Recently, we issued a post about the “sunk cost fallacy”. In that post we highlighted the fact that the UK has a long history of distributing energy via gas networks, and it therefore makes sense for vested interests in the UK to pursue hydrogen as a potential replacement for Natural Gas.
The MCS Foundation recently released a paper about this very issue, comparing the UK with France.
The reason for the comparison is that our neighbours are deploying heat pumps at 10 times the speed of the UK.
The report takes a detailed look at the full range of factors which are pushing the speedy roll out of heat pumps in France compared to the sluggish deployment in the UK, but concludes that “it is impossible to single out one factor as being solely responsible for France’s success in heat pump deployment.”
At Brimstone Energy, we agree with the analysis presented in the report. A wide range of historical, societal, and geographic factors affect each country, and the result is that things evolve differently.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – heating
In Maslow’s hierarch of needs, the physiological needs of warmth and shelter are the basic needs that we must satisfy first, before we can progress to the more esoteric self-actualisation needs. Whilst philosophers may debate elements of the theory, the basic premise is very attractive. It is very difficult to feel good about your place in the world if your house is freezing cold and your teeth are chattering.
Likewise, at the basic level, if you are strapped for cash and want to heat your home in the most cost-effective manner, you’ll likely go for the solution which has the cheapest up-front cost and cheapest running costs in the near term.
If you have the capacity to take a slightly more strategic view, you might be aware of the fact that fossil fuels are traded internationally and have historically been subject to external price shocks. The 1973 Oil Crisis saw the oil price jump by 300% in a 6-month period. The 1979 Oil Crisis saw the oil price double over a 12-month period, taking 5 years to return to its pre-crisis price.
Fast forward to 2022, gas prices spiked due to the Russia-Ukraine war and are predicted to remain elevated for the rest of the decade according to Cornwall Insights. Coming amidst a period of high inflation elsewhere in the economy as well as rising interest rates hitting mortgage holders particularly hard, this has been a period of economic challenge unlike any we have seen in the last 20 years.
Energy Independence – The Brimstone Energy UK vision
In this broader economic environment, the allure of energy independence is strong. Technology has advanced significantly in the last few years.
It is now perfectly possible to generate and store your own electricity, which can deliver your hot water, heating and electricity for cooking, appliances and your vehicle.
Even with a relatively modest investment, you can become substantially energy independent for 6 months of the year.
Given a large enough capital investment up front, it is possible for homes to become totally off grid. To do this, you would need to ensure your electricity demand is as low as possible (by highly insulating your home), that you can store a sufficiently large amount of thermal and electrical energy, and to ensure that your generation capacity is likely to meet your minimum viable energy need in a rolling 3 day period.
Very few homeowners will take this idea to the fullest extent, but by demonstrating the art of the possible, you can draw inspiration for your own home energy project.
We love this barn conversion case study from Somerset.
The cost of the grid connection to this barn was astronomical, which provided the owners with the incentive to look at alternatives.
The barn conversion is now a very large and beautiful home – fully equipped for modern living.
To power the entire home in a totally off grid scenario, the home has its own “power station” consisting of:
80 x 335 w solar panels for a 26.8 kWp supply
3 x 13.8 kWh batteries for a total 41.4 kWh storage capacity
So, in theory a 2 hour blast of midday sun in May & June will be sufficient to fully charge the batteries. 41.4 kWh is about the size of your battery in a Nissan Leaf car. A normal house (excluding ASHP) will use about 10 kWh per day.
This size of system is sufficient to run this home even in winter. A fairly normal system installed in your home will be enough to power your home for about 8 months of the year.
Avoid Energy Price Shocks with Brimstone Energy
If you want to insure yourself from external price shocks, you too should consider investing in a home energy system. For a detailed look at the Financial Independence case for Energy Independence, have a look at our article here.
Your ability to heat and power your home doesn’t need to be at the mercy of global energy markets.
Take back control with Brimstone Energy.
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