Energy price rises and price cap discussion.

[Dai Corner]

Which leads to the other problem of excellent insulation, namely needing to run air conditioning all night in the bedroom as an open window isn’t sufficient. In my case it’s ‘only’ cooling by ~3 degrees, 23 is my maximum comfortable sleeping temperature with minimal bedding, but that’s still constant for 6 months per year, whereas in a conventional house I would use nothing at night all year.

Where's the heat coming from? It's better to prevent that than run a/c to get rid of it.

 

[Cdd89]

Where's the heat coming from? It's better to prevent that than run a/c to get rid of it.

Solar heat gain mostly (very large windows) and extremely good heat retention, plus windows that are designed to only open 10 degrees for safety with no override option. Closing blackout blinds through the day helps a bit, but they just act as radiators since sunlight still gets through the windows themselves. Most new build tower blocks are like this, from what I understand.

Fortunately at the moment it’s still a relatively small number of total properties — and it’s definitely a “win” overall in terms of energy usage — but it’s still an ‘unnecessary’ issue and is ever growing, and I suspect governments won’t think to regulate it until 30 years’ time when widespread air conditioning becomes the new battle. IMO the onus should be put onto developers that it should always be possible for the internal temperature to equal the exterior temperature (or exterior + n degrees; whatever’s realistic).

 

[alxndr]

Which leads to the other problem of excellent insulation, namely needing to run air conditioning all night in the bedroom as an open window isn’t sufficient. In my case it’s ‘only’ cooling by ~3 degrees, 23 is my maximum comfortable sleeping temperature with minimal bedding, but that’s still constant for 6 months per year, whereas in a conventional house I would use nothing at night all year.

What direction does your bedroom face and are you dead set on leaving the curtains open all day? If your insulation is that good then the window (and the heat from the rest of your house if you leave the door open) should be the only things heating it up.

Long term shutters is something we should move towards as a country. I'd like to fit some to my future property (if the construction allows) to deal with it being south facing and increase heat retention in the winter.

 

[12C]

Regarding rental property, although not set in stone yet it is very likely there will be regulations in place soon that all new tenancies from 2025 must be EPC ‘C’ or higher, and existing tenancies achieving this by 2028. Rumours also abound that this will have to be be increased to a ‘B’ rating by 2030.

Although in theory this sounds excellent news it is causing a lot of worry for small time landlords, particularly who have tenants in Victorian terraced properties (of which there are an extremely high number of). To achieve a C rating for such a house, even from a D can run into tens of thousands to add floor and wall cavity insulation where there was none previously. It’s also not always as simple as just wrapping insulation around everything, Victorian houses were designed to allow airflow through them, and completely sealing them up with insulation can cause serious issues with damp.

Although I completely agree with the need to update old housing stock the rental sector is heading for very difficult times. Unless grants become available many private landlords will be selling up over the next few years as they will not be able to afford the costs of reaching the higher EPC ratings. This in turn will lead to a further shortage of rental properties on the market and no doubt push rents higher for those remaining.

The bottom line is that a huge amount of housing stock in the UK is no longer fit for purpose, especially if high fuel costs continue. There needs to be a serious drive to replace life expired Victorian terracing with new build housing.

 

[DelayRepay]

Not sure why you'd want to do that. You just need bedcovers thick enough for the temperature and maybe a hot water bottle. Before mass central heating bedrooms were usually totally unheated other than a small amount of warmth from the smoke going up the chimney.

A lot of people swear by electric blankets to warm the bed. They only cost pennies to run.

I have a lovely thick winter duvet and if it's really cold I'll get the summer duvet out as an extra layer. I've never left the heating running all night - I know people who do but is seems very wasteful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

The problem the UK has is that it has a very high proportion of housing that dates from the 19th century, which are hard to insulate as they do not have wall cavities to fit insulation foam and were designed to be draughty to allow smoke from fireplaces to escape.

People in the UK seem to prefer older homes as they are seen as having more character. So despite them being costly to heat they tend to still be in high demand. It may be that high energy costs mean buyers and renters become more keen on newer properties though.

When I was a young man in Sheffield, I lived in several terrace houses. If you know Sheffield you will know areas to the West of the city are full of this type of housing, which is popular with young people. Some of them were lovely and warm. I always thought it was beneficial that, unless you were at the end of the terrace, you only had two external walls so less potential for heat loss.

