06 Jun 2020 4:55 PM:
Slightly off-topic, but we're having a new house built in the UK, and we're going to use an air-source heat pump for heating/cooling, as there's no gas supply. We're also going to have about 7 kWp of solar panels. The heat pump will be used for heating water as well. It's made by LG, and I daresay something similar is available in Spain. It can also heat and cool at the same time, so you could cool a warm room (e.g. kitchen or south-facing room) at the same time as warming a cool one (e.g. north-facing room). The excess heat absorbed by the a/c side is used first for underfloor heating or hot water before the surplus being rejected to the atmosphere via the condenser, so we're expecting it to be quite efficient.
I believe water source heat pumps are more efficient than air source, so if you'll be having a pool, it may be worth while considering using that as a heat source/sink, as gjohnint mentions below.
Thread: Solar and air source heat pumps/and insulation/
--------------------------------------
|
10 Apr 2019 6:05 PM:
MickeyFinn, I think part of the reason immigration doesn't cause as many problems in Spain as in the UK, is that the population density of Spain is about one third of that of the UK. The UK is already very overcrowded, and there isn't enough room for the people already there, let alone more. I love driving in Spain because the roads are so empty and traffic-free. By contrast, when I drove from Bristol to Yorkshire last year, it was bumper-to-bumper practically all the way, and I rarely managed to reach 70. It's all very well saying build more houses, schools, hospitals and roads, but that takes up land we need to grow food on. We can't just keep growing - at some point (and personally, I think we're already past it) we need to stop. The UK population growth rate is 0.59% p.a., whereas in Spain, it's -0.19% p.a. That may also explain why the Spanish don't see immigration as too much of a problem.
Thread: Patronising "No Reply" email
--------------------------------------
|
11 Feb 2017 1:55 PM:
It's easy for us to forget the UK used to be like this before deregulation. The Central Electricity Generating Board had a statutory monopoly on electricity generation. IIRC, companies (and individuals) who had a backup generator to tide them through power cuts had to pay the CEGB for any electricity they generated. (Don't know how they actually enforced that though.)
Thread: Solar energy
--------------------------------------
|
29 Sep 2012 5:40 PM:
My wife and I were shopping in our local shopping centre, and decided to have lunch in a café there. She wanted a chicken sandwich, so I went up to the bar all armed to ask for un bocadillo de pollo. However, when I got there, the menu listed them as something slightly different - if I remember correctly, it was something like bocadita, which threw me slightly. So instead of asking for a bocadillo de pollo, I asked for a bocadita de polla. As soon as I saw the smirk crossing the girl's face, I realised my error and hastily corrected it. Don't think I'll make that mistake again!
Thread: Lighthearted thread about Bloopers in Spanish!
--------------------------------------
|
18 Dec 2011 1:47 AM:
My son works for an international bank in the City. He told me the other day they are updating their systems to be able to handle drachma, just in case Greece decides to pull out of the Euro over Christmas. If they're going to do it, that would be the best time - the markets are closed (or at least pretty quiet) over Christmas, and by the time they re-open, the panic will be over and the traders will have had a bit of time to absorb the news. Will it make the Euro weaker because it's falling apart, or stronger because a weak member has departed? Who knows?
Thread: Euro VS Sterling
--------------------------------------
|