The Price of Heating Oil and Coal

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If you Believe you are being

Ripped-Off

Complain to the Authorities

Heating Oil Pricing

I have written several posts in the last 12 months on the excessive cost of heating oil in the Republic of Ireland. When compared with the North of Ireland, just up the road a few kilometers, where the price of home heating oils is some 20%+ cheaper. Much of this massively inflated cost is due to Irish Taxes - Carbon Tax, and VAT.

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2011/10/irelands-heating-scandal.html

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2011/10/heating-oil-price-rip-off-scandal.html

What concerned me a great deal was that in Northern Ireland there was a reasonably healthy variation in price between the lowest and the highest prices, but in the Republic the variation was minute.

I made a complaint to the Competition Authority at the time. I was gratified to see that my individual and personal complaint was taken seriously and was entered into a database of similar complaints. If and when sufficient evidence is accumulated, legal proceedings will ensue.

As late as 3rd May 2012 the Director of Public Prosecutions had a conviction against a Galway supplier who was fined.

The Price of Coal and other Solid Fuels

Price fixing is one thing, price gouging is quite another. Price fixing and cartels are a game generally player by the larger players. Price gouging in coal and other solid fuel prices is played by mainly the small players. That is not to say the larger players do not also participate in the game.

A bag of smokeless coal can sell for anything between €14 per 40Kg bag to €21 per 40 Kg bag. That represents a major rip-off and major price gouging.

I am more concerned about solid fuel prices in one way because there is a national trend towards the use of stoves and other solid fuel heaters. This trend is driven by two factors:

(1) The high price of Heating Oil mainly pushed by Government taxes, making the use of oil heating non-viable for many households.
(2) The Recession / Depression gripping the country, whereby many households can only afford fuel on a week by week basis, and where they are having to seek the cheapest possible heating options.

If you experience Rip-Off prices or cartel behaviour - please do not just sit there and moan about it Make a Formal Complaint.

It costs nothing to make a formal complaint - just your time and a little effort. For the most part staff at the national agencies are very helpful, and you will make a difference.

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5% Cut in Number of TDs Irish MPs

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Why Bother?

What's the Point?

A tiny 5% cut in the number 

of Dáil Deputies

There is to be roughly a 5% cut in the number of MPs sitting in the Irish Parliament from 166 members to 158.

Give us a break lads!! - What's the point of a tiny 5% cut I ask?

How about a 50% cut in the numbers and the rest get paid when they clock-in for Parliament sessions on a day by day basis and NOT otherwise.

Also then top off their expenses at a maximum of €10,000 p.a. in ticketed / receipted and approved expenses. Those actions might give some hope and moral lead to the Irish people, and offer a glimmer of hope that there is a tiny vestige of ethics attached to politics.

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Nuclear Risk 200 Times Greater

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Probability of Contamination
From Atomic Powerplants

200 Greater than Expected

A recently published report from The Max Planck Institute states that the probability of contamination from severe nuclear reactor accidents is much higher than previously expected, and that Western Europe has the worldwide highest risk of radioactive contamination caused by major reactor accidents

Catastrophic nuclear accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima are much more likely to happen than previously thought. The Institute has made calculations based on the operating hours of all civil nuclear reactors and the number of nuclear meltdowns that have occurred, scientists have calculated that such events may occur as frequently as once every 10 to 20 years.

The figures are based on the current number of reactors. The calculated RISK FACTOR is some 200 tines greater than previously estimated.

The researchers also determined that, in the event of a major accident, half of the radioactive caesium-137 would be spread over an area of more than 1,000 kilometres away from the nuclear reactor. Their results show that Western Europe is likely to be contaminated about once in 50 years by more than 40 Kilo Becquerel of Caesium-137 per square meter.

The International Atomic Energy Agency defines an area as contaminated when radiation reaches these levels.

Because of the implications and in view of their findings, the Max Planck researchers are calling for an in-depth reassessment of the risk levels associated with nuclear power plants.

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Wind Lens Turbines Another Look

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Wind Lens Turbine Design

The way to go?

The more I read about the "wind lens" turbine design, the more convinced I become that this is not a "snake oil" deal like EEstor and their "vapour ware" super battery.