The problem with the houses I lived in was poor quality extensions (kitchens with flat roofs and loft conversions without insulation) which had been added later. Quite a few of my friends still live in that type of house and none of them are particularly cold or complain about excessively high bills, but they have the benefit that they've reached the stage in life where they mostly own their houses and they've invested in insulation.

All the talk of EPCs prompted me to look at my own EPC (late 1960s detached house, which has always been privately owned). When I bought it, it was rated E with potential to get to C. Since moving in, I've made some improvements and looking at the certificate I am probably D now. The remaining issue is a small downstairs extension which houses a cloakroom, with an uninsulated flat roof. It is always cold in there during winter, but I don't spend a great deal of time in the cloakroom! I imagine I loose some heat through the door from the main house to the extension - I might look at getting a thick curtain which will be cheaper than trying to have the roof insulated.

 

[duncanp]

The bottom line is that a huge amount of housing stock in the UK is no longer fit for purpose, especially if high fuel costs continue. There needs to be a serious drive to replace life expired Victorian terracing with new build housing.

This will also cost millions if not billions of pounds.

Who would pay for the cost of demolishing old housing and building new energy efficient housing.

Even if a solution to the cost issue could be found, such a program would take decades to complete.

 

[AM9]

This will also cost millions if not billions of pounds.

Which will soon be comparable with the annual cost of heating these leaky vessels.

Who would pay for the cost of demolishing old housing and building new energy efficient housing.

The houses will become unsuitable for rental so the owners will release them into the owner-occupier market, and where practicable, they will be upgraded to necessary insulation levels. Those that can't will be flattened and replaced with homes suitable for the future climate.

Even if a solution to the cost issue could be found, such a program would take decades to complete.

As compared to neverending waste of energy in much of the current housing stock. Eventually, the government of the day must bite the bullet!

 

[Bantamzen]

What we could do is change the scope of VAT. It does these days include quite a few essentials, e.g. adult clothing and shoes. And it would help the beleagured hospitality industry if it was permanently removed from that, too.

If we could refocus it as a luxuries tax, so someone living a basic life would never pay any, then even 25 or 30% would be reasonable.

On another front, many are once again "predicting a riot" as they incorrectly did over COVID measures. I doubt it.

I will confess to being very surprised just how timidly the UK took the covid measures, I felt sure that there would have been far more trouble than we saw. However this is a different ball game, we are talking about millions of people already close to, on, or even below the breadline being pushed further into poverty. And having to make those awful decisions of putting the heating on, or cooking food because they can't afford to do both. That will push some too far, and it will have serious consequences.

I wouldn't enforce them selling per se, but it would be mandatory for all new rental contracts and, after a period, existing ones.

Obviously we would start with C, and improve that further (to B then A) on suitably long published timescales.

And who do you suppose will end up paying for these measures? Congratulations, you've just made it even more expensive for ordinary folk to live.

As low as you like! Though below 5 degrees would not be prudent as it might result in burst pipes.

If you get a decent fleece hoodie and thick socks/slippers most people should be able to cope with about 18 degrees.

18 degrees is practically balmy in some parts, you ought to know being originally from 'oop North....

Seriously though, there are lots of things we can do to reduce our energy bills, including reducing the temperature that we heat our homes. However many people are already in this situation, and don't have a lot of cloth to cut. So the government is going to need to do more than simply say "use less", because those people on the line & unable to pay for their energy are going to get very angry & very desperate.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

How low can you turn your heating though?

I have had my thermostat set at 19 degrees C since moving into this new house in 2020.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

I have a lovely thick winter duvet and if it's really cold I'll get the summer duvet out as an extra layer.

I have a top of the range John Lewis branded 13.5 tog duvet for winter use and it has always done its task well.

 

[yorksrob]

It looks as though continental Europe are considering capping the price of energy at source and de-coupling electricity and gas prices - Things that need to happen:

EU faces awful winters without gas cap - minister

Calls mount for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and for it not to dictate the price of electricity.

www.bbc.co.uk

Belgium's energy minister has warned that EU countries will face five to 10 terrible winters if nothing is done to reduce natural gas prices.

Calls are mounting for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and its decoupling from the price of electricity.

EU states have been struggling with huge energy price hikes since key gas supplier Russia invaded Ukraine in February, triggering sanctions.

Countries backing Ukraine are trying to cut imports of Russian gas and oil.


