The cost of living... what can we do?

That sounds generous! When the developer applied to put 300 houses on the playing field behind our UK garden the density had just increased from 35 dwellings per hectare (10,000m2) to 50.

 

I am still contemplating to try and heat my home by composting, my current contract with British Gas expires in Feb next year so I will be paying more than the current 4.24p a kWh.

I have some pallet collars, there is eight in total and fitted on a standard pallet that will be 1.2m x 1m x 1.8m, picture below of what they look like.



I would then put a spiral copper flue pipe or something similar in the centre, picture below.



I would then fill the box with green waste and spent mushroom compost and let the decomposing generate the heat. As my combi boiler is situated on the gable end, it will be easy for me to forklift the box in place. Then it would need to be plumbed into the central heating system, hopeful the heat generated would reduce the amount of gas needed by a significant amount. If we experience a very cold snap like we did last December, then the boiler probably will still kick in but hopeful not as much to keep the house warm.

I can easily do most of the work myself but will need to speak to our local plumber regarding plumbing into the system that can easily be detached as I would have to empty the contents. If it was possible to raise the water temp by 10c plus for 3/4 months that would get me past the coldest part of the year. As I already have the pallet collars and the material to fill it, the only cost will be for the pipe and having it plumbed in. A 10mm copper coil is about £3 or so a running metre, then the cost of a plumber, so shouldn't be to much.

I am planning on filling an empty 3L milk carton with water and will bury it a third of the way down a 150L barrel full of fresh green waste and mushroom compost. I will need to get a new temp probe so I can keep a record of the temp of the water over a 3/4 month period.

If it kept the water at a decent temp over that period then I could look to try and heat my home, I would just want it plumbed in to the central heating system and not draw off hot water.

 

It brings to mind an old Steptoe and son episode,
But I hope it works.

 

A new bugalow not far away is on the market for 425k. No back garden to speak of. How can people afford 450 large. I cant work it out any more.

 

It's crazy, nobody with a house want prices to drop, every one without one wants them to.
Developers don't want them to drop either.
As soon as they do it seems to cause a panic.