The energy crisis

 Currently the UK is facing a cost of living crisis. The cause of this is mostly because energy costs have shot up mostly due to the rising price of natural gas and oil. That causes the cost of electricity to rise. We blame this on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the restrictions put on Russian oil and gas.

Here in the UK we don't use a lot of Russian oil or gas at all, we're in a much better position than Germany which was almost totally dependent on Russian gas. However, the worldwide switch from Russian fossil fuels to other suppliers has caused the price of natural gas to rise astronomically. The UK gets natural gas and oil from the North Sea fields, mostly the Norwegian fields. We also import a lot of liquified natural gas (LNG) mostly from the United States, followed by Qatar, Peru and Angola. We then re-distribute this to the rest of Europe through a network of pipes.  We do much the same with oil. The re-sale of gas and oil are earning record profits. That isn't helping consumers in the UK however.

To add to the problem, we have committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels in an attempt to do our bit to counteract global climate change. It doesn't really matter if you believe in human responsibility for global warming or not, it makes sense to switch from burning fossil fuels to using them as raw materials for producing other products. Fossil fuels are, after all, a finite resource, and the price of them will continue to rise over the years. Here in the UK that means we must find new ways of generating power as electricity and switch to that as a source of heat (and cooling in summer).

The UK government has said it will invest in ten new nuclear power stations to provide our carbon free energy. They suggest using air source heat pumps instead of gas boilers and that improving the efficiency of our homes could reduce our heating bills by around 20% and reduce our dependency on foreign gas. They say, "By 2025, around 700,000 homes will be upgraded, and by 2050 all our buildings will be energy efficient with low carbon heating."

So how do they suggest this 'upgrading' should be done? Seems they are thinking of cavity wall insulation and double-glazing costing between £1,000 and £3,000 per house for insulation and more for double glazing. There's a MUCH better way using modern technology. I suggest they investigate using a trowel on aerogel insulation on the interior surface of external walls. There's a product called AeroTherm which can be applied in a 1 mm layer which can reduce heating costs by as much as 35 percent.

   

 With a max cost of £75 per square metre including decorating afterwards, an average home external wall area of 150 square metres and 27.8 million UK houses, adding AeroTherm insulation to all UK homes would cost less than £100 billion. That's less than the cost of 4 nuclear plants. A nuclear power plant takes 10 years to construct and uses a huge amount of concrete in its construction, so they are far from 'carbon free'. It wouldn't take 10 years to insulate all UK houses, the obvious method being to insulate the houses of those receiving pension credit or other benefits first.  Since average energy usage in the UK is estimated to cost £3,608 (pre-£2,500 price cap) then it could save those who would suffer this sort of energy cost £1,200 per year. In many cases it would reduce damp cold walls and make old housing stock much more livable for the poorest in the nation.

We can still build those nuclear power stations and still replace gas and oil boilers. It makes good sense to encourage alternative energy schemes too. On a large scale, wind, tidal and geothermal power is worth encouraging. On a smaller scale vortex wind power would be worth encouraging. Vortex wind power uses no spinning blades - so no dead birds. is virtually silent. and is far less expensive to build and install. It's not as efficient as conventional wind turbines but small vortex wind power units can be used anywhere, even between tower blocks in cities or on motorways where it could replace streetlamps. and make use of the energy available from passing traffic - there's a lot of that:

 Find out more about vortex wind power at https://vortexbladeless.com/

There's a second type of vertical axis windmill which can be retrofitted to existing road lampposts. It uses wind and the draft from passing vehicles to generate power.

The firm Alpha 311, who manufacture these say, "One Alpha 311 turbine can generate as much energy as 30 solar panels when installed in the median of a highway." The installation of 181 such turbines is planned to be installed in Telford this year, 2022. (details)

Let's not forget solar power either. No one wants to see agricultural land covered in solar power units but there is nothing to stop a lot of grazing land being used, the animals can still graze between and under them. There are lots of homes with south facing rooftops. Even better there are smart solar panels available which track the sun and produce more than fixed solar panels.

Remember we don't need sunny days, normal daylight can generate power.