Russia, which supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year, has in turn restricted supplies.


Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten wrote on Twitter that gas prices in Europe needed to be frozen urgently, adding that the link between gas and electricity prices was artificial and needed to be reformed.

"The next five to 10 winters will be terrible if we don't do anything," she said. "We must act at source, at European level, and work to freeze gas prices."

Electricity prices have also been soaring in Europe, and reached record highs this week. Gas is a major source of electricity generation.

In Germany, the year-ahead contract for electricity reached €995 (£844; $991) per megawatt hour on Friday while in France, it rose to €1,130. This represents a more than tenfold increase in both countries from last year, AFP news agency notes.

"We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets," Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.

Electricity prices must go down, he said, calling on the EU to decouple electricity and gas prices.

"We cannot let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin determine the European electricity price every day," he added.

Can the world cope without Russian gas and oil?

Germany - the largest importer of Russian gas in 2020 - has been racing to bolster its gas reserves before winter despite Russia cutting deliveries.

Its aim is to fill its gas capacity to 85% by October. It has implemented energy-saving measures to do so.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck said such measures - along with buying gas from alternative suppliers - had enabled Germany to fulfil its goal sooner than anticipated.

He estimated that the 85% target could be reached by the start of September.

The fear must be that whilst Europe reforms its energy supply, we end up left with a right wing Government just re-gurgitating 1980's era market dogma.

 

[Bantamzen]

It looks as though continental Europe are considering capping the price of energy at source and de-coupling electricity and gas prices - Things that need to happen:

EU faces awful winters without gas cap - minister

Calls mount for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and for it not to dictate the price of electricity.

www.bbc.co.uk

The fear must be that whilst Europe reforms its energy supply, we end up left with a right wing Government just re-gurgitating 1980's era market dogma.

The fear? I'm sorry to say but it will be the reality, even if Labour manage to win in 2024.

 

[yorksrob]

The fear? I'm sorry to say but it will be the reality, even if Labour manage to win in 2024.

True - one only has to look at the post covid railway "recovery".

Our political establishment couldn't even steal a good idea in front of them.

 

[Dai Corner]

Solar heat gain mostly (very large windows) and extremely good heat retention, plus windows that are designed to only open 10 degrees for safety with no override option. Closing blackout blinds through the day helps a bit, but they just act as radiators since sunlight still gets through the windows themselves. Most new build tower blocks are like this, from what I understand.

I thought it might be that. Solar gain is a mixed blessing. It reduces my heating bills significantly; I can often get away with no heating on sunny winter days if I stay in the south-facing room and keep the door shut. In the summer it's a case of closing the white blinds and windows in that room and opening the windows on the shady side of the house to let the heat out.

The problem with flats is that they generally only have windows on one side and few are orientated to optimise solar gain, which leads to high heating bills for some and cooling bills for others. Communal HVAC might be the fairest way to share the cost between occupiers?!

I'd be inclined to try lining the windows with something reflective if I was in your situation.

 

[91108]

EU faces awful winters without gas cap - minister

Calls mount for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and for it not to dictate the price of electricity.

www.bbc.co.uk

The fear must be that whilst Europe reforms its energy supply, we end up left with a right wing Government just re-gurgitating 1980's era market dogma.

That’s democracy for you. Turkeys have a habit of voting for Christmas.
The current government are like rabbits in the headlights. All we get is wait until after the leadership election. If they had an answer that also fitted with their philosophy, then Johnson, Zahawi and Co would be doing it and Johnson would be boosting his popularity with how he has helped keep prices down and protect pensioners and working people. The fact is they don’t have an answer they can stomach implementing.

 

[Dai Corner]

The fear? I'm sorry to say but it will be the reality, even if Labour manage to win in 2024.

Another group we can blame is the anti-nuclear campaigners. They were unsuccessful in France who have quite a few nuclear power stations and relative immunity from world gas prices and political risk. They were successful in Germany who are closing theirs down and buying gas from Russia and burning really crappy 'brown coal' from the eastern part of their country.

 

[philosopher]

Another group we can blame is the anti-nuclear campaigners. They were unsuccessful in France who have quite a few nuclear power stations and relative immunity from world gas prices and political risk. They were successful in Germany who are closing theirs down and buying gas from Russia and burning really crappy 'brown coal' from the eastern part of their country.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Germany’s nuclear phaseout has got to be one of the stupidest things a European government has done in the last 20 years.

