New gas boilers banned 2025

[Seeker_UK]

There have been no problems in 70? years of operation at sea.

There have been problems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine#Accidents

And that still ignores all of the cost / risk from having reactors distributed all over the country requiring constant heavy security and the movement of hazardous materials and the huge increase in waste products to deal with.

 

[doctorf]

Meanwhile USA, Russia, China, India etc etc

I couldn’t agree more. We are the size of a postage stamp compared to this lot.

 

[Vinny]

There have been problems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine#Accidents

One last comment

Not with US or UK naval reactors there haven't, apart from trivial instances - cast-iron fact.

The Russians have screwed a few up and lost sub's/men as a result.

 

[Bob McC]

I haven’t seen the actual government announcement, so can’t comment definitively, but the devil will be in the detail. Specifically, in the way it is worded. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn, for example, that it is only the banning of boilers which can only run on fossil fuels. That would be consistent with the ban on IC only cars in 2030. Hybrids can still be sold, with IC engines. I rather suspect the intention is to ensure that new boilers can be run on hydrogen, or a mix of H2 and natural gas, so as to avoid at least some of the retrofitting required as and when the piped domestic supply contains a percentage of Hydrogen.

Hybrids are being banned from 2035.

 

[Seeker_UK]

One last comment

No comment on the risk / cost of sustaining a network of reactors across the country, I note, beyond dismissing such issues with claims of "nimbyism".

And where does the US Navy put it's decommissioned reactors? Do we have somewhere similar, especially if Scotland is no longer part of the UK?

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Hybrids are being banned from 2035.

And I'd not be surprised to learn that boilers using natural gas to any extent will be banned in due course, but as with IC cars, it'll be phased withdrawal, not a clean break as was posited at the beginning of this thread.

 

[kensalriser]

Same misapprehensions as with the electric vehicle debate. Gas boilers are old fossil fuel technology and their days are numbered. The only question is when, and the when will be a lot sooner than many imagine. Existing infrastructure and supply will continue for some time after new installations are prohibited, but it will become progressively more expensive, and renewable energy production prices are dropping like a stone. https://ourworldindata.org/cheap-renewables-growth

Embrace the future, it will arrive however much you try shaking a stick at it.

 

[poppop]

Meanwhile USA, Russia, China, India etc etc

I couldn’t agree more. We are the size of a postage stamp compared to this lot.

This. Saving the planet will need investment and international co-operation on a scale never seen. Germany and others(?) have just agreed a massive gas pipeline from Russia, China opening new coal power stations on a regular basis. the population by 2050 will be 2 billion(?) more than now. As we say up here - "Nae Chance"!

 

[Seeker_UK]

Well, you can either sit back and say, "not my problem - look at them" or you can take the initiative, show the way and influence others. It may cut across many people's view but the UK does have influence on the World Stage still and can, and should, use that for good.

 

[hifinutt]

I haven’t seen the actual government announcement, so can’t comment definitively, but the devil will be in the detail. Specifically, in the way it is worded. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn, for example, that it is only the banning of boilers which can only run on fossil fuels. That would be consistent with the ban on IC only cars in 2030. Hybrids can still be sold, with IC engines. I rather suspect the intention is to ensure that new boilers can be run on hydrogen, or a mix of H2 and natural gas, so as to avoid at least some of the retrofitting required as and when the piped domestic supply contains a percentage of Hydrogen.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that no new fossil fuel boilers should be sold from 2025 if the world is to achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of this century.

It's one of 400 steps on the road to net-zero proposed by the agency in a special report.

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars around the world would end by 2035.

The IEA says that from now, there is no place for new coal, oil or gas exploration or supplies.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57149059

 

[Cav]

I have said this before on another thread years ago - every decent sized town should have a reactor. There are no real dangers or insurmountable environmental issues. Nor sure what terrorist threat people imagine to be possible or likely.

