On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:54:48 GMT, Tony Bryer
wrote:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:24:26 +0100 Scruff wrote :
If I reduce the power consumed by light bulbs in my lounge, the
central heating switches on, heating my whole house, using more
energy.

If you only need heat in your lounge then using a local heat source
may be more economical, but much less so if you put it a foot below
the ceiling!

In the UK we heat our houses for a large part of the year,
especially when it's dark, why not allow the light bulbs to do it?

Firstly, for a good part of the year you're not heating your house,
and this includes the times in the heating season when it's up to
heat and the thermostat has switched the heating off

Bzzt. Heat input from lamps will still contribute to reduced (gas )
consumption by delaying the time when the thermostat energises the
boiler again.

and secondly electricity is a high CO2 fuel

But it could come from renewables or nuclear. then it wouldn't be.

so the environmental pressure is to
cut the use of electricity - why do you think that electricity is
something like 3x the price of gas per delivered kWh?

Inefficiency, bad organisation, too many people in the distribution
chain (Stood in Sainsbury's with clipboards or walking round housing
estates) taking a cut ?

DG