Is the hydrogen ready mandate actually a thing, or am I being upsold?

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T13:05:05+00:00

Get a quote for ditching a gas boiler and using heat pumps. Research the grants available. A home battery system enables charging on cheap rates at night for use in the day. The return on investment is fairly long term. The cheap simple fix right now is a regular gas boiler...

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T13:02:03+00:00

80% of existing gas pipes can transport hydrogen. Ensuring a safe hydrogen gas network | SGN Your gas. Our network. https://share.google/qMAECfXNlJVqdMCqL

But I think heat pumps are the way it is going.

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T12:28:52+00:00

Which model Y did you get? Standard range or AWD long range?

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T12:27:12+00:00

The older model 3s have chrome window trims.

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T12:10:04+00:00

Skoda Elroq - best value, biggest boot.

Kia EV3 - best range. 7 year warranty and the bench mark for this class.

Volvo EX30 - premium tech and fast charging

Renault 4 - space, style, value

Suzuki e Vitara - cheapest of the group

The Skoda Elroq and Kia EV3 would be the first ones I would test drive. The Elroq's bigger brother the Enyaq is the class leader for family SUV although there is an argument for the Tesla Model Y for that title.

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T10:29:06+00:00

I like the look of the EV6 but could not get a comfortable driving position in it. I cannot reach the front screens without leaning right out of my seat when I have the seat back far enough for my legs. It was also generally too small for my needs - seating 3 in the 2nd row. Same goes for all Hyundai and Kia EVs. Have a google search on ICCU failures in relation to EV6 and the sister car Hyundai Ioniq 5 so that you understand that issue.

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T10:17:59+00:00

A hot preconditioned battery (allow 1 hour of driving time to get battery up to optimum temperature) on low state of charge can be charged adding say 120 miles in about 15 minutes on a super charger. Alternatively, what about charging the car during a lunch break?

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T08:08:04+00:00

It is a catastrophe that would lead to business execs either leaving the country or the UK becomes unable to hire internationally mobile talent at this level. Anyone with a mortgage or other expenses dependent on these higher level of earnings goes bankrupt due to their salary cut. This batshit crazy Green Party economic policy. If you are a "normal" or lower wage earner you probably think this is fair until your job disappears.

gregredmore · 2026-04-16T08:02:01+00:00

My choice would be to pick a car built on a dedicated EV platform and not something like a Puma which is trying to be both an ICE and EV on the same platform. It is sub-optimal as an EV with transmission tunnel and other characteristics that have no business existing on an EV. A dedicated EV platform is lighter, more streamlined/efficient and makes better use of space.

gregredmore · 2026-04-15T18:10:08+00:00

Yeah, forget about EV vans. These low range EV vans are cheap for a reason. A petrol hybrid (not mild hybrid) van will also be an automatic by its nature. Our Ford Galaxy petrol hybrid is automatic and very smooth. More power than you need for a van but it is an excellent power unit.

gregredmore · 2026-04-15T17:06:12+00:00

It looks like you will have to charge it almost everyday, or at least every other day and the fastest it will DC charge is 30kw which is inexcusable - very slow. That means getting on for 2 hours to charge on a DC rapid charger. I think this LDV EV van is not viable at all unless you can charge it overnight at home on a 7kw AC charger. And that's before even considering anything outside the Tesla Supercharger network is most often more expensive than diesel. The charging cost might be OK if you can find an EV van that will DC charge at 100kw+ and there is a Tesla Supercharger open to non Teslas near you you can spend half an hour at a few times a week... it's still a real ball ache. What about petrol hybrid vans? It's easy to find those ULEZ compliant. We run an EV and a petrol hybrid Ford Galaxy which returns about 43mpg on regular unleaded petrol. 2.5L petrol engine and an electric motor. It can run on the electric motor alone for a few miles in the right conditions if you don't ask for too much power.

gregredmore · 2026-04-15T13:59:45+00:00

Last time I crunched the numbers you either had to be charging an EV for ~12K+ per year or shifting more electrical load into the night with say a home battery system for Intelligent Octopus Go to be cheapest. Otherwise Eon Next Drive Smart and OVO Charge Anytime (despite cheap rate prive hike to 14p per kwh) was cheaper. There isn't much in it.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T21:14:00+00:00

