Haven't we come a long way!!

hero25 · 17-01-2021 11:45am #1

For those of us born in the 70s, or even 60s or 80s (???) ..... I was in the shower last night, thinking as one does in the shower..... and it struck me, haven't we come a long way?
There I was in my power shower with its over-sized rain head, copious amounts of hot water, UFH on the tiled floor when i got out, the MHRV doing its thing .... and that was before I left the ensuite! (Tongue-in-cheek:) )
Compare that to the houses we grew up in the in 70s ..... and compare that to the houses our parents grew up in.
Haven't we come a long way in 2 generations?
What kind of houses will our grandchildren build in the future? What's next?

Thespoofer · 17-01-2021 11:47am

hero25 wrote: »

For those of us born in the 70s, or even 60s or 80s (???) ..... I was in the shower last night, thinking as one does in the shower..... and it struck me, haven't we come a long way?
There I was in my power shower with its over-sized rain head, copious amounts of hot water, UFH on the tiled floor when i got out, the MHRV doing its thing .... and that was before I left the ensuite!
Compare that to the houses we grew up in the in 70s ..... and compare that to the houses our parents grew up in.
Haven't we come a long way in 2 generations?
What kind of houses will our grandchildren build in the future? What's next?

Fine for some.

_Brian · 17-01-2021 11:48am

I think of the generation alive that saw electricity rolled out and homes lit up. I’m not sure another generation will see the same changes. 74years ago this week that rural electrification started.

eviltwin · 17-01-2021 11:51am

I recently got smart lightbulbs and plugs in my house. Its amazing to be able to turn on or off a light and start the kettle without having to leave my bed. And add to that all the other things we have now that we take for granted...I mean, being able to pause/rewind live tv is something I still find pretty amazing.

Nalz · 17-01-2021 11:51am

MHRV?

MarkR · 17-01-2021 11:53am

Nalz wrote: »

MHRV?

I had to Google it too. Manual heat recovery something or other. OP is a hero. And master of TLA's (three, or in this case four letter acronyms!)

Ubbquittious · 17-01-2021 12:05pm

hero25 wrote: »

For those of us born in the 70s, or even 60s or 80s (???) ..... I was in the shower last night, thinking as one does in the shower..... and it struck me, haven't we come a long way?
There I was in my power shower with its over-sized rain head, copious amounts of hot water, UFH on the tiled floor when i got out, the MHRV doing its thing .... and that was before I left the ensuite! (Tongue-in-cheek:) )
Compare that to the houses we grew up in the in 70s ..... and compare that to the houses our parents grew up in.
Haven't we come a long way in 2 generations?
What kind of houses will our grandchildren build in the future? What's next?

You are probably paying dear for it though. In the 70s you could buy a massive house for £12,000. Wages were lower but not 20-30 times lower.

I didn't see much of the 80s but I dont remember being cold. We had a a range you could shovel a load of cheap coal into and there was grand haet off it

Stihl waters · 17-01-2021 12:09pm

Just out of my own shower and literally thinking the same thing, washing in the bath on a Saturday night in the bath water we all had to use and it going colder by the minute, it made me think of how well we've done in a couple of generations, great days indeed

And also I remember coming in from school in the winter and the inside of the single pane windows soaking because of condensation, triple glazed now in most new houses

NIMAN · 17-01-2021 12:10pm

Without wanting to put a dampener on it all, but aren't all these luxuries we have now part of the reason the planet is struggling?

17-01-2021 12:16pm

No matter how sophistamicated we're becoming with renewable energies and what not, I'l still morn the passing of the olde Bord Na Mona peat briquette in a few years time, when the stocks run out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpbjGXGJNIU

lucalux · 17-01-2021 12:23pm

Saturday night or Sunday night bath time in the mid-90's is a very real memory.
Central heating was poor and single glazed windows so we'd pile in front of the open fire to get our pyjamas on.
Four of us so I don't know how clean we ever got sharing bath water after a week eughh

Literally had a bath once a week. Madness now!

the beer revolu · 17-01-2021 12:34pm

Growing up in the 70's and 80s our house was warmer than my house is now - it was mostly way too warm.
Always hot water on tap, too.
Energy conservation wasn't really a thing.

