If you go to a Ford dealer, the salesman isn't going to recommend a Porsche. If you go to Taco Bell, they're not going to recommend Wendy's.

Lots of folks have experience installing gas furnaces. That's what they know. They don't know heat pumps. They could learn, but learning is hard. If they can keep selling gas furnaces, that's easier.

My home is made with cement blocks - just like most houses in the UK. It's a massive thermal mass.

I installed heat recovery ventilation which also helps hold heat in while maintaining a constant supply of fresh air.

Which means that temperature swings outside don't really affect me.

I don't plan to move. My roof is cement slate; it will last around 50 years.

In less than four years I've generated over half the money I put into it.

I've been using it for five years now. I'm aware how much electricity costs. But for me, it's discounted by 33% due to solar PV. And my heat pump is 150-300% efficient.

When it makes sense to replace the roof on my house I can double my solar capacity and I'll increase my electricity storage capacity.

So long term it will cost me way less. And, as I noted, the benefits go beyond cost. It's quieter, it's not spewing fumes outside my house, my home has less fire risk, etc.

I installed a heat pump back in 2021. It's fantastic in an Irish or British climate. Home's much warmer and much quieter. Don't need to have CO monitors in my house, don't need to remember to schedule oil deliveries, and so many more things. I can stand outside my back door and not get assaulted by fumes.

All the energy I use at this point is electric - heating, cooking, transportation, all of it. And I offset 33% of the electricity I use via solar PV. When I need to replace my roof, I'll put panels on my house and double my solar production.

He's not imposing tariffs on Russia so he's looking after his ally.

Prior to 2018 I drove a petrol car, used a heating oil (kerosene) powered boiler to heat my house and butane to power my stove top.

Including electricity and converting all the energy sources to kWh, I used between 50-60 kWh annually. Of that, 5-6 MWh was electricity.

Starting in 2018 and finishing in 2021 I changed to an EV, a heat pump, an induction stove top, added solar PV and boosted insulation. Now I only use electricity to power my home and transport.

I now use 16-18 MWh annually and generate between 5-6 MWh locally.

This is far more energy efficient than I was, which shows just how much more efficient electrical solutions are compared to thermal ones. However it also means that my need for electricity from the grid doubled. And it's actually worse than that because local generation largely offsets my electricity usage in summer but hardly makes a dent in my usage in winter - which is when my electricity demand is highest. So it's more like the grid had to generate 3 to 4 times more electricity in winter.

Now, I like in Ireland where wind generation peaks during winter. And if we'd do offshore wind around the island we'd have a constant source of electricity. So this is all *technically* doable. What we're missing is the political will/vision.

Yep, exactly. Having an EV made me learn that brake pad adhesives have a shelf life. I've never replaced brakes on my EV due to wear. I have replaced them due to the expiration of the adhesive.

What sort of conspiracy bullshit is this? Fuck off.

The flow batteries in this article use vanadium but there are other chemistries. Zinc-bromide for example. And I think there's an Iron salt flow battery. There are quite a few more. All have their pros and cons. And this tech has been around for decades.

I was curious when I made this comment to see how many negative comments it would attract. It is interesting how any story or comment that is positive about EVs will attract negative responses. Primarily by people who clearly don't know what they're talking about,

Kinda hoped /. would be better, but sadly it doesn't seem to be.

A friend got a reasonable replacement for their Leaf. In that case it was to expand the battery capacity with the old battery being repurposed to be a home battery. A more complicated form of V2G.

I have a 9 year old EV - a 2015 Renault Zoe. Runs great. Original battery. Same range as when it was new.

EV batteries are proving to outlast cars; this is an excellent additional use for them.

It's 2024 - people still use Windows? Why?