H21 new gas network

bernardgreen said:

Converting just one town to Hydrogen fuel will be an expensive nightmare. I am old enough to have experienced the conversion from town gas to North Sea gas. That went quite well but then in those days health and safety rules were not so restrictive and common sense could be used

Maybe the money would be better spent on this wonderful solution that was so often promoted by Warmsoks

Click to expand...

What gets me is the very flippant description of the conversion and "oh we've done this before do its easy !" No it bloody well isn't now !

They forcast 2.5 hours to swap a boiler ....BG give subbies a day. There just isn't the amount of gas fitters to swap all the fires, boilers and cookers if they think they can ship gas fitters in from other areas then those areas will become devoid of skilled men.

This is completely different from the last conversion back then a bit of training and it was good enough ( only fires and cookers) Not the case now.
I'm not against the change but it's obviously written and making very light of the logistics of replacing all the gas applanced in a house.
Training extra men ? 18 months realistically and then they should work with a skilled man in the field to gain the practical skills in a house.
Experiance is all ......

Went to house to change the gas supply in a new kitchen and move the rads ........the lady asks me if I can change all the Sinks in the house and fit mixer taps .....very large detached house nine ensuite Sinks ........" why do you want to do that ?" Answer " the water is scolding hot and it can't be altered, British Gas have told me several times nothing can be done about it " she showed me to her airing cupboard .....a large unvented cylinder .....oh dear oh dear ....me "How long has it been like this ?"
14 years ...........the blending valve was at head height straighten front of your face ! Turned it down took an image of the top showing the temp plus and minus directions on the dial .....checked the temp at the taps no longer scolding hot !

The point is the BG chaps didn't know what to do ...the ones she had call even due to complaints of the water being too hot. Experiance sorted it in seconds .....thats the point fast track training doesn't work so that's not the answer. The score personally is BG O Gasbanni 4 I've crossed swords with them four times ...

SirGalahad said:

Yet Brexit is way harder, way bigger, way more impactful and you want that done.



This conversion is a piece of cake, lets get on with it, out means out, out with the old.

Click to expand...

I see the government has released it's latest 'carbon neutral' wish list...

Just taking one part of it - insulation.

The director of the Royal Institution said:
"The prize for improving the efficiency of buildings is significant,"...
"However, there is a practical challenge in terms of the number of sufficient skilled workers to undertake the work"

Brexit and a lack of workers - now there's joined up thinking

gasbanni said:

This is completely different from the last conversion back then a bit of training and it was good enough ( only fires and cookers) Not the case now.

Click to expand...

Personally I do not think the conversion would be possible unless those living in the conversion area were prepared to be without gas for several days if not weeks.

If it was my decision I would be looking at upgrading the local electricity supply network to provide up to 50 kW per house and build local hydrogen powered generating stations. With zero emmissions other than water and heat local hydrogem powered generation would be feasible. Waste heat could be used for district heating of buildings and/or agricultural production. Local generation would remove the losses incurred when electricity is transported long distances across country.

Hmm York is on the list, lovely!.

Time wise it sounds like what we get quoted time wise for motorcycle warranty jobs, normally at least half of what it actually takes!.

Bloody pen pushers need to get their hands dirty once in a while..

Climate will continue to change as it has done for billions of years. Government will generate lots of work and tax revenue.

mitch66 said:

Government will generate lots of work and tax revenue.

Click to expand...

Corrected for you:

'Government and their corporate chums will profit from it.'

ellal said:

Corrected for you:

'Government and their corporate chums will profit from it.'

Click to expand...

Tru dat also.

bernardgreen said:

Personally I do not think the conversion would be possible unless those living in the conversion area were prepared to be without gas for several days if not weeks.

If it was my decision I would be looking at upgrading the local electricity supply network to provide up to 50 kW per house and build local hydrogen powered generating stations. With zero emmissions other than water and heat local hydrogem powered generation would be feasible. Waste heat could be used for district heating of buildings and/or agricultural production. Local generation would remove the losses incurred when electricity is transported long distances across country.

Click to expand...

I think they would run in the new supply alongside the nat gas supply, householders would then be given a time period to have their nat gas appliances replaced before the supply becomes dead and they have to have the new appliances connected to the new supply. The point is its nothing like last time but they are implying it is !!!!!!

gasbanni said:

I think they would run in the new supply alongside the nat gas supply,

Click to expand...

That would be a nightmare under some streets. And the amount of fuel burnt by the machines digging up the road would create large amounts of pollution.

It is going to take some far out of the box thinking if the project is going to anything like successful.

One option that MIGHT work in some locations would be to lay a temporary hydrogen main on the surface during the changeover period.

Another would be to provided tanked hydrogen to those who have new appliances until the day the mains are converted to hydrogen.

Would the existing gas mains be able to cope with hydrogen ?

Is the advantage of hydrogen at the point where its created or when its burnt?

Ive read a couple of articles and its not obvious.

It seems a huge infrastructure project. I wouldve thought converting heating in houses to electric would be a more obvious solution.