_Brian · 17-01-2021 12:38pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Without wanting to put a dampener on it all, but aren't all these luxuries we have now part of the reason the planet is struggling?

No.
Automated heat recovery systems save energy being consumed, as do triple glazed Windows. Automation of heating and appliances leads to lower energy consumption.

My current house I built ten years ago costs maybe €500 to heat with oil for the year, previous house I built in 1994 required three times the oil to maintain at a comfortable level. Technology will help solve many problems if it’s embraced and used correctly. We’re developing our own renewable fuel source to further reduce oil consumption to maybe half.

super_furry · 17-01-2021 12:40pm

The fire in the kitchen was the first thing to go on be at that heated the water, god forbid the immersion goes on. No central heating so on cold winter mornings the condensation on the inside of the bedroom windows had turned to ice.

I'm not even that old, but stuff like sounds like it's from the turn of last century.

NIMAN · 17-01-2021 12:40pm

_Brian wrote: »

No.
Automated heat recovery systems save energy being consumed, as do triple glazed Windows. Automation of heating and appliances leads to lower energy consumption.

What about more and more people burning oil worldwide, more cars on the road, air conditioning, more TVs, more games consoles, more tech generally.....

You trying to say we aren't using more energy now versus the 70s/80s?

This progress and more widespread improved standard of living has come at a cost.

_Brian · 17-01-2021 12:43pm

NIMAN wrote: »

What about more and more people burning oil worldwide, more cars on the road, air conditioning, more TVs, more games consoles, more tech generally.....

You trying to say we aren't using more energy now versus the 70s/80s?

This progress and more widespread improved standard of living has come at a cost.

We are.
But there are solutions to reduce consumption that can and are being implemented. People need to beleive what they are being told and act accordingly to reduce their energy wastage.

17-01-2021 12:43pm

Stihl waters wrote: »

Just out of my own shower and literally thinking the same thing, washing in the bath on a Saturday night in the bath water we all had to use and it going colder by the minute, it made me think of how well we've done in a couple of generations, great days indeed

And also I remember coming in from school in the winter and the inside of the single pane windows soaking because of condensation, triple glazed now in most new houses

The secret was having the bath in front of the cooker and the mother on kettle duty to keep topping up. It was 1970 before we got running water and a proper bathroom!

Ray Donovan · 17-01-2021 12:43pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Without wanting to put a dampener on it all, but aren't all these luxuries we have now part of the reason the planet is struggling?

Actually quite the opposite. OP has UFH which I presume means he has an Air to Water Pump (or Geothermal) which sources its energy from the air. So he is not using oil/gas to heat his house. He is dependent on Renewable energy so he is a actually doing his bit for the environment. And it cost him a pretty penny to install air to water, underfloor heating and heat recovery ventilation.

OP, don’t forget to change filters in your MHRV by the way.

Wibbs · 17-01-2021 12:45pm

eviltwin wrote: »

I recently got smart lightbulbs and plugs in my house. Its amazing to be able to turn on or off a light and start the kettle without having to leave my bed. And add to that all the other things we have now that we take for granted...I mean, being able to pause/rewind live tv is something I still find pretty amazing.

Thespoofer · 17-01-2021 12:45pm

Ray Donovan wrote: »

Actually quite the opposite. OP has UFH which I presume means he has an Air to Water Pump (or Geothermal) which sources its energy from the air. So he is not using oil/gas to heat his house. He is dependent on Renewable energy so he is a actually doing his bit for the environment. And it cost him a pretty penny to install air to water, underfloor heating and heat recovery ventilation.

OP, don’t forget to change filters in your MHRV by the way.

Unless a new council house, they all coming with UFC, heat pumps now.

Ubbquittious · 17-01-2021 12:47pm

NIMAN wrote: »

What about more and more people burning oil worldwide, more cars on the road, air conditioning, more TVs, more games consoles, more tech generally.....

You trying to say we aren't using more energy now versus the 70s/80s?