There is some serious research going on and this research has been published. The research and the researchers do not have the smell of investment hunters or snake oil merchants about them. Snake oil and vapour-ware merchants keep their cards VERY close to their chests - they work with all of the tricks of a stage magician. The people working with wind lens design are very different. It would not take rocket science or much of a lab to test the theory in any case.

Some fair sized upscaling of the design is now taking place. The brim could also keep the "BATTY" people happy, as a net could be stretched over it thus saving wildlife from becoming sushi!!



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Another New Water-Splitting Hydrogen Catalyst

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 Another New

Hydrogen Catalyst

The above team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new catalyst to cheaply and effectively split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. This one is based on nickel-molybdenum-nitride but the real secret is microscopic with a surface structure in the form of nano sheets.


The Magic is in the Surface Structure

The structure of the nano sheets of the metal alloy surprised scientists with its high-performance as a catalyst. The nanosheet structures offer highly accessible reactive sites – consider the surface area difference between bed sheets laid out flat and those crumpled up into balls – and therefore more reaction potential.

High efficiency catalyst have been hard to find. An electro catalyst to to split water needs:

(1)    To be highly durable and not dissolve away too quickly,
(2)    Have high catalytic activity i.e. uses little electricity to do the job,
(3)    Have a high surface area, and
(4)    Be of reasonably priced.

The strength of an element’s bond to hydrogen determines its reaction level – too weak, and there’s no activity; too strong, and the massive initial activity poisons the catalyst.

Platinum is the standard for electro catalysis. It combines low over-potential with high activity. With a price tag of around $50,000 per Kg platinum and other exotic metals are un-economic.

The metals in the new compound are both abundant and cheap at around $20 per Kg for nickel and $32 per Kg for molybdenum. It checks out at around a thousand times less expensive than platinum.

Efficiency Even More Important than Price

Nickel takes the reactive place of platinum in this catalyst, but lacks electron density. Molybdenum is able to enhance its reactivity. While effective, it still couldn’t match the performance levels of platinum. The team used Nitrogen, and expected the applied nitrogen to modify the structure of the nickel-molybdenum, producing discrete, sphere-like nano-particles. But they discovered something quite different.

Exposing the compound to high-temperature ammonia infused the nickel-molybdenum with nitrogen. It also changed the particles into unexpected two-dimensional nanosheets.

The new catalyst performs nearly as well as platinum but at one thousandth the price. The team emphasise that their new catalyst does not represent a complete solution to the challenge of creating affordable hydrogen gas, it does however offer a major reduction in the cost of essential equipment.

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Austerity Poverty Anger & the EU Fiscal Treaty

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Anger Blinds Reason

The Irish People are Very Angry

Hurting in the Harsh Economic Climate

They cannot take more cuts and austerity

The Irish League of Credit Unions recently carried out a survey which clearly outlined the level of poverty affecting Ireland since the austerity programme was introduced..

Because the situation is so negative the Irish League of Credit Unions have commissioned a quarterly survey to monitor the situation.

Here is an outline of the first survey findings:

(1) Half a million people 500,000 Irish citizens have no money left at the end of each month.

(2) 1.60 million have only €100 left each month after paying for essentials And they wonder why business' are struggling!!

(3)  Disposable income is  continuing to fall, and that is perhaps the most worrying finding. Where is the "tipping point" the point of no return?

(4) 51% of the population have experienced a fall in their disposable income in the space of just 6 months.

(5) 45% have problems keeping up with car payments.

(6) 40% of people have switched insurance companies to try and save some money.

(7) 20% are switching to a smaller car to save money

(8) 7% are thinking of giving up driving altogether as it is too expensive.

Add to the above findings the MASSIVE swing to solid fuel heating because of Carbon Tax and VAT, to try and save some money. And the fact that so many have to make the decision to Eat or Heat with Fuel Poverty pushing towards 50%!!.

The recent increases in Carbon Tax, the VAT rate, the Household Charge and other proposed charges or Poll Taxes, the massive impact on petrol and fuel prices, coupled with an increase in Road Tax affecting the take home pay of workers, all conspire to directly deepen the harshness and depression of the situation. 

