Jan and Klodi's Party Bus - part II **off topic discussion**

CramCycle

We have solar panels, the difference in price to when my uncle got them a few years ago is shocking. The cost saving is incredible, pays for itself in 5 years for a typical family I imagine. I do wonder do I use more electricity though because of it.

magicbastarder

Sarz91 wrote: »

Thorium isn't some new thing held back by conspiracy.

as mentioned, the article i read didn't suggest conspiracy, more a 'no-one wants to be the first to build a production one because it's relatively untested' sort of reasoning given.

Sarz91

magicbastarder wrote: »

as mentioned, the article i read didn't suggest conspiracy, more a 'no-one wants to be the first to build a production one because it's relatively untested' sort of reasoning given.

It wasn't directed at yourself or the article you just get a lot of people crying conspiracy when talking about thorium reactors.

Sarz91

CramCycle wrote: »

We have solar panels, the difference in price to when my uncle got them a few years ago is shocking. The cost saving is incredible, pays for itself in 5 years for a typical family I imagine. I do wonder do I use more electricity though because of it.

You can get some pretty decent 285 watt panels lately for next to nothing. 4 panels for about €1k. You'll see more and more used over the next few years on new builds as we try and implement the proposed NZEB (Near zero energy buildings) regulations for 2020.

Weepsie

Sarz91 wrote: »

You can get some pretty decent 285 watt panels lately for next to nothing. 4 panels for about €1k. You'll see more and more used over the next few years on new builds as we try and implement the proposed NZEB (Near zero energy buildings) regulations for 2020.

Maybe they are already, but they should be standard for all new builds as it is and should've been for a while.

I'd also be thinking water butts should be standard to collect water for waste purposes but alas it shan't be

CramCycle

Sarz91 wrote: »

You can get some pretty decent 285 watt panels lately for next to nothing. 4 panels for about €1k. You'll see more and more used over the next few years on new builds as we try and implement the proposed NZEB (Near zero energy buildings) regulations for 2020.

We have two large panels that on a cloudy day get about 800W and on a non cloudy day upto 2kW. Gutted that they got rid of the back to the grid scheme, as my energy costs would be near zero then.

Set the dishwasher and washing machine on timers, so all in all my energy bills are 1/6 of what they were (ie one old ESB bill, is what we pay for the entire year).

Weepsie wrote: »

I'd also be thinking water butts should be standard to collect water for waste purposes but alas it shan't be

My old landlord done this in preparation for water charges and to deal with the constant cut off in supply in his area. I imagine, that it put quite a dent into how much he needs over the year.

magicbastarder

i know someone whose neighbour put an IBC tank on the top of his garage - holds either 500 or 1000l; he was looking for a way to use the water to flush his toilets, but retrofitting a 1950s house this way is extremely expensive (and may go against regs?)

i vaguely remember hearing that the average amount of water which falls on the roof of your house is 20 times your consumption (with the obvious caveat that you can't use it for actual human consumption).

Lumen

magicbastarder wrote: »

i vaguely remember hearing that the average amount of water which falls on the roof of your house is 20 times your consumption (with the obvious caveat that you can't use it for actual human consumption).

You could probably use the water to wash the humans before consumption.

RobertFoster

Lumen wrote: »

You could probably use the water to wash the humans before consumption.

Would that not ruin the flavour?

Sarz91

Anyone have any idea when the rider rankings will be available to view again on the CI website?

buffalo

Sarz91 wrote: »

Anyone have any idea when the rider rankings will be available to view again on the CI website?

Have you asked CI? Or reported the error? I haven't heard back from them yet.

Sarz91

buffalo wrote: »

Have you asked CI? Or reported the error? I haven't heard back from them yet.

No I thought I'd ask here in case someone knew something about it. Thought it might be a case of updating the system but it's been down for a while now. Between that and the calendar only coming up a few weeks back it seems pretty disorganised.

buffalo

Sarz91 wrote: »

No I thought I'd ask here in case someone knew something about it. Thought it might be a case of updating the system but it's been down for a while now. Between that and the calendar only coming up a few weeks back it seems pretty disorganised.

The more people get on to them about it, the more likely they'll make it a priority to fix it. And sure they might not even have noticed it was broken, so best to make sure they know.

ED E

CramCycle wrote: »

We have solar panels, the difference in price to when my uncle got them a few years ago is shocking. The cost saving is incredible, pays for itself in 5 years for a typical family I imagine. I do wonder do I use more electricity though because of it.

