OT: who appoints these idiots?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Of course not. Leccy cars make sense for urban snowflakes, but nuclear power will displace renewable bollocks

[Andy Burns]

what's that?

£8519 would buy me 65,500 units at today's prices, at my average usage of 250 units/month, that's over 20 years worth of my electricity bill, just for 25% to 50% independence from the grid ... no thanks.

[tim...]

if the car is being used all day, and recharged overnight

the car isn't going to help you consume the unused solar power here

[tim...]

you must walk very slowly

but assuming a reasonable speed - you'll be very lucky to get 3 miles in a cab for 5 pounds

[michael adams]

Beats being being an unpaid liar though, eh ?

You know what's coming next, don't you ?

michael adams

*I have less income now than the minimum wage by a huge margin. So I use my time to save money. I cook, do DIY, sew, mend, repair and in general live the way my postwar parents taught me, and their Depression era parents taught them. On a shoestring."

The Natural Philosopher

[michael adams]

Adequate parking ?

The loss of that faciity for some people working in Central London at least was a big incentive/imperative for many to seek alternative means of commuting, if possible outside of even then, overcrowded PT

Which may have been a factor, along with hybrids( with fatter tyres and so less punctures), in the mini bike boom of the late 80's and 90's

michael adams

...

[GB]

I'm going back 20 years, rather than current cab prices. It's a while since I took one! Anyway, I was spending vastly more than the cost of the cab to have the car available. An MX5, by the way, not anything very exotic.

[Richard]

Just being curious, but why do you invest time in quoting someone who you seem to dislike?

Anyway, as everyone lies at some stage, the paid liars do seem to be smarter. How do I become a climate adviser?

;)

[alan_m]

Rain/wind, danger of being knocked off a bike by motorists, time of journey, convenience, comfort etc.

Since I retired my mileage has reduced not having to commute 14 miles each way to work (taking between 30 to 60 minutes each way). I do however still want a car and find it convenient for many activities including regularly visiting friends who live 200 miles away.

[charles]

just found my receipt. Waterloo to Covent Garden was £11 last year.

[alan_m]

As little as £5 in London? The average London fare for a 1 mile journey taking 6 to 13 minutes is £6.20 to £9.60. You indicate a 45 minute walk, say, 3 miles

3 miles = £12.50 to £19.50 depending on time taken for the journey.

[michael adams]

What makes you think I dislike Turnip ?

How could anyone possibly dislike someone who spends all his time cooking, doing DIY, sewing, mending, repairing and in general living the way his postwar parents taught him ?

Well apart from the regular trips to Waitrose.

Turnip is an example to us all, is he not ?

The fact that he's also clearly out with the fairies, or at least seeks to give that impression, simply provides more posting opportunities than with your average poster.

Two routes. Either lifelong membership of the communist party, a beard and thick sweaters or knowing the right people, being in the right lodge and being a smart dresser. Allegedly.

michael adams

...

[tim...]

?????

[tim...]

a journey I would (in a previous life) frequently walk

20 minutes max. It isn't even worth getting tube for, unless it's tipping down

[Theo]

The maximum power point of a solar panel - ie the voltage and current for maximum pwoer - varies. If the panels are in series and part of the array is shaded, different panels have different MPPs - it's a bit like having a rechargeable battery will all the cells unbalanced. Any attempt to extract power out of such a series stack will get the power of the worst cell, which means the shaded cells drags down the output of the good cells.

An MPPT optimiser is a DC-DC converter that tracks the maximum power-point for each cell, meaning every cell can produce as much as it is able.

(The alternative would be a microinverter on each cell to produce mains individually, but that's more expensive)

The cost of utility-scale solar is about a quarter of the price of rooftop solar, so there's something to be said for building on a mass scale and just importing via the grid, as opposed to doing fiddly per-roof things

- unless you were building the roof anyway.

That said, I do wonder whether there's any mileage in used parts and DIY as a way of bringing the costs down. The main issue is a suitable roof fixing system and how to get them up there.

Theo

[charles]

Indeed, but I had a heavy case, which is why I took a taxi.

[Fredxx]

Being a London centric government the idea of taxing public transport instead of subsidising it would never have crossed their minds.