Futurproofing your house

[Paul_B]

Don't go to YouTube for your climate change facts, go to these links instead...

YouTube "scientist" activist1's video
YouTube "scientist" activist2's video
YouTube "scientist" activist3's video

Hmm! That's convinced me! Lol!

Seriously, if you don't think YouTube is a good place to find out the facts for one side surely it's not the place for any side.

It reminds me of a climate debate on another forum where someone said that you shouldn't listen to a piece on some newspaper websites because it didn't agree with his views. He instead posted a link to the commons library report submitted to a HoC Committee looking at climate change. Sounds a good source. When you actually read it it was pure propaganda from greenpeace. When you looked at the bottom of the report there was a disclaimer which said the report was submitted but might not have been read or used by the committee. The truth was that greenpeace did this a lot, they submit propaganda reports to commitees so that they can be quoted from the official HoC records. Ppl are more likely to believe it from there.

So imho your best way to truth is to read research outputs from credible institutions.

Decades ago I had a friend who was a manager in an institute funded directly by UK government based in my nearest university but separate from the university. He ran various PhD and post doc researchers amounting to millions of pounds. They went around the world carrying out the research including Antarctica. He got into it when climate change research was the hot topic. I got me very interesting, early information on climate change from him, at the coal face so to speak.

 

[Toddy]

To be honest , protesting is mostly futile. So is trying to have a decent conversation about the problem we have all, myself included , made for ourselves.
I can't do anything about the past, and my efforts to convince others seem to have been mostly futile, resulting in gaslighting and negativity.
Tengu is right, most people are not interested. Life is either ticking along nicely thank you, or people are too busy working to put food on the table and pay their bills to consider that there are huge problems that should have been tackled years ago, and now it's pretty much too late.
The school concrete scenario being a typical symptom of this sort of short sighted thinking. It's only when it gets serious that anyone realy even bothers to start wondering what can be done. One school collapsing wasn't enough to sound the siren and get busy sorting the problem. Why now? I can only imagine that the magnitude of serious faults have been at last recognised, and realisation that allowing children to be killed or injured would totaly kak up the ruling party for evermore if it got out....which it already has, that those in charge had known for a long time about it but done nothing.. no futureproofing there at all!
It's last minute firefighting all the time nowadays.
Anyway, back to futureproofing a home.
I'm interested in what others consider is important.
One thing I'm facing is no buses after march 2024. Nearest town, hospital, and shopping centre is 20 miles away.
I can't afford an electric car, I can't cycle 40 miles with or without shopping. Even an electric one would struggle at that distance.
I presently just shop localy and order a few items a week on my friends tesco shop that I can't find here in town.
But what if I need to travel somewhere else, or want a weekend away ?

Solutions on a postcard please.

I think this is very much the reason that people really did take to the railways expansions, the trams networks, and the personal transport of the car. They had choice of so much that they hadn't been able to access before, they could select for themselves.

If you can't easily travel then you're rather stuck with just what is on your doorstep or what someone else is prepared to supply.....a small shop for instance with a limited inventory and usually at a greater cost.

I know of friends in rural areas here who have helped set up a local 'co-op' type shop.
It takes a lot of volunteer effort, but they have managed to get bulk buys of not just fresh fruit and veg on a regular basis, but flours, sugar, rice, etc., that folks come and weigh out what they need.
Their area never had a bus service, barely even had a postbus service when that was permissible, no trains, just two wee shops, one the post office, and those really struggled outside of tourist season. When those closed, the locals were out of options unless they had cars.

Might be a really good community effort though; might not sit well with the shops you do have however.

M

 

[ManFriday4]

Don't go to YouTube for your climate change facts, go to these links instead...

YouTube "scientist" activist1's video
YouTube "scientist" activist2's video
YouTube "scientist" activist3's video

Hmm! That's convinced me! Lol!

Seriously, if you don't think YouTube is a good place to find out the facts for one side surely it's not the place for any side.

It reminds me of a climate debate on another forum where someone said that you shouldn't listen to a piece on some newspaper websites because it didn't agree with his views. He instead posted a link to the commons library report submitted to a HoC Committee looking at climate change. Sounds a good source. When you actually read it it was pure propaganda from greenpeace. When you looked at the bottom of the report there was a disclaimer which said the report was submitted but might not have been read or used by the committee. The truth was that greenpeace did this a lot, they submit propaganda reports to commitees so that they can be quoted from the official HoC records. Ppl are more likely to believe it from there.