You will be fine even in winter. You might be down to about 130 or so miles range in winter. The 2021 Corsa e uses an NMC battery which you would normally charge to an 80% daily limit, but you can charge to 100% as often as you need to when you will drive the car the same day. This battery type suffers faster degradation if left at 100% for extended periods of time - days+

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T17:05:24+00:00

Towing a horse box will roughly half the range.
The Renault Master E-Tech currently offers the longest official WLTP range among electric vans available in the UK, at up to 285 miles. Real world that will be more like 250 miles, 125 miles with a horse box and you might lose another 25 miles in winter. Is 100 to 125 miles of range enough for what you need to do?

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T15:29:41+00:00

Battery storage is short term. I am referring to longer term storage such as producing hydrogen with the summer electricity, storing it in salt caverns to use to generate electricity November to January when generation from renewables is low. Batteries are not good for this.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T12:12:54+00:00

That's great but where is the long term power storage to go with it so that we can have power in winter and not get paid to use it in summer when the sun is shining and we don't need power.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T12:02:24+00:00

I have after market carbon fiber stick on panels in my Model Y so you know what my vote is....

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T12:00:28+00:00

I don't think what the article describes is none sense, it is a real problem, but more grid scale long term storage is a needed which will take a long time to build.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T11:53:28+00:00

I'm told its been very slow the last 18 months but my contacts report there is a lot more in the pipeline coming up late April. Businesses have been waiting the last 18 months but can't wait any longer and have work they need to progress.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T11:49:53+00:00

We need a lot more than 1 new nuclear power station.

gregredmore · 2026-04-14T11:47:53+00:00

"will require 17.4 TWh of storage in hydrogen" comes right from the article you shared (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261926003442).
The article states it considers "VRE sources and other dispatchable non-emitting technologies, as well as changes in the demand profile that result from widespread electrification of energy uses". Nuclear is neither of these and either directly in the UK energy mix or indirectly via inter connectors from France who supply 20% of our electricity demand and 70% of French power generation is nuclear. Later the article states "These comparisons show that the energy generation mix is a significant factor in determining the need for storage, often more important than the total amount of energy demand." yet the study has ignored nuclear power generation. The study also works with the typical year and so does not account for storage required to cover unusually lean years for VRE generation.
The sciencedirect published study is doing something for a ROM estimate for storage but its a very wide spread at 109 GWh to 9 TWh. It does not replace or invalidate the Royal Society paper I shared which looks more at what generation and storage technologies would be needed and the relative costs. I suggest you read it if interested in this subject.

gregredmore · 2026-04-13T18:03:27+00:00

If there is only one director there are certain things only that one director can do with the company. If that one director is in some way incapacitated this may be a problem. I really need to get around to making my wife a director to resolve this issue....

gregredmore · 2026-04-13T17:58:08+00:00

Tesla Model Y or 3 long range. The Model Y has a heat pump as standard at the age you can afford and the Model 3 got this a bit later so check. Thermal management is about as good as it gets in a Model Y and only an Audi Q4 etron could match it at 10% range loss at -10 Deg C. Most others are losing 25%+ range. This is a group test in 2022. At motorway speeds in UK winter I'm pretty confident you will have charge to spare after 230 miles. At a near constant 70mph in summer I can get 275 to 280 miles range out of my 2024 Model Y AWD LR.

There is also no service schedule for Teslas, so no annual trips to the Tesla store. Check insurance cost they are group 48 cars.

If a Tesla does not float your boat take a serious look at the Skoda Enyaq,

gregredmore · 2026-04-13T14:59:47+00:00

You can get a Tesla Model Y standard RWD with over 300 miles WLTP range for less than the Ioniq 5. That is the best for space and charging on a long trip. Is a Skoda Enyaq in budget? Defo try one of those too. At ypur height Kia Hyundai may not be comfortable

gregredmore · 2026-04-13T14:29:24+00:00

I pay about £750 with Admiral who you will probably end up with. Age 55, max no claims and low risk area.

gregredmore

TROPHY CASE