The real trick is to put up a wall of 18650s and a fast switching transformer to feed the panels into. Pay for itself in a year or two (unlike a powerwall which never will).

magicbastarder

i guess the ideal scenario - if it works - is an electric car with one of those panels?

tomasrojo

When I can afford it, I'll get solar panels. Nice south-facing roof waiting for them. No idea when I'll have the money though.

Lumen

tomasrojo wrote: »

When I can afford it, I'll get solar panels. Nice south-facing roof waiting for them. No idea when I'll have the money though.

I'm thinking of replacing my roof and using solar tiles. They look amazing.

buffalo

Lumen wrote: »

I'm thinking of replacing my roof and using solar tiles. They look amazing.

I like your house. Where is it?

Lumen

buffalo wrote: »

I like your house. Where is it?

In my dreams. :pac:

NamelessPhil

For anyone thinking of improving the energy efficiency of their home, take a look at the SEAI.ie website for details of grants available. Also check with your energy supplier as there may be energy credits available. The Revenue's HRI scheme is also worth money.

We got substantial works done in our house 18 months ago and all of the above amounted to nearly a third of the value that we got back. The energy credits meant we didn't pay an electricity bill for the last 18 months.

We got solar panels for hot water. They work effectively between end February and mid-November. The price was approximately €4,000 and the SEAI grant was nearly a third of the cost.

magicbastarder

we were lucky enough to be put on a customer trial for electric ireland's honeywell heating control system offering. it's dead handy, you set thresholds on a per room basis - so we effectively have 11 zones - and leave it to look after itself. best bit is that it auto balances itself against the stove when we light that - so lighting the stove means the gas automatically dials itself back.

Miklos

Is anybody checking out Le Samyn? Pure Belgian brutality!

DublinArnie

Just started cycling and I want to invest in some cycling shorts (or leggings?) and gloves. Do people have any recommendations? I know nothing about bikes - trying to learn bit by bit so it would be great if someone could point to me a reliable but cheap enough brand.

robyntmorton

DublinArnie wrote: »

Just started cycling and I want to invest in some cycling shorts (or leggings?) and gloves. Do people have any recommendations? I know nothing about bikes - trying to learn bit by bit so it would be great if someone could point to me a reliable but cheap enough brand.

Get bib shorts or bib tights. These have shoulder straps to stop them from slipping down and displaying your behind to the world.

Look at Chain Reaction Cycles or Wiggle for dhb. They tend to do decent gear for a good price, though the longer you plan on spending in the saddle the more important it becomes to spend more and get high quality pads in the shorts. Chafing and saddle sores are not fun!

koutoubia

Miklos wrote: »

Is anybody checking out Le Samyn? Pure Belgian brutality!

Just watched the last 30km. Hellishly enjoyable to watch.

Chuchote

Lumen wrote: »

I'm thinking of replacing my roof and using solar tiles. They look amazing.

How much would they cost, and is it possible to get planning for them if you're not replacing like for like?

NamelessPhil wrote: »

The energy credits meant we didn't pay an electricity bill for the last 18 months.

What work did you get done?

We got solar panels for hot water. They work effectively between end February and mid-May November.

Between what and when?

Lumen

Chuchote wrote: »

How much would they cost, and is it possible to get planning for them if you're not replacing like for like?

The Tesla Solar Roof shingles are not available quite yet.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-economics-of-teslas-solar-roof

I expect Irish planners will embrace them shortly before the heat death of the universe.

Wishbone Ash

I've been trying to catch a rat for the past three days. I've several traps set but he has managed to keep removing the bait without triggering the trap. Clever boy!

He's a big boy too - one of the biggest I've seen. I decided to go for the poison today even though I'd prefer to trap him. The battle continues!

(I have to keep this secret from my wife and daughter - they'd freak if they thought there was one around!)

Lumen

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I've been trying to catch a rat for the past three days. I've several traps set but he has managed to keep removing the bait without triggering the trap. Clever boy!

He's a big boy too - one of the biggest I've seen. I decided to go for the poison today even though I'd prefer to trap him. The battle continues!

They're amazingly tough. The cat cornered and injured one a couple of years ago. In an attempt to dispatch it humanely I dropped a felling axe on it several times, but it just squeaked like a dog toy and looked at me bemused.

Beasty

Used to get them up to a foot long on the farm where I lived. It had a massive grain processor (that turned the grain into chicken feed), and the rats had a steady supply of nourishment (until they were trapped by the dogs or workers speared them with a pitchfork)