I will vote YES in the EU Treaty

In this harsh and depressing economic climate, the Irish Government is asking the people to vote for more fiscal changes in the form of the EU Fiscal Compact Treaty.

I am personally in favour of this amendment but so many people, who are hurting very badly in the current economic harshness, will simply tend to lash out in anger and vote NO - just to put one-up to those they perceive as their tormentors.


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Wind Turbine Wind Lens

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Honeywell Wind Lens type? Turbine with Rim Generator

A Brief Look at

Some Recent Developments 

in Wind Turbines

Most wind turbines nowadays seems to take a very similar approach to aero-dynamics. The standard seems to be a three bladed propeller type driving a central shaft with or without a gearbox.

An installation at a Japanese University

Major R&D in Japan

However the Japanese among others have been looking at design and have worked on an air-flow focusing system which can reduce turbulence and noise, and increase dramatically the power to size ratio.

Professor Ohya of Kyushu University who has done major development on the WindLens

They call it a Wind-Lens system. Basically it is a flanged tube around the turbine blades which focuses the airflow, increases the effective speed, and greatly reduced turbulence. It boosts the output greatly and Japanese research shows  that boost in power generation can be up to five time that of a traditional design. Recent field tests indicate a 3 times boost over a regular turbine is not an unrealistic expectation.

Wind lens turbines advantages

1    Much more efficient, can run on half the wind speed of regular turbines.
2    Space saving. They produce more power for the size so take up less space.
3    Much quieter. Less turbulence means quieter operation.
4    Wider range of site options. These little turbines are good in urban settings.
5    Produce usable power in lower speed winds.
6    Safer due to protective rim.
7    Can have a mesh fitted to rim to prevent bird strikes


Honeywell has a bash at the idea?

The Honeywell organisation have developed their own version of what looks like the wind-lens type of turbine. Their version has the generator magnets and coils around the outer rim of the turbine, rather than a center shaft driving a gearbox and generator..

The turbine structure is very light and is reminiscent of a bicycle wheel with spokes to which are attached the turbine blades, I counted 20 blades in all.

This type of annular rim generator design was seen described here on this blog before in the form of a tiny little turbine called  “Turbine in a Box”. That little one turbine also looked somewhat like a very modern bicycle wheel. The design never seemed to have made it in the real world.

There is nothing really new in the Honeywell design - they appear to have taken existing concepts, put them together and improved the overall design. It is an interesting synergy of design factors.

The Honeywell wind turbine is 1.8 m in diameter, weighs 110 kgs and can produce up to 1500 kWh’s in a year depending on height, wind profiles etc.

The Honeywell version of the wind lens, with rim generator, and multi-blade system can start-up in wind speed as low as 0.5 mph (0.2 m/s), Generates current at 3 mph (1.34 m/s) - less than half the speed of traditional designs, and have an auto shut off at 38 mph (17.0 m/s).







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Is Heating Oil Economical?

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I've been asked many times recently

IS HEATING OIL ECONOMICAL?

Taxed out of use by the government!

The answer is somewhat complex, and depends on the individual circumstances.  At the moment heating oil is priced at around €900 per 1000 litres. Most households require between 1500 and 2000 litres a year.

There are 9.821 Kw/hours of heat in a litre of kerosene.- that gives a gross heat output costing 10 cent per Kw/h. Allow for boiler efficiency and for system losses, and I would guess that a figure of between 11.50 and 12.50 cent per Kw/h of delivered heat would be a reasonable estimation.

Electricity is 100% efficient as a heating fuel. It can also be very carefully controlled and directed to where you need the heat without heating half the house and all the piping and the boiler itself.

Currently the standard electricity charge is 0.1619 per Kw/h but most suppliers offer discounts so you should not be paying more than about 14.50cent per Kilowatt hour.

If you have a poorly adjusted, old, or inefficient oil heating system, and with the current price of oil, you would do as well or maybe even better with electricity.

COAL

Coal has now become the only viable option, certainly for poorer families. There is a massive trend towards solid fuel heating. New high efficiency multi-fuel stoves and boilers can offer up to 90% efficiency or in other words, as good as most oil heating systems.

