House Sitting With Ocado
I like animals and I miss having cats, dogs and horses around.
I particularly miss our stallion ; Vague Shot, who had a nickname of Cyril. When I was feeling down, he always had time for a chat and a cuddle.
It may seem strange, but when C died, Cyril was the first I told. But then as he was a stallion, the stud was his personal domain. Hence his understanding.
Recently, I’ve taken to doing my shopping at Ocado, which means that my coeliac disease, is not a problem, if Ocado deliver.
I had thought about house and pet sitting before, but my coeliac disease and the fact I don’t drive seemed to end discussions.
So I think, I’m going to do a bit of house and small pet sitting, mainly to get a welcome change of scenery. I’ll leave the logistics to Ocado.
Consider.
- I have no pets myself.
- I am a non-smoker.
- I am more or less tee-total these days.
- I have no children or grandchildren under 23.
- I will tell Ocado, as I have no connection with them, except as a customer, who uses their services regularly.
What do my readers think?
British Gas Partners With Strata And Daikin To Launch Eco-Tech Low Bill Homes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
British Gas is set to supercharge sustainable living across the UK with the launch of Low Carbon Homes – a ground-breaking pilot in partnership with Strata and heat pump manufacturer, Daikin.
These are the first four paragraphs, which fill out a bit of detail.
In anticipation of The Future Homes Standard, customers will move into new build homes which have been fitted with a full range of the latest low-carbon technology at no extra cost to the housebuilder or owner. The homes will be equipped with a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels, 5 kWh battery storage, Hive electric vehicle charger and thermostat. These items will be integrated into Hive’s award-winning app, providing customers with one-stop visibility and control of their energy usage.
The first trial phase will launch at a Strata’s “Breathe” development site in Kiveton, Rotherham. As a thank you for participating in the pilot, British Gas is giving homeowners access to a fixed rate tailored British Gas tariff. Participants in the trial will also have access to a dedicated British Gas energy manager to help them optimise the technology and keep bills as low as possible, while still meeting their desired comfort levels.
Each home will be fitted with a Hive hub, which connects to the WIFI network and acts as the home’s operating system, integrating all the sustainable technology. The customers energy and heat schedules and budget will be optimised by the Hive Hub for further savings.
When the customer connects to Hive’s app they will be able to control and maximise efficiency by setting schedules and spending budgets and allowing the Hub to help them reduce their bills.
Note.
- As a Control Engineer, this to me is a good start.
- I suspect that a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels and 5 kWh battery storage will keep the average house warm.
- I would expect that the three companies have optimised the ratios between the sizes of the components to give the best performance.
It is amazing to think that it was in the early seventies, that in the two sections, where I worked at ICI, engineers had just started controlling and optimising flows, pressures and temperatures in complex chemical plants.
If you’d asked any of us, when our houses heating systems would be as fully controlled, we’d have given twenty years at most.
What kept the world so long?
I have a few thoughts.
Could The Housing Have Gas For Cooking??
Yes! Centrica owns a big share with Hyundai, Kia and others of a start-up company called HiiROC.
- This is the HiiROC web site.
- HiiROC can take any hydocarbon gas and split it into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Green hydrogen is obviously useful and the carbon black can be used for making tyres for vehicles, anodes for lithium-ion batteries and in agriculture for soil improvement.
- Waste off-gas from a chemical plant can be split into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Biomethane from a sewage plant can be split into hydrogen and carbon black. Could a sewage plant on an estate be used to create biomethane for cooking and feeding to the HiiROC plant? Yes!
- Could green hydrogen produced on the estate be used to drive vehicles like cars, vans and ride-on-mowers. Yes! If the manufacturer of the vehicle allows it!
- How convenient would it be to have Hydrogen-at-Home?
How Much Does A British Gas Hive Save On My Energy Bill?
I asked Google and I got this answer from Home Hive.
£119. A smaller carbon footprint and a smaller bill – our award-winning smart thermostat could cut your energy bills by up to £170 a year. Join Hive Plus to boost your thermostat’s savings – and get exclusive access to £60 bill credit with any fixed British Gas dual fuel tariff.
At present, I have no intention of changing my energy supplier, but come the summer or if my health or energy circumstances change, I might see what is available.
Will British Gas Develop A Hive For a Smaller Dwelling?
I suspect in ten years, if I’m still of this world, I shall be living in the following circumstances.
- Alone.
