Using Economy 7 With a Heat Pump

Like many people switching from storage heaters to a heat pump, we were faced with the decision on whether to change our electricity tariff or not. Heat pumps run continuously, so it is the percentage of night use that matters, rather than the ability to use only night time electricity for heat.

The first thing to consider is the economy 7 tariff itself. In our case the break even night percentage is very close to the 7 hours in 24 which is 29%. That is, if electricity use is evenly spread throughout the 24 hour period, we would only pay as much as we would on a standard tariff. Any bias towards night use would produce an overall saving.

The second thing to consider is whether or not there is any night bias to electricity usage. This can be split between heat pump for heating, heat pump for hot water and all other electricity use.

For heating it was immediately apparent that nights tend to be colder than days, which means that the heat pump would be working much harder during this period. On investigation I found that the Daikin software used to select the heat pump system had an input to allow for a period with a lower electricity tariff. Entering the Economy 7 start and finish times in the model gave me an Economy 7 night time percentage of 44%. This is well above the break even night percentage for our Economy 7 tariff, so for heating, Economy 7 was the right tariff.

Hot water offers a lot more flexibility, and how this works really depends on your hot water requirements. In theory you could heat 100% of your hot water at night and focus your hot water consumption in the morning. For us, we decided to continue with our 50% night, 50% day usage, so for hot water we have a 50% night bias.

Heating and hot water are the biggest users of electricity, but all the other lights and appliances in the house will contribute to the night time percentage. Our habit of being early risers and using cheap rate electricity in the morning helps, but the electric oven and hob, vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, iron etc tend to be used during the peak tariff period. Other than using timers to switch the washing machine and dish washer on at night, or ironing in the early hours, there is not much we can do to reduce our consumption during this period. However, there is one thing that does happen when the Economy 7 tariff finishes in the morning. The sun rises.

We therefore decided to introduce more night tariff bias to our Economy 7 usage by having PV panels on the roof. These are very cost effective for houses that qualify for the maximum FITS payment, but even more so when everything in the house is powered by electricity. With the heat pump heating on all the time during the winter, even a cloudy day must make some contribution to reducing the electricity bill.The contribution from PV can only get better as the year progresses to Spring and Summer.PV therefore appears to be an ideal complement to a heat pump, with the added bonus of reducing our electricity consumption during the peak day period of the Economy 7 tariff.

It is early days, but we are getting night time usage above 40%, which reduces our electricity costs by between 15% and 20%. Nights are not always colder than days, so there are distortions when looking at a short period of a few days, but over time the average should settle down as the seasonal average pushes the night time percentage upwards. I will provide an update after a year.

Poor Customer Service

Why is it that companies think they can get away with poor customer service?

Last week I reported a fixed line telephone fault to Talk Talk and had to spend 40 minutes on what should have been a 2 minute telephone call. Surely it does not cost 20 times more to employ someone who can speak english and who has some knowledge of the product / industry that they work in. It was a joy to speak to BT Openreach a couple of days later, when I had the 2 minute conversation I should have had previously. At least someone knows what they are doing.

Several days later, and after arranging a ridiculous appointment date in the distant future for someone to come to the house and look at the fault, I have still heard nothing. The phone has been working for 2-3 days, and I have received a text messsage telling be that the fault has been escalated. Do Talk Talk know what they are doing?

The problem is, how do I tell them? I do not have the time to phone them, with the struggle that entails. If the fault has been fixed, it still took 4 days, and who knows what important calls we have lost. Equally the fault may not have been fixed, as the line started working when the weather dried up. They are going to have fun trying to find it again unless it rains.

What we have here is a text book example of how not to do customer service.

A well trained person could have reacted to the fault report with a logical elimination process and passed on the correct information to BT Openreach. This should have taken no more than 2 minutes of the customers time, and would result in lower employment costs and greater customer satisfaction. A quick reaction would also allow the fault to be found promptly, before changes in the weather or other variables make the fault temporarily go away. It is no accident that spending a little extra on well trained employees reduces staffing costs and increases customer satisfaction. The problem is, when will companies learn this simple lesson.

Samsung Galaxy Note - One Month On

The wait for Ice Cream Sandwich is now over, so I have updated my Galaxy Note. The upgrade went smoothly, with the exception of the battery stats getting corrupted. This was resolved by letting the battery drain until the phone switched off, and then recharging. I had to do this twice before the phone would recharge fully again.

