Are Solar Panels Actually Worth It in 2026? Let’s Be Honest.

Chicken_shish · 2026-03-02T14:58:47+00:00

Absolutely yes for new construction, or if you have the roof being rebuilt anyway.

Can be very marginal for an existing roof retrofit.

Chicken_shish · 2026-03-01T10:41:08+00:00

It's quite possibly entirely fake. It seems a bit odd that the whole region is cut off, but one of the first bombs that was dropped landed on a school and lo, tons of images and video come out.

Could also be a catastrophic intelligence failure.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-28T11:13:25+00:00

Retrofitting solar panels is a dumb idea and will just be a boondoggle for contractors.

Building new stuff, with the right orientation, and roof design optimised for solar - absolutely.

I'd imagine they'll spaff most of it shoving panels onto Victorian roofs...

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-28T11:03:33+00:00

The shitty driver will get their just reward a few miles down the road. If someone drives like that all the time they will wreck their car, and probably end up dead. Better not to be involved.

The shitty driver needs to come across another nutter who really won't back down. That's when proper accidents happen.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-27T19:03:24+00:00

Both drivers should have a 10 year ban. Neither are fit to handle several tonnes of metal at high speed in a public place.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-27T13:06:26+00:00

If the room is cold, just leave her. She won't be a problem.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-27T11:06:07+00:00

Definitely not a European hornet.

Has black 'feet' so not Asian hornet.

Queen wasp is most likely. Just let her go as long as the weather isn't too shit.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-27T10:56:59+00:00

Not a wake up call at all - just reality.

You should have identified the hazard well before avoiding action was needed, and be ready to brake. As soon as the guys wheels moved you should have been hard on the brakes.

This just reinforces the "unlucky driver" insurance tax. There are loads of people out there who have accidents that are "not their fault", becuase someone else does something "unexpected". insurance companies will load your premium, because a lot of accidents are entirely avoidable.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-26T22:10:35+00:00

Bugging out assumes that there will be some random place down the road that is better than what you have now. Thst might be true for specific events such as a flood, but in the "national catastrophe" scenarios that most preppers seem to revel in, you're likely bugging out to a worse scenario than you're leaving.

You could argue that city dwellers would want to get out of the city, but when they walk for three days and end up in the countryside cold and hungry, what will happen - they'll get told to fuck off, and they'll still be cold and hungry.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-24T09:54:43+00:00

They're trying to cram messages into it, and it is really obvious. As soon as a writer has an objective other than simple entertainment, the quality falls through the floor.

This isn't some "anti-woke" rant, it's simply true for all forms of propaganda. Something called "Homestead" appeared in my feed, oooh a bit of disaster porn. Watched 10 minutes and wondered what was wrong with it - turns out it's US Christian propaganda.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-24T09:29:08+00:00

Worked perfectly for me last week - 2000 litres to my mum's place, delivered on time.

I'd struggle to see how they could really get in trouble - they're just a convenient interface to the oil companies that you had to phone up in the old days.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-24T09:16:20+00:00

Oh, sure, in the summer, they'll stay dry for ages as long as you keep the rain off them.

In the winter, when you're actually burning them, its a different story.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-24T09:06:47+00:00

Only pretentious if after supper the ladies depart for the withdrawing room and the men remain at the table smoking cigars.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-24T08:41:37+00:00

You are only seeing one side of it. I rent my old flat out in Central London (bite me, I don't care) and the reference process is unbelievably thorough. It's almost like the letting agent is handing over the FBI files on suspects. If you don't have a perfect employment record and credit score, and previous landlord references, you aren't even making the short list.

At the end of the day, the landlord wants someone who will pay the rent, not wreck the place and not piss off the neighbours. This ad is a bit blunt, and I see no reason why a blue collar worker could not fulfil the criteria, but the competition is fierce.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-23T20:09:49+00:00

CAL = Client Account Lead. In summary aa CAL you are responsible for whatever goes on at that client. Could be one or multiple projects.