- In a two bedroom house, cottage or flat.
- Some form of probably electric central heating or perhaps even hydrogen.
- No car.
- A short walk to the bus stop and/or train station.
- Communal gardens to sit in.
- An Ocado style delivery for food, groceries and other essentials.
- A local gluten-free cafe.
- Full Wi-Fi
Perhaps, British Gas and others will develop a community for people like me?
Tower As Tall As The Shard Approved For Square Mile
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A skyscraper the same height as The Shard has been approved by the City of London Corporation.
These three paragraphs add more detail.
One Undershaft, will be the tallest in the City of London, containing 74 storeys.
It will also feature a public garden on the 11th floor and a London Museum education centre.
The plans were approved by the City of London Corporation on Friday but some consultees remain opposed to the plans, including Historic England and Tower Hamlets Council.
I have read the Wikipedia entry for the Shard and feel this building could have a few problems before it is finished.
The queue opposing the building appears to be forming starting with Historic England and Tower Hamlets Council.
I also wonder, if the City of London keeps on putting up mega-scrapers like this, whether there’ll be enough men, women, machines, money and materials to build them.
And workers to fill them.
Did I Come Across A HiiRoc-Style Process In the 1960s?
The home page of the HiiROC web site has a title of Thermal Plasma Electrolysis with this sub-heading.
A Transformational New Process For Affordable Clean Hydrogen.
This is the first paragraph.
Leading with our proprietary plasma technology, HiiROC has developed a new process for producing affordable clean hydrogen: Thermal Plasma Electrolysis
The further I read it starts to appear familiar.
It was a long time ago in 1968, but I shared an office at ICI Mond Division with a guy called Peter, who was helping to try to get a similar process working.
ICI were using a bought-in process to try to make acetylene.
I seem to remember that ethylene was burnt in a aerosphere with little oxygen.
Was it then quenched with naphtha?
Acetylene was then supposed to be released, but all the plant did was produce lots of soot, which it spread all over Runcorn.
Peter’s job was to measure the acetylene in the burner off gas. The section I worked in had developed, a very clever instrument that could measure levels of one chemical in another by infra-red comparison to very low levels.
In this plant, it was measuring acetylene in burner off-gas.
They did it successfully, but it was a disaster, as the gas on the output of the burner was straying into explosive limits.
The plant was was immediately shut down and dismantled.
Could An Open Access Operator Develop A Train Service Along The South Coast of The UK Between Kent and Fishguard?
Before I go into detail, I will answer a question that explains the terminology and the why’s and wherefores’ of the title of this post.
What Is An Open Access Operator?
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry of an Open Access Operator.
In rail transport, an open-access operator is an operator that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and, in countries where rail services run under franchises, are not subject to franchising.
In the UK, these are all open access operators, that are running services.
Note.
- Other groups are developing services.
- Regional, High Speed, International, Local and Sleeper services seem to be offered by various open access operators.
- Grand Central is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn,
- Hull Trains and Lumo are both subsidiaries of FirstGroup.
Open Access operators seem to operate in most European Union countries.
Why Run Between Kent and Fishguard?
- The main purpose of the train service would be to provide a low-cost rail connection between the island of Ireland and particularly the Republic of Ireland, with the Southern part of England and the European Union.
- At both ends of the route the train service would connect to ferries.
- At the Eastern end, the train service would also connect to Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel.
- The Port of Dover could be efficiently connected to Dover Priory Station.
- Dover Priory Station could be the Eastern terminus.
- The service could stop at Folkestone Central station, if ferries call at the Port of Folkestone in the future.
- The service could stop at Ashford International station for Eurostar services.
- Fishguard Harbour station has been built as a train terminus for the Port of Fishguard.
- Fishguard Harbour station could be the Western terminus.
This could be a busy service.
Where Would The Trains Call?
Intermediate stations would depend on passenger umbers, but could start as Folkestone Central, Ashford International, Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton, Portsmouth & Southsea, Southampton Central, Romsey, Salisbury, Warminster, Westbury, Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Newport, Cardiff Central, Gowerton, Llanelli and Carmarthen.
How Long Would The Journey Be?
The journey would be around 377 miles and I suspect could take about three and a half hours with modern digital signalling.
Surprisingly, the route is fully-electrified except for the following.
- Ashford International and Ore – 27.9 miles
- Southampton Central and Bristol Parkway – 82 miles
- Cardiff Central and Fishguard Harbour – 115.6 miles
All gaps should be able to be bridged using battery power.