 

[robs]

I'm gonna get me one of these in the garden. Plenty of trees around our way that nobody will miss....

To add...gas should be the last of the fossils to go IMHO. We should be focusing on generating more biogas from our (huge amounts of) waste.

 

[sean99]

Same misapprehensions as with the electric vehicle debate. Gas boilers are old fossil fuel technology and their days are numbered. The only question is when, and the when will be a lot sooner than many imagine. Existing infrastructure and supply will continue for some time after new installations are prohibited, but it will become progressively more expensive, and renewable energy production prices are dropping like a stone. https://ourworldindata.org/cheap-renewables-growth

Embrace the future, it will arrive however much you try shaking a stick at it.

How do you propose that people living in Canada and the northern US states heat their homes ? Air source heat pumps are ineffective below freezing, and ground source heat pumps are very expensive to install and retrofit into existing homes. A condensing gas boiler is currently about as green as you can get. I think this will not be an easy problem to deal with. Greening transportation seems like a much easier task, when much of the country is driving around in 15-20mpg pickup trucks and SUVs.

 

[Vinny]

I have got somewhere towards road fuel usage. NOTE - ROAD fuel.

The UK uses something like 30 million metric tonnes per annum. Each kilo is ROUGHLY 11kWhr. So, 30,000,000 x 11 x 1000 kWhr - about, ROUGHLY, 300 trillion kWhr - 300,000,000,000 kWhr. • UK: fuel demand 2020 | Statista and Convert kg of oil equivalent to kilowatt hours - energy converter (unitjuggler.com)

The installed UK generation capacity produces something like 300 GWhr of electrical energy each year. A GWhr is 10 million kWhr. Electricity sector in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

So shifting units around - transport uses 300,000 million kWhr of energy each year, The UK currently generates 30,000 million kWhr of electrical energy.

PLEASE, check my logic, all those decimal points/zeros......but to cover electrification of transport, my maths says that the UK electiricty generation AND distribution capacity would have to increase AT LEAST ten-fold.

 

[slavedata]

What do smart meters actually do wrt energy saving?
What’s the alternatives to gas boilers for central heating for the mass market?
Genuine questions by the way.

Re Smart meters and energy saving. I have just signed up with Octopus energy to sell energy to the grid from my solar panels. Price varies evry half hour and the smart meter will record what I earn.
If you have batteries installed in your home you can choose to buy power when it is cheap (excess capacity in grid) and use it when the grid is expensive. So you can take advantage of excess capacity and in that way it is genuinely energy saving.

 

[robs]

Yebbut...if you massively reduce the number of people driving everyday (i.e. commuting and shopping) and massively reduce the number of people flying everyday (i.e. holidays and non essential business meetings) then that will have a much larger impact and you can reduce the 30m tonnes drastically to start with.
...oh wait...

Add to that a big increase in biofuels for shipping of goods (trucks) and shipping..

 

[Vinny]

^^ Neat.

for those with panels

At last. A REAL use for smart meters!!

 

[Vinny]

Yebbut...if you massively reduce the number of people driving everyday (i.e. commuting and shopping) and massively reduce the number of people flying everyday (i.e. holidays and non essential business meetings) then that will have a much larger impact and you can reduce the 30m tonnes drastically to start with.
...oh wait...

Add to that a big increase in biofuels for shipping of goods (trucks) and shipping..

In short - all of the sums are a nightmare

 

[robs]

LOL..and now no more peat to be sold in garden centers (being reported by the BBC news). Bad for the environment and carbon emissions apparently.
What a day!
Good.

 

[Ponty]

I'm gonna get me one of these in the garden. Plenty of trees around our way that nobody will miss....

To add...gas should be the last of the fossils to go IMHO. We should be focusing on generating more biogas from our (huge amounts) of waste.

Thats pretty much what I do. Source wood from my own land, season it and burn it to heat the house, provide hot water and cook. They can ban whatever they like, I’ll carry on regardless.