British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim
--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

On Friday, 1 July 2016 08:47:13 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim

Typical 80A supply = 19.2kW. Quick charge AAs with a charge current of 1A @ 1.7v = 1.7W. A 90% efficient charger makes that 1.9W, giving 10,105 cells at once. x 8 hours / 2.5hr charge = 32,336 cells in 8 hours. Fan cool all the wiring & incomer fuse and you'd probably get a lot more.


NT

Syd Rumpo wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim

Use it to run your neighbour's meter backwards.

Ummm, and what benefit would that be to me?

Tim

--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 07:47:11 -0000 (UTC), Tim+
wrote:

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

When they say 'free' I'm guessing it's like the FIT where other
electricity users will be paying for it (except the likes of harry of
course).

But yes, assuming there wasn't an 'acceptable use' rider and that you
had the opportunity (like me and my plug-in EV) it could be
interesting. (I used to be able to commute all week on one charge).

Or one of those large garden swimming pools in the loft and another in
the garden have your own hydro-storage system. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On 01/07/2016 09:21, Tim+ wrote:
Syd Rumpo wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim

Use it to run your neighbour's meter backwards.

Ummm, and what benefit would that be to me?

Tim

Sorry, I didn't spell out this complex scenario well and left too much
to the imagination.

Ummm, perhaps he might give you a cut of his bill reduction?

Cheers
--
Syd

On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so

On 01/07/2016 09:35, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 07:47:11 -0000 (UTC), Tim+
wrote:

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

When they say 'free' I'm guessing it's like the FIT where other
electricity users will be paying for it (except the likes of harry of
course).

But yes, assuming there wasn't an 'acceptable use' rider and that you
had the opportunity (like me and my plug-in EV) it could be
interesting. (I used to be able to commute all week on one charge).

Or one of those large garden swimming pools in the loft and another in
the garden have your own hydro-storage system. ;-)

Cheers, T i m


Compressed air to run a motor or two might work better.
Top up your ground source heat pump?

Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so


But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the rest
of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

Tim

--
Trolls and troll feeders go in my killfile

On Fri, 01 Jul 2016 10:11:35 +0000, Tim+ wrote:

But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the
rest of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

I suspect you'd have a hell of a long payback period for a garage full of
Tesla PowerWalls, though.

On 01/07/2016 11:11, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so


But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the rest
of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

Tim


I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but we average 15Kwh/day, so
yes, I guess. Or a least a substantial part of it
But it would mean a somewhat considerable investment in suitable
batteries/inverter. The big question then is how likely BG are to
continue with the deal...

On Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:28:42 +0100, Lee wrote:

But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the
rest of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but we average 15Kwh/day, so
yes, I guess. Or a least a substantial part of it

Let's say that you get 10kwh saving per week. £1.50/wk.

What's the payback period for those batteries?

Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 11:11, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so


But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the rest
of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

Tim


I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but we average 15Kwh/day, so
yes, I guess. Or a least a substantial part of it
But it would mean a somewhat considerable investment in suitable
batteries/inverter. The big question then is how likely BG are to
continue with the deal...


I ndeed. With an ordinary meter you could maybe get away with it but a
smart meter might reveal the rather "odd" consumption pattern. ;-)

Dunno if you've seen it but the Photonic Induction chap on YouTube has made
a whole house UPS system that charges at low rate electricity and powers
the lights during the day effectively "time shifting" the low rate
electricity to a more useful time of day. He reckoned his system cost 7-800
quid and will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Tim

--
Trolls and troll feeders go in my killfile

On 01/07/16 11:51, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 11:11, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so


But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the rest
of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

Tim


I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but we average 15Kwh/day, so
yes, I guess. Or a least a substantial part of it
But it would mean a somewhat considerable investment in suitable
batteries/inverter. The big question then is how likely BG are to
continue with the deal...


I ndeed. With an ordinary meter you could maybe get away with it but a
smart meter might reveal the rather "odd" consumption pattern. ;-)

Dunno if you've seen it but the Photonic Induction chap on YouTube has made
a whole house UPS system that charges at low rate electricity and powers
the lights during the day effectively "time shifting" the low rate
electricity to a more useful time of day. He reckoned his system cost 7-800
quid and will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Tim

When I costed such a system to cope with realistic loads, it was more
like £7-£8000 and the running cost in terms of battery replacement
negated any potential gains.


--
Canada is all right really, though not for the whole weekend.

"Saki"

On 01/07/2016 11:51, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 11:11, Tim+ wrote:
Lee wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim


Just had a look, as we are with British Gas and have smart meters, best
tariff is 12.56/Kwh & 21.06 SC compared to our current (ha) collective
switch tariff of 8.76Kwh and 18.9 SC

Err, don't think so


But, with sufficient battery storage, could one run your house for the rest
of the week on 8hrs X 100amps? ;-)

Tim


I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but we average 15Kwh/day, so
yes, I guess. Or a least a substantial part of it
But it would mean a somewhat considerable investment in suitable
batteries/inverter. The big question then is how likely BG are to
continue with the deal...