So imho your best way to truth is to read research outputs from credible institutions.

Decades ago I had a friend who was a manager in an institute funded directly by UK government based in my nearest university but separate from the university. He ran various PhD and post doc researchers amounting to millions of pounds. They went around the world carrying out the research including Antarctica. He got into it when climate change research was the hot topic. I got me very interesting, early information on climate change from him, at the coal face so to speak.

Thank you, but I don't need advice about where to look for the best climate data. I know that the oil industry actually produced the best data, back on the 1970s & 80s.

As requested by the Moderators, I will not be sharing it with you or anyone else on this forum and if that is what is required to keep the peace.

Thank you for your advice, but no thank you

 

[Woody girl]

Great idea Toddy, but how does that get me to the hospital, or nearest coach or rail station so I can visit friends elsewhere, or have a break away from home?

I don't realy go "shopping" anymore, havnt done so since 2020, as I said, I have workarounds for most of my shopping needs, plus we have a grocer, butcher and expensive Co op here. So I'm not worried about that...yet.

We have two main demographics here.

Well off car owners, usualy retired, own their own home outright, and are very comfortablebly off thank you.

Then we have the " normal" estate mix of working people, families, single mums and assorted druggie/alcoholic dross that are put out of the way of the bigger towns and dumped here when the towns have had enough of them.
(Even paradise has its problems)

Without transport , its gonna be a bit of a problem for many, especially those less well off, but nobody seems to know what's happening, or even care when i tell them.

 

[Watch-keeper]

Anyhoo ..... a bit off topic but does anyone know which mineral wool insulation has the longest life expectancy and why.
I'm just in the beginning phase of looking in to cold roof insulating my loft area.
Rockwool seems to be one touted as being the best but I see see tons of other manufacturers who all claim to be equally awesome?

 

[ManFriday4]

Great idea Toddy, but how does that get me to the hospital, or nearest coach or rail station so I can visit friends elsewhere, or have a break away from home?

I don't realy go "shopping" anymore, havnt done so since 2020, as I said, I have workarounds for most of my shopping needs, plus we have a grocer, butcher and expensive Co op here. So I'm not worried about that...yet.

We have two main demographics here.

Well off car owners, usualy retired, own their own home outright, and are very comfortablebly off thank you.

Then we have the " normal" estate mix of working people, families, single mums and assorted druggie/alcoholic dross that are put out of the way of the bigger towns and dumped here when the towns have had enough of them.
(Even paradise has its problems)

Without transport , its gonna be a bit of a problem for many, especially those less well off, but nobody seems to know what's happening, or even care when i tell them.

I have always cycled every where. We now live on the edge of a small city so I get that it's convenient. But we used to live 15 miles from town. An ebike/ ebike conversion will easily get you a 50mile rond trip. You could even attach a trolley for extra stuff. We also ask neighbours for help and occassionally use taxis like when we are going away.

When we lived on the boat my son cut his head open and my neighbour drove us to hospital. Though the boating community are much closer and more willing to help each other in my experience.

Trying to live a low impact life is really quite difficult at times but good for you for doing it.

 

[ManFriday4]

Anyhoo ..... a bit off topic but does anyone know which mineral wool insulation has the longest life expectancy and why.
I'm just in the beginning phase of looking in to cold roof insulating my loft area.
Rockwool seems to be one touted as being the best but I see see tons of other manufacturers who all claim to be equally awesome?

Insulating your home is not off topic.

If you have 300mm of insulation in your loft, that's all you need. Anymore is pointless. Rockwool is much of a muchness I think they all come with 5-20 years warranty. No moving parts, what's to go wrong?

 

[Watch-keeper]

Insulating your home is not off topic.

If you have 300mm of insulation in your loft, that's all you need. Anymore is pointless. Rockwool is much of a muchness I think they all come with 5-20 years warranty. No moving parts, what's to go wrong?