I also had problems with Onavo Count, which became a battery hog with ICS. However, this was not a problem, as ICS adds data usage functionality, so I just uninstalled the now redundant app.

Almost every app available seems to work on the Galaxy Note with ICS, and it has been interesting trying them out. One of my favourites has been the BBC Iplayer, which allows me to catch up on radio comedy that I have missed. It is time now to try out some S pen apps.

Samsung Galaxy Note - First Impressions

The first thing you notice when you open the box is the size. It is a lot bigger than most mobiles, but within an hour of use, your old 3.5" screen just looks too small. It fits comfortably into a standard trouser pocket, to the point were you hardly know it is there. I could not say that for my old phone, a Samsung Galaxy Ace.

Battery consumption is excellent for normal use, calls, email, internet browsing etc, but can increase dramatically if used for screen intensive games. The battery lasts more than a full day with plenty to spare thanks to the 2,500 mAh capacity.

The main attraction of the Galaxy Note is the 5.3" screen size. The screen is not just longer, but wider, making it the perfect size for internet browsing or reading an e-book. It is the perfect size for using the Marvel comic app for example. Some apps look too big, but most are able to make use of the additional space available.

Internet connection is fast, with HSPA + available in many places. I have even noticed a faster connection when using wifi. Updating apps is certainly faster.

I considered the S pen to be an added bonus, and I have not used it much to date. The Galaxy Note learns your handwriting, making it easier to write with use. It is great being able to annotate pages by hand, and I look forward to using this more in future. One thing I have used a lot is the screen capture, which can be done by sliding the edge of your hand across the page line a scanner. This has saved a lot of time writing notes.

Making calls is no different than using any smartphone. You do not feel self concious at all about the large size of the phone against your ear. You certainly won't worry about dropping it like many smaller phones, which can be hard to hold in larger hands. The is enhanced by the clip on case I bought, which provides a very good grip at the sides.

The anti smear screen works very well, and is very responsive. My Galaxy Ace was always hard to read due to finger marks, but that is not an issue here.

 I will add more impressions over the coming weeks and months.

Mowing is easier by hand - The Brill RazorCut Premium 38 cylinder mower

Until last year, we used to own a well known brand petrol mower, but we soon found that it was more trouble than it was worth.

• Every year you paid to have it serviced.
• Several minutes were spent filling it up with petrol every time it was used.
• It had to be restarted every time you stopped to move a toy out of the way, or empty the grass box.
• It could not be tipped over, and we had a very expensive bill when we did this by mistake.
• The children had to be out of the way every time you used it.
• It was heavy, and my wife found it impossible to start.

We then discovered the Brill RazorCut Premium 38 cylinder mower, and were surprised to find that having a manual mower does not mean harder work.

Firstly, you have to push the mower, but petrol mowers are heavy and difficult to manoeuvre.The Brill is very light in comparison, and the amount of effort required is less if you have an awkward shaped garden. I have just made the first cut of the year, and it would have been a real struggle to get the petrol mower through the long grass. Not with the Brill.

I could also make this first cut while watching the children play happily in another part of the garden. The lack of noise meant that I could converse and interact with them, and the mower was easy to stop if the children needed help with something. There was even a Robin who settled on a branch right next to me while I continued to mow. A very civilised mowing experience.

Now that the fist cut has been done, my wife will have no trouble cutting the lawn if she wishes to. We had originally bought the Brill for just this reason, but as soon as we used it, the petrol mower had to go.

I am now cutting the lawn in less time than it took with the petrol mower. No filling up with petrol for a start. It is cheaper to run, less noisy, and just a pleasure to use. Manual mowers have come a long way since the old days, and they should really not be dismissed in an age of technology. Try it, you will be pleasently surprised.

Why do people use 0845 numbers?

I can never understand why people still dial 0845 numbers. 0845 numbers can only be dialled from the UK, so most organisations have to supply an alternative number for callers from abroad. All you have to do is replace the +44 at the start of the number with a zero, and you can dial using the free inclusive minutes on your mobile.

If this does not work, then you can always try saynoto0870.com which provides a list of alternative national numbers to try. However, unlike the above, this can be more hit and miss, as the alternative suggested may no longer be in use, or it takes you to another department within the organisation you are dialling.

If everyone used the national numbers as suggested above, organisations would soon get the message, and 0845 numbers would no longer be used.

'Unlock a phone, Unlock a chicken' is back. - The giffgaff community

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'Unlock a phone, Unlock a chicken' is back. - The giffgaff community