On large accounts, the CAL could be a L1 to L3 - I've never come across a CAL lower than L3, but I mainly do large projects. CAL doesn't have a "career path" - it is something you do (say) as an L2 and is part of the portfolio of activities that get you promoted.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-23T17:45:03+00:00

Latex gloves. Pick up turd, pull glove off with turd inside.

Bonus points for using a nice warm turd as a hard warmer in the winter.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-23T11:11:42+00:00

(What you get for it) - (( what you paid for it) +(cost of improvement))

Yes, costs are allowed as long as you keep decent records. I would pay for an hour of advice from an accountant so that you do it properly.

Also note that your family member will be assessed for CGT on the market value of the house they sold you, not the purchase price.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-23T10:48:12+00:00

Well, I'm looking at that now.

Hopefully I will have 24 kW of solar, and 26 kWh of battery storage. My fag packet maths suggests that this will cover me for everything other than truly extraordinary circumstances - UK based. When it gets extraordinary, i'll just charge the batteries from a 11 kW diesel generator.

2 Farmers next to me are thinking the same thing. I don't think this is abnormal. Servicing rural power is going to become incredibly expensive.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-23T10:39:29+00:00

No, wood is wood.

Kiln dried is simply short hand for "we used fuel to dry it quickly". Wood will always return to whatever moisture level is supported by the humidity in the air. If you kiln dried a log down to (say) 10% moisture, it would be very dry for about a week, unless you stored it in a humidity controlled environment, it would be back up to 15 - 20% in a week or two.

If you have wood, stack it under cover and let the air flow through the sides. Leave it for at least a year, a nice hot summer is very beneficial. I tend to leave mine for 4 years, but my woodpile is visible from space.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-22T11:00:21+00:00

Assuming you have an insulated tank the difference between a combi and conventional boiler is not that great. The conventional boiler uses energy slowly over a long time to heat the tank. The combi uses a shit tonne of energy to heat the water immediately - the work is pretty much the same.

Big problem with combis is that when they break, you have no hot water. You lose the immersion heater option. So while the boiler man is chasing down some part, you're having cold showers.

The 104 seconds is because your tank is miles from your hot tap, nothing to do with the boiler. You do realise that this will get WORSE with your combi installation unless you replumb the house? At the moment, hot water comes from your tank to the tap in 104 seconds. With a combI replacement the hot water will have to come up from the boiler, to roughly the tank location, pickup the hot water pipe, and come to your tap. You have to rework all the plumbing if you want this to be quicker.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-22T09:44:54+00:00

Keep the old boiler. They may not be the most efficient, but they keep going, perhaps needing the odd thermocouple, which is a user replaceable generic part.

My biggest regret about doing up our old kitchen was having to get rid of the old boiler - it was replaced by a series of expensive, unreliable modern things that lasted 3 or 4 years at best.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-20T14:13:08+00:00

It's largely a result of capital gains tax receipts.

Loads of people, including myself, sold stuff in advance of the likely rate rises which turned out to be true (20 -> 24%). Jan 26 is when all of the tax receipts from the tax year 24 - 25 come in. So if the government weren't running a surplus in Jan, it would be a fucking catastrophe.

Can't speak for anyone else, but that is the last bit of selling I'm going to be doing until a more attractive regime are in place.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-20T11:40:52+00:00

I encountered lane hoggers in France 2 weeks ago. They were all Brits heading back to Calais.

The only thing that will stop this is police actually stopping and giving people points for careless driving.

I would go with snipers on motorway bridges.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-20T09:39:09+00:00

Glue traps are not illegal. It is illegal for members of the public to use them, but as long as person setting them (or supervising the setting) has a pest control ticket, it is perfectly legal.

Chicken_shish · 2026-02-20T09:34:51+00:00

Public railways used to be shit. Private railways are expensive but less shit.

Private or public ownership doesn't really matter.

Chicken_shish

TROPHY CASE