That's kind of what I was thinking its just a blanket made of glass/mineral fiber but there is quite a price difference between manufacturers. Maybe I naively thought that it cant just be down to marketing and branding and there had to be some technical difference to justify the increase in price. I'm going to keep digging to see if there is anything that really seems to indicate one is better then another.

 

[Woody girl]

I have always cycled every where. We now live on the edge of a small city so I get that it's convenient. But we used to live 15 miles from town. An ebike/ ebike conversion will easily get you a 50mile rond trip. You could even attach a trolley for extra stuff. We also ask neighbours for help and occassionally use taxis like when we are going away.

When we lived on the boat my son cut his head open and my neighbour drove us to hospital. Though the boating community are much closer and more willing to help each other in my experience.

Trying to live a low impact life is really quite difficult at times but good for you for doing it.

I have some mobility problems, so a normal pushbike is not possible for me.
I have, or rather had a very expensive whisper electric bike, but, not having a garage or anywhere to store it out of the weather, it deteriorated, and is now expensive junk.
I'm not allowed to store it in the house as its considered a fire risk by the H. A.
So even if it were possible to afford another, it would go the same way as the other. I've lost almost a thousand pounds trying that "solution"
It hurts!

 

[ManFriday4]

That's kind of what I was thinking its just a blanket made of glass/mineral fiber but there is quite a price difference between manufacturers. Maybe I naively thought that it cant just be down to marketing and branding and there had to be some technical difference to justify the increase in price. I'm going to keep digging to see if there is anything that really seems to indicate one is better then another.

The U value or R value is what you want to check.

High R value - rockwool insulation has a higher R value than fibreglass insulation (3.0 to 3.3 per inch compared to 2.2 to 2.7 per inch). This indicates that stone wool has higher thermal resistance, making it a good option to insulate with

 

[Toddy]

Great idea Toddy, but how does that get me to the hospital, or nearest coach or rail station so I can visit friends elsewhere, or have a break away from home?

I don't realy go "shopping" anymore, havnt done so since 2020, as I said, I have workarounds for most of my shopping needs, plus we have a grocer, butcher and expensive Co op here. So I'm not worried about that...yet.

We have two main demographics here.

Well off car owners, usualy retired, own their own home outright, and are very comfortablebly off thank you.

Then we have the " normal" estate mix of working people, families, single mums and assorted druggie/alcoholic dross that are put out of the way of the bigger towns and dumped here when the towns have had enough of them.
(Even paradise has its problems)

Without transport , its gonna be a bit of a problem for many, especially those less well off, but nobody seems to know what's happening, or even care when i tell them.

It doesn't unless you apply the same principle to the 'co operative' travel.
I watched a video a while ago of a group of ladies in rural India who got together and bought a car and employed a driver to take them to hospital as required. It meant that Mums to be knew they could get there, and the Driver would either wait, or come back again to bring them home.
Perhaps something along those lines ?
In rural France it's normal to drive voiture sans permis. These little two seater cars are available and allowed simply so that people can have transport in areas where public transport just does not exist, or suit for hospital visits, shopping, etc.,

The little car you can drive in France without a licence

The top speed is 28mph and it's only tiny but the voiture sans permis - often held together with wire and gaffer tape - is a key feature of French village life.

www.bbc.co.uk

Perhaps we need to nag the govt, but I suspect the low impact folks would rise up in arms and stop any development along those lines, regardless of how it would benefit many who otherwise would have no access.

Public transport isn't guaranteed to reach every single place. It certainly never did up here.
Self sufficiency takes many routes, but for all the screaming opprobium these days about folks using cars, for many there is little other option if they want normal access to things the majority take for granted.

Perhaps something of those options might be possible ? Your own ill health might qualify you for the mobility scheme ? It's not free, but it takes care of the bulk of the expense of acquiring a vehicle.
You might enjoy running a kind of community hub car


@Paul_B
Apologies, this response is totally OT.

 

[Toddy]

On Topic

I think there are two things about future proofing our house that I will implement.
Firstly new high spec double glazing windows and doors. The insulation is already pretty good. I did wonder about the foam stuff in the loft but folks who worked it totally persuaded me agin that.

Secondly, looking to see how feasible it would be for simple solar power panels that would harvest enough to supply batteries for everything from the smoke alarms (required by law here in every house, and insurances invalid if not actively working) to lights and computers. Winter is sixteen hours of dark. I don't want that with only light from burning stuff that pollutes my home's atmosphere with particulate matter.
There are all sorts of things around the panels having to be connected to the grid, etc., and that's putting a lot of folks off bothering.