 

[Bantamzen]

Another group we can blame is the anti-nuclear campaigners. They were unsuccessful in France who have quite a few nuclear power stations and relative immunity from world gas prices and political risk. They were successful in Germany who are closing theirs down and buying gas from Russia and burning really crappy 'brown coal' from the eastern part of their country.

Indeed, and speaking as one who previously believed that nuclear was bad I honestly wish I hadn't lent my voice to the anti-nuclear argument.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I thought it might be that. Solar gain is a mixed blessing. It reduces my heating bills significantly; I can often get away with no heating on sunny winter days if I stay in the south-facing room and keep the door shut. In the summer it's a case of closing the white blinds and windows in that room and opening the windows on the shady side of the house to let the heat out.

The problem with flats is that they generally only have windows on one side and few are orientated to optimise solar gain, which leads to high heating bills for some and cooling bills for others. Communal HVAC might be the fairest way to share the cost between occupiers?!

I'd be inclined to try lining the windows with something reflective if I was in your situation.

The lack of window openers is also a major problem. In hot countries without aircon, the norm is "lean and turn" windows which can open fully but inwards (for ease of cleaning). I simply would not buy a leasehold property with windows that opened only ten degrees, and if it was a house would budget for replacing them with windows with large unrestricted openers.

Regarding the bedroom I would add white backed blackout curtains and close them and the door during the day. The insulation should keep heat out just as well as in. Tinted windows may also help as you say.

 

[Yew]

You implied it, by saying that prices have to stay high. Which would be a complete disaster to lots of people.

Yes, I do. But building cars creates lots of CO2 emissions. If people didn't change their cars so often then there would be a big CO2 saving. Especially for electric cars as they produce significantly more CO2 in their production compared to traditional ICE cars

How would that increase the cost effective lifespan of a car, or change it's emissions to be ULEZ compliant?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed, and speaking as one who previously believed that nuclear was bad I honestly wish I hadn't lent my voice to the anti-nuclear argument.

Nuclear has flaws - it objectively does pose more risk of a major incident than coal, say - but it seems it is the only sensible way out of the present issue for a reliable base load, thus I support it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

I have had my thermostat set at 19 degrees C since moving into this new house in 2020.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==


I have a top of the range John Lewis branded 13.5 tog duvet for winter use and it has always done its task well.

Even if you've not got that to spend a budget one will be fine too. It may be heavier, but you're putting it on your bed, not in your rucksack and going for a hike with it. The "tog" number is the thing that matters rather than the price.

 

[Yew]

I've just seen an article on the Grauniad about small local shops needing a subsidy.

Perhaps shops could try not lighting the place up in a manner that makes a Class 800 look dingy, leaving their lights and signs on all night (motion sensors could activate them if someone breaks in so the CCTV can do its thing) and actually fit doors to their fridges and freezers, the lack of which is absolutely insane waste? Also shops should put doors back on the entrances?

With LED's modern lighting is small fry, the killer is heating.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All the talk of EPCs prompted me to look at my own EPC (late 1960s detached house, which has always been privately owned). When I bought it, it was rated E with potential to get to C. Since moving in, I've made some improvements and looking at the certificate I am probably D now. The remaining issue is a small downstairs extension which houses a cloakroom, with an uninsulated flat roof. It is always cold in there during winter, but I don't spend a great deal of time in the cloakroom! I imagine I loose some heat through the door from the main house to the extension - I might look at getting a thick curtain which will be cheaper than trying to have the roof insulated.

I have a front single skin porch which is basically a cloakroom as you, and a rear wooden one which is just a junk store. They aren't heated spaces so tend to sit at a temperature between the house and the outside, so effectively act as another layer of glazing. I see no particular need to heat or insulate them, they are a benefit in their own right, remove them and the house would be colder. The key is having a proper 44mm exterior door and double glazing between heated spaces and such things.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

With LED's modern lighting is small fry, the killer is heating.

And fridges/freezers without doors, which simply needs to be made illegal, though they will soon learn that themselves with the increased bills.

However, lighting and signs should still be off overnight, it is simply wasteful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Germany’s nuclear phaseout has got to be one of the stupidest things a European government has done in the last 20 years.

It was so insane that it makes me wonder if "die Gruenen" are in fact communists and Russian sympathisers. As I've stated I won't vote Green until their policies on this and HS2 change.