Smokeless coal can be bought for 35 cent per Kg. Petroleum coke smokeless mixes are very efficient coals, and you could expect to get 7 kilowatts for an hour per kilogram. Allow for an overall efficiency of say 75% on average, and the cost per Kilowatt is only 6.7 cents per kilowatt hour. That is nearly half the current cost of oil heating.

I personally have 100% heated my house the last season with coal and saved hundreds of Euro. You do pay a price for using coal though, coal takes a certain amount of tending and work, and is dirty.

But if you need heat and also need to save a lot of money, and you are willing to put some effort into it, solid-fuel is the way to go at the moment - that is until the Irish Minister for Hardship goes and taxes us some more. But then we will find some other ways around it!!




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Ireland 1850 Famine style Eviction?

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Shocking Events

Knee Jerk Reaction 

To Famine Style Eviction

An 1850 Eviction

About 250,000 people were officially recorded as having been evicted during the period 1849 - 1854. These were poor destitute people who could not pay the rent and many of whom literally died at the side of the road during those horrible famine times.

This sad history is deeply etched into the Irish psyche. So when some 162 years on we see scenes closely mirroring the actions of the police and bailiffs of 1850, it is not surprising there is a major reaction and an immediate outcry.

A still from the YouTube Video

I personally reacted very strongly  to the YouTube video, and was quite horrified at the apparent brutality of the act.

However the 2012 picture, and the circumstances surrounding it, differ extensively to those of 1850. My first reaction of horror, disgust, and outrage at the way the eviction was carried out has changed somewhat. I still am shaken by the way it was done,.where bailiffs and police put two elderly people out on the side of the road, it pulls every race memory to the forefront . But I then looked a little deeper at the circumstances surrounding the repossession order and have come to see some mitigating influences that change the way I see the picture quite drastically.

Two Pictures
Two Sides to the Story

1. The family involved appear to be savvy business people. Additionally,  they are the landlords in this instance to quite a few much less well-off  tenants.
2. Media reports indicate that the gentleman is an accountant and runs an international business in addition to his properties.
3. Reports vary but indicate that the family own quite a number of valuable properties which are rented out and no doubt make a good income..
4. The family home involved is reported as being worth €2million or more, 10 times what the average house is worth.
5. The family had at least two years to do something about the situation, like selling off some of their investments, or selling the family home and buying a smaller house etc. they instead chose to do nothing.
6. Additionally, it would appear to me that there is a well orchestrated media campaign going on here. The tent on the side of the road, the video on YouTube etc. etc. Lights  - camera - action!!

I have no time for banks and bankers, government financial strategies are a mess, and I think the authorities acted unwisely in this instance - but there are two sides to every story.

Poker with Property
Knee Jerk replaced by Cynicism

My initial knee jerk reaction, to the posted YouTube video of the Famine style eviction, has been tempered with a healthy dose of cynicism.

This is a substantially wealthy family which could perhaps have been worth tens of millions had the Celtic Tiger not been poisoned by the extreme greed of the richer half of the Irish Nation, who, along with the bankers, played poker with property, severely hurting the nation in the process..

If you gamble at poker and you happen to lose, then don't come moaning to the public or looking for too much sympathy.  I personally have no love lost on property speculators at any level.

I still think the way it was done was at least harsh and ham-fisted.




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IMF Ireland and Cow Puckie

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Funk Off IMF

Are You Codding us?

The IMF have issued a statement that said that Ireland's and Portugal's financial "adjustment programmes have placed the burden of adjustment on the better off". - OMG What a complete and massive load of Cow Puckie that statement represents, at least in Ireland's case.

The richest in Ireland are some 10% better off with these adjustments having taken place, and the poorest are some 25% worse off - with these "adjustments".

The poor have taken huge cuts both in their income and in services, and some 20% of Irish children experience hunger, while on the other hand, the government people have taken a lousy little 15% cut in average salaries of €150,000 and no cut in their immoral, unjustifiable, and massive expense accounts.  They are so removed from the ordinary people they probably believe the IMF bullshine. Evidently the IMF people either have their eyes tightly shut while spouting their rhetoric, or they simply lack the ability to add up numbers.

The poor are paying a huge price, and the country is on the verge of a Celtic spring, or at least large scale civil disobedience, while Nero fiddled - while these IMF gobshites spout out this sewage!!

I will need to have my blood pressure checked!!




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