 

[ManFriday4]

I have some mobility problems, so a normal pushbike is not possible for me.
I have, or rather had a very expensive whisper electric bike, but, not having a garage or anywhere to store it out of the weather, it deteriorated, and is now expensive junk.
I'm not allowed to store it in the house as its considered a fire risk by the H. A.
So even if it were possible to afford another, it would go the same way as the other. I've lost almost a thousand pounds trying that "solution"
It hurts!

Sometimes the solution to a problem like this is to move. You probably have a well established set up where you are so that's difficult and uprooting can be hard. Consider looking at an ecological community maybe? IDK, but I sympathise.

 

[ManFriday4]

I have some mobility problems, so a normal pushbike is not possible for me.
I have, or rather had a very expensive whisper electric bike, but, not having a garage or anywhere to store it out of the weather, it deteriorated, and is now expensive junk.
I'm not allowed to store it in the house as its considered a fire risk by the H. A.
So even if it were possible to afford another, it would go the same way as the other. I've lost almost a thousand pounds trying that "solution"
It hurts!

Is there a co-wheels possibility?

Find a Co Wheels Car near you

Are you looking for a car near you? Search online and find the perfect vehicle for you.

www.co-wheels.org.uk

 

[ManFriday4]

On Topic

I think there are two things about future proofing our house that I will implement.
Firstly new high spec double glazing windows and doors. The insulation is already pretty good. I did wonder about the foam stuff in the loft but folks who worked it totally persuaded me agin that.

Secondly, looking to see how feasible it would be for simple solar power panels that would harvest enough to supply batteries for everything from the smoke alarms (required by law here in every house, and insurances invalid if not actively working) to lights and computers. Winter is sixteen hours of dark. I don't want that with only light from burning stuff that pollutes my home's atmosphere with particulate matter.
There are all sorts of things around the panels having to be connected to the grid, etc., and that's putting a lot of folks off bothering.

Why not start with solar thermal fir yout hot water?

 

[ManFriday4]

On Topic

I think there are two things about future proofing our house that I will implement.
Firstly new high spec double glazing windows and doors. The insulation is already pretty good. I did wonder about the foam stuff in the loft but folks who worked it totally persuaded me agin that.

Secondly, looking to see how feasible it would be for simple solar power panels that would harvest enough to supply batteries for everything from the smoke alarms (required by law here in every house, and insurances invalid if not actively working) to lights and computers. Winter is sixteen hours of dark. I don't want that with only light from burning stuff that pollutes my home's atmosphere with particulate matter.
There are all sorts of things around the panels having to be connected to the grid, etc., and that's putting a lot of folks off bothering.

How to calculate and size your off grid system

How to Size an Off Grid Solar PV System for the Home

Solar PV Panels, Solar Panels Installation Sizing, Home Solar Panels Project

www.electricalengineeringtoolbox.com

 

[TLM]

which mineral wool insulation has the longest life expectancy and why.

All "mineral" wools are for ever if not mechanically broken, kind of. The mineral mineral wool is my preference because it is nicer to handle than glass wool. Not much difference in insulation values with equal densities. For mineral wool the max is at about 60-70 kg/m³.

There is one property where the differences might matter, in a fire glass wool melts and kind of disappears at much lower temp than mineral. Also proper installing might make a difference, even small gaps leak heat and flames.

Here in Finland at the moment the code requires about 250mm min for walls and 350 for ceiling for mineral wool. So called zero energy houses have about 400mm and 600mm but that is a misnomer anyway as warm water is not counted in the heating energy balance of the house though of course it is counted for total energy usage.

 

[Toddy]

Why not start with solar thermal fir yout hot water?

Because our hot water needs are very simple as they are. Very newly installed, quite efficient, ticked all the at present green boxes.

 

[Stew]

Why not start with solar thermal fir yout hot water?

I don’t see how solar thermal is a good investment for domestic.

 

[ManFriday4]

I don’t see how solar thermal is a good investment for domestic.

Because it literally replaces gas with solar energy. I jmhave nothing more to say on this