I suspect trains would be Hitachi high speed battery-electric trains.
Would Any European Funding Be Available?
This is an interesting question, as the service does join up two separate sections of the European Union.
Siemens Gamesa To Soon Install 21 MW Offshore Wind Turbine Prototype At Danish Test Site — Reports
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Siemens Gamesa is transporting a nacelle from its facility in Brande, Denmark, to the Østerild wind turbine test centre, a company spokesperson confirmed to offshoreWIND.biz. The spokesperson declined to reveal any specifics about the wind turbine but Danish media writes that it is the new prototype which Bloomberg reported earlier this year to have a capacity of 21 MW.
These first two paragraphs give a few more details.
DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) reported on 6 December that lamp-posts and traffic signs were being dismantled, and roundabouts widened last week to make room for an 11×11-metre nacelle to pass through on its way to Hvide Sande, starting last Friday. From there, the nacelle will be shipped to Hanstholm and then transported to Østerild, where it will be mounted on an already installed 170-metre tower, according to DR.
In June, Bloomberg reported sources familiar with the matter said that Siemens Energy had told customers it planned to build the largest wind turbine in the world by the end of the decade and the new offshore model would have an output of 21 MW, 40 per cent more than the company’s current largest turbine, the 14 MW platform that can reach up to 15 MW with the company’s feature called Power Boost.
I have a few thoughts.
Will Bigger Be Better?
Going back to the days of North Sea Oil and Gas, I can remember project managers saying that platform installation took off dramatically, as larger platforms, barges, cranes and equipment became available.
I can particularly remember one project manager extolling the virtues of giant 3000 tonne cranes.
Do We Need A Test Centre For Giant Turbines In The UK?
The question has to be asked, as we certainly have large open spaces of sea to put a 40 MW or larger turbine.
The Crown Estate Awards GBP 5 Million In First Supply Chain Accelerator Round
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The Crown Estate has awarded nearly GBP 5 million in funding to 13 organisations across England, Wales, and Scotland in the first round of its Supply Chain Accelerator.
These three paragraphs add more details.
According to The Crown Estate, the funding will help kick-start projects drawing down from a GBP 50 million fund established in May this year to accelerate and de-risk the early-stage development of UK supply chain projects that service the offshore wind sector.
The Crown Estate’s match funding will contribute to a combined development investment of over GBP 9 million, which, if the opportunities successfully conclude their respective development stages, could lead to more than GBP 400 million of capital investment, said the UK body.
Projects receiving funding include those enabling floating wind platforms, anchoring and mooring systems, operations and maintenance facilities, test facilities, and those supporting the skills
The grants have been widely spread in both the public and private sectors and appear to be supporting a variety of technologies.
What About Project Management?
When the four of us started Metier Management Systems to develop Artemis in the 1970s, we got no help from the Government or any agency.
I wonder what difference, government support of this nature would have made?
I don’t know whether any project management development is being supported, but it is my view, that each new generation of projects will bring forward new challenges.
ScottishPower Renewables Picks Port For East Anglia Two Pre-Assembly
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
ScottishPower Renewables, Iberdrola’s UK arm, has selected Peel Ports Great Yarmouth as the staging ground for pre-assembly works for its 960 MW East Anglia Two offshore wind project.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The companies have signed a reservation agreement that will see the Siemens Gamesa turbine components and sections come together for assembly at the Norfolk site before installation in the southern North Sea in 2028.
Note.
- The Port of Great Yarmouth was used for this task with East Anglia One.
- The turbine blades will be manufactured at Siemens Gamesa’s offshore wind blade factory in Hull.
- The monopiles will come from Sif in Rotterdam.
This is the first sentence of the Wikipedia entry for the East5 Anglia Array.
The East Anglia Array is a proposed series of offshore wind farms located around 30 miles off the east coast of East Anglia, in the North Sea, England. It has begun with the currently operational East Anglia ONE, that has been developed in partnership by ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall. Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area with a maximum capacity of up to 7.2 GW.
These articles on offshoreWIND.biz indicate that ScottishPower Renewables has been busy signing contracts for East Anglia Two.
- December 4th, 2024 – Nexans Lands Export Cable Contract For East Anglia Two Offshore Wind Farm.
- November 28th, 2024 – Hitachi Energy to Integrate 960 MW East Anglia Two Wind Farm into UK Grid.