I ndeed. With an ordinary meter you could maybe get away with it but a
smart meter might reveal the rather "odd" consumption pattern. ;-)

Dunno if you've seen it but the Photonic Induction chap on YouTube has made
a whole house UPS system that charges at low rate electricity and powers
the lights during the day effectively "time shifting" the low rate
electricity to a more useful time of day. He reckoned his system cost 7-800
quid and will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Tim

Yes, been watching Photonic's channel for quite a while The ability
of the system to cope with short high intensity loads seems quite
impressive.

On 01/07/2016 11:51, Tim+ wrote:


I ndeed. With an ordinary meter you could maybe get away with it but a
smart meter might reveal the rather "odd" consumption pattern. ;-)

On a related note, I was reading a (US) car forum where there were a few
disgruntled California residents complaining that the local electricity
company (apparently a monopoly) had noticed the pattern of use from
charging electric vehicles and was increasing the tariffs. Thus negating
much of the savings of having a plug in car...

I wouldn't be at all surprised if our tax crazy Government couldn't find
a way to charge extra tax on electricity they could reasonably prove was
for "automotive use".

On 01/07/2016 14:36, Lee wrote:

I wouldn't be at all surprised if our tax crazy Government couldn't find
a way to charge extra tax on electricity they could reasonably prove was
for "automotive use".


Pretty much scrambled the meaning of that.
I meant of course that I expect the Government to find a way to tax such
usage. Another stealth reason for SMs?

On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 07:47:11 -0000 (UTC), Tim+
wrote:

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

How many bitcoins (or other digital currency) could you mine in 8
hours?

Is mining an economically viable way to convert free electricity to
money?

On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 10:58:36 +0100, dennis@home
wrote:

On 01/07/2016 09:35, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 07:47:11 -0000 (UTC), Tim+
wrote:

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

When they say 'free' I'm guessing it's like the FIT where other
electricity users will be paying for it (except the likes of harry of
course).

But yes, assuming there wasn't an 'acceptable use' rider and that you
had the opportunity (like me and my plug-in EV) it could be
interesting. (I used to be able to commute all week on one charge).

Or one of those large garden swimming pools in the loft and another in
the garden have your own hydro-storage system. ;-)



Compressed air to run a motor or two might work better.

And the air would be lighter in the loft eh. ;-)

Top up your ground source heat pump?

Don't have one ... but a mate does. Well, he has the (very deep) holes
in the ground filled with pipes that terminate in a manifold in his
garage and are connected to the heat pump with the lot filled with a
suitable fluid of some sort but he never got it going (I mean it runs,
but doesn't run properly / fully etc).

I'm guessing BG will have calculated the tariffs so that nothing we
could do re energy storage today would be worthwhile.

Cheers, T i m

On Friday, 1 July 2016 12:31:22 UTC+1, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 01/07/16 11:51, Tim+ wrote:

Dunno if you've seen it but the Photonic Induction chap on YouTube has made
a whole house UPS system that charges at low rate electricity and powers
the lights during the day effectively "time shifting" the low rate
electricity to a more useful time of day. He reckoned his system cost 7-800
quid and will pay for itself fairly quickly.

Tim

When I costed such a system to cope with realistic loads, it was more
like £7-£8000 and the running cost in terms of battery replacement
negated any potential gains.

Homemade batteries can make a huge difference to the cost.


NT

On Fri, 1 Jul 2016 14:52:13 +0100, Lee
wrote:

On 01/07/2016 14:36, Lee wrote:

I wouldn't be at all surprised if our tax crazy Government couldn't find
a way to charge extra tax on electricity they could reasonably prove was
for "automotive use".


Pretty much scrambled the meaning of that.
I meant of course that I expect the Government to find a way to tax such
usage. Another stealth reason for SMs?

it would be easier to insist on a meter in the car or just base it on
the mileage.

On Friday, 1 July 2016 08:47:13 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Tim
--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

I 'spect you'll pay more than the norm for electricity the rest of the time.
Doesn't seem very useful.
Now a couple of hours every night would be more useful.

On Friday, 1 July 2016 09:21:51 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
Syd Rumpo wrote:
On 01/07/2016 08:47, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends to two
million customers who have smart meters installed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

Use it to run your neighbour's meter backwards.

And what benefit would that be to me?

When the offer ends and the price goes up so you can pay for it, he may tell you about an alternative provider. Plus he may notice when the offer ends, so you can change suppliers straight away.

On Friday, 1 July 2016 08:47:13 UTC+1, Tim+ wrote:
British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours at weekends

1 kilowatt hour of electricity can split about 270 grams of water and produce about 350 litres of hydrogen and 175 litres of oxygen.

I don't know how useful a largish quantitiy of free hydrogen would be.

Owain