sorted for a planned ASHP. They don’t do the boiler upgrade scheme up here but do offer a more generous “cash back” scheme as part of the loans when installing renewable heating. A few catches to the loans though like, you must have minimum amounts of loft insulation first on your EPC or plan it in with the heating install.

His views are because he does not understand the situation. Let him know solar panels are the cheapest source of electricity. Also it will take years to open new gas fields and will not reduce uk fuel bills

@@caterthun4853 he is in his 80’s, wealthy and only interested in he and his wife. I know him and any attempt to discuss this will be met with a nice FU

Got a link Dave? I've pulled 18 months of data off my smart meter, but can't find anyone free/available to help. BR8 in case ya close by 😁

Citroen ami? Twizy? E-Scooter? In seriousness though, unless rural I wouldn’t have a car as a pensioner, it’s just a financial noose.

Brilliant 👍🏻