This progress and more widespread improved standard of living has come at a cost.

The extra insulation and fancy schmancy ASHP + M-HRV + UFH combos are stop gaps that temporarily shield us from the looming resource crunch that the past 50-70 or so years of overindulgence has set us up for

Someone better invent a cheap fusion reactor fast or many decades of shivering and rolling blackouts await

Mister Vain · 17-01-2021 12:51pm

Thespoofer wrote: »

Unless a new council house, they all coming with UFC, heat pumps now.

Ultimate Fighting Championship?

completedit · 17-01-2021 12:53pm

Sounds like a paragraph in a Dave Mcwilliams book

Edgware · 17-01-2021 12:53pm

hero25 wrote: »

For those of us born in the 70s, or even 60s or 80s (???) ..... I was in the shower last night, thinking as one does in the shower..... and it struck me, haven't we come a long way?
There I was in my power shower with its over-sized rain head, copious amounts of hot water, UFH on the tiled floor when i got out, the MHRV doing its thing .... and that was before I left the ensuite! (Tongue-in-cheek:) )
Compare that to the houses we grew up in the in 70s ..... and compare that to the houses our parents grew up in.
Haven't we come a long way in 2 generations?
What kind of houses will our grandchildren build in the future? What's next?

Worra bow the homeless Joe?

Thespoofer · 17-01-2021 1:00pm

Mister Vain wrote: »

Ultimate Fighting Championship?

UFH ! Good spot !

lucalux · 17-01-2021 1:04pm

super_furry wrote: »

The fire in the kitchen was the first thing to go on be at that heated the water, god forbid the immersion goes on. No central heating so on cold winter mornings the condensation on the inside of the bedroom windows had turned to ice.

I'm not even that old, but stuff like sounds like it's from the turn of last century.

I'm not even that old, but I had to peel off the ice from the single paned bedroom windows here last week, or whenever we had those few frosty days.

Feck, I've time travelled back to the past somehow. Anyone have the winning lotto numbers from 1978?:)

Hyperbollix · 17-01-2021 1:06pm

Grew up in a bungalow with single walls and glazing in the 80's and 90's. Had to light a fire every winter morning before work/school or we would be frozen to the kitchen chairs. Had a tiny open fire with a rubbish back boiler that would barely put blood heat in the rads. When we upgraded to a supperser, we felt like kings!

The idea of decent central heating and hot water at the flick of the switch or better yet, :eek: a timer to bring it in at a desired time.... It was like Star Trek stuff.

the beer revolu · 17-01-2021 1:07pm

NIMAN wrote: »

What about more and more people burning oil worldwide, more cars on the road, air conditioning, more TVs, more games consoles, more tech generally.....

You trying to say we aren't using more energy now versus the 70s/80s?

This progress and more widespread improved standard of living has come at a cost.

We seem to be making things more efficient but at the same time we are making more things that require energy.

So despite everything getting more efficient we still seem to be increasing our energy consumption!

humberklog · 17-01-2021 1:18pm

Pulling back the cold damp blankets, peeking out through the heavy garish curtains, lifting the damp to touch net curtains to make a circle with the palm of your hand in the condensation saturated single pane window to gaze out on the dust of snow below.
You fold your arms to rest them on the window sill, but forget there's a small water gully that collects condensation at the bottom of the window and you plonk your folded arms into it.

That, that cold stream of pencil thick cold water running down my arms is the 70's to me and I'm still a little wary of resting my arms on window sills in winter.

Thank f for modern insulation.

17-01-2021 1:20pm

lucalux wrote: »

Anyone have the winning lotto numbers from 1978?:)

∞, ∞, ∞, ∞, ∞, ∞ / ∞

Considering the lottery didn't start until sometime late 80s ...

lucalux · 17-01-2021 1:23pm

StevieHardesty wrote: »

∞, ∞, ∞, ∞, ∞, ∞ / ∞

Considering the lottery didn't start until sometime late 80s ...

Showing my real age, oops

I'm about to be locked up in the Central Mental Hospital so, these people are on to me...

(wait when did that open?!)

Haven't we come a long way!!

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