- November 12th, 2024 – Siemens Gamesa Bags GBP 1 Billion Turbine Contract For East Anglia Two.
- November 6th, 2024 – Seaway7 Wins East Anglia Two Inter-Array Cable Contract.
- October 31st, 2024 – Sif, Smulders to Deliver Monopiles and TPs For ScottishPower’s East Anglia Two Offshore Wind Farm.
They must have employed lawyers on roller skates to get five contracts signed in just over a month.
Conclusion
East Anglia Two appears to be definitely under way and the Wikipedia extract says there could be a lot more, if all the other wind farms are developed in the same way using the Port of Great Yarmouth.
A total capacity in the East Anglia Array of 7.2 GW will surely be good for both East Anglia and the UK as a whole, but will the natives be happy with all the onshore infrastructure?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see further wind farm developed to generate hydrogen offshore, which will be either brought ashore to the Bacton gas terminal, using existing or new pipelines or distributed using tanker ships to where it is needed.
The Odd Sugary Snack May Be Good For You (But Lay Off Sugary Drinks)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Tunes.
I shall be discussing this research with my cardiologist. My relationship with him is as doctor/patient, researcher/lab-rat and just friends. I am also coeliac and very much feel that I need to take the odd sugary snack to keep my energy levels up. I also had a serious stroke at 64, thirteen years ago, due to atrial fibrillation.
Sweden and coeliac disease could be another complicating factor here, as Sweden went the wrong way to try to eliminate coeliac disease after WW2 and just created a lot more.
I found about this Swedish research in a peer-reviewed paper entitled Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India? in the Indian Journal of Research Medicine.
A History Of Sugary Snacks And Drinks And Me
Growing up in London, after World War 2, I didn’t get much sugar, as it was rationed.
But I did put it in tea and coffee.
I never ate many cakes, except for some chocolate ones.
My habit of not eating cakes and proper puddings really annoyed my mother-in-law.
I was a sickly child and I didn’t really get better until I was found to be coeliac at 50.
I am fairly certain, that my consumption of sugary snacks has got more, as I’ve got older.
But because American drinks, sweets and snacks could use sugar made from wheat, I don’t touch any American sweetened products.
But I haven’t put on any weight, since I was fifty.
Thanks to the likes of Leon, Marks and Spencer and the cafe at Worksop station for excellent sugary gluten-free snacks to keep me going!
Petition Calls Made To Scrap Blackwall And Silvertown Tolls
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A petition containing more than 37,000 signatures calling for proposed tolls on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels to be scrapped has been presented at City Hall.
These four paragraphs give more details.
Toll charges of up to £4 per journey through the soon-to-open Silvertown Tunnel and the neighbouring Blackwall Tunnel were announced by Transport for London (TfL) on 26 November.
The Silvertown Tunnel will open next spring and will provide a new road crossing under the Thames between Silvertown and the Greenwich Peninsula.
The charges are “designed to manage levels of traffic using the tunnels”, TfL has said.
A TfL spokesperson added that without the tolls, “traffic would increase in both tunnels causing delays and congestion, which contribute to poorer air quality”.
Note.
- 37,000 is a large petition.
- If Transport for London wanted to reduce pollution, they could encourage greater use of hydrogen.
I have done some simple modeling using Excel.
- There are six vehicle crossings; Dartford Bridge, Dartford Crossing, Woolwich Ferry, Silvertown Tunnel, Blackwall Tunnel and Rotherhithe Tunnel.
- Matters are complicated by each crossing being a different size.
- There are several reliable rail crossings and a number of foot crossings, which offer alternatives, for those travellers on foot.
- Currently the worst disruption occurs, when more than one route is out of action at the same time.
It is a very complex river crossing,
I feel strongly that we aren’t going to get a true picture of traffic flow through the two new tunnels, until we see serious disruption on the Dartford Crossing.
But what worries me most, is that in the last few years, TfL have made decisions, where they must have done extensive mathematical modelling and they seem to have come up with answers, that are wide of the mark.
Congestion Prediction
I believe that we now have enough data, that by the use of modern computing, advanced vehicle detection techniques and a liberal dollop of artificial intelligence we should be able to accurately predict the traffic flow over the Thames between Dartford and Silvertown, better than we have done in the past.
But will this just mean, that everybody just takes the least-congested route?
The Anonymous Widower 