 

[yorksrob]

That’s democracy for you. Turkeys have a habit of voting for Christmas.
The current government are like rabbits in the headlights. All we get is wait until after the leadership election. If they had an answer that also fitted with their philosophy, then Johnson, Zahawi and Co would be doing it and Johnson would be boosting his popularity with how he has helped keep prices down and protect pensioners and working people. The fact is they don’t have an answer they can stomach implementing.

One would hope that other countries will come up with something that works, to the extent that it would be political suicide not to follow them.

 

[Bletchleyite]

To achieve a C rating for such a house, even from a D can run into tens of thousands to add floor and wall cavity insulation where there was none previously. It’s also not always as simple as just wrapping insulation around everything, Victorian houses were designed to allow airflow through them, and completely sealing them up with insulation can cause serious issues with damp.

Victorian houses and modern ones are not that different - construction methods have not changed that much. All houses need to be ventilated to prevent damp. Heat recovery ventilation is one option to keep air circulating without so much heat loss. It does require a bit of energy to run the fan, but it is nothing compared to the savings on heating.

Although I completely agree with the need to update old housing stock the rental sector is heading for very difficult times. Unless grants become available many private landlords will be selling up over the next few years as they will not be able to afford the costs of reaching the higher EPC ratings. This in turn will lead to a further shortage of rental properties on the market and no doubt push rents higher for those remaining.

It has long struck me as odd that we don't push for growth of larger rental housing providers to professionalise the sector a bit. In Germany for instance much rental property is "build to let" by these sorts of organisations. Perhaps we need to encourage more of this sort of market - build new (and well insulated) to rent, and get a lot of these investment houses back on the market for sale, bringing prices down? Many people who rent don't want to be renting.

The bottom line is that a huge amount of housing stock in the UK is no longer fit for purpose, especially if high fuel costs continue. There needs to be a serious drive to replace life expired Victorian terracing with new build housing.

I simply don't believe it's as much of an issue as some are saying. You CAN get a Victorian terrace to full Passivhaus, there are case studies online, and before Passivhaus there are a lot of improvements that can be done. You just have to sacrifice a bit of internal space to insulate it if it's visually attractive outside so you don't want to put it there, or if it's direct onto the street so you can't for that reason. (But plenty of them are pretty ugly or basic outside, so stick it there and render).

 

[Trainbike46]

Which leads to the other problem of excellent insulation, namely needing to run air conditioning all night in the bedroom as an open window isn’t sufficient. In my case it’s ‘only’ cooling by ~3 degrees, 23 is my maximum comfortable sleeping temperature with minimal bedding, but that’s still constant for 6 months per year, whereas in a conventional house I would use nothing at night all year.

If you need to run the AC six months a year in the UK something is very wrong. There must be some sort of heat source in or near that room

 

[Dai Corner]

It has long struck me as odd that we don't push for growth of larger rental housing providers to professionalise the sector a bit. In Germany for instance much rental property is "build to let" by these sorts of organisations. Perhaps we need to encourage more of this sort of market - build new (and well insulated) to rent, and get a lot of these investment houses back on the market for sale, bringing prices down? Many people who rent don't want to be renting.

Are there any companies in the UK whose main business is large scale (say hundreds of properties) domestic property rental? As well as professionalising the business they would facilitate long term tenancies which landlords with one or two properties are reluctant to grant in case they need to raise capital by selling.

 

[91108]

One would hope that other countries will come up with something that works, to the extent that it would be political suicide not to follow them.

It is a poor state of affairs though when our hope is another country comes up with a way to cope and we hope our government can copy them. If that is the case then I hope it happens before people freeze and/or go bankrupt.

 

[Trainbike46]

Regarding rental property, although not set in stone yet it is very likely there will be regulations in place soon that all new tenancies from 2025 must be EPC ‘C’ or higher, and existing tenancies achieving this by 2028. Rumours also abound that this will have to be be increased to a ‘B’ rating by 2030.

Great!

Although in theory this sounds excellent news it is causing a lot of worry for small time landlords, particularly who have tenants in Victorian terraced properties (of which there are an extremely high number of). To achieve a C rating for such a house, even from a D can run into tens of thousands to add floor and wall cavity insulation where there was none previously. It’s also not always as simple as just wrapping insulation around everything, Victorian houses were designed to allow airflow through them, and completely sealing them up with insulation can cause serious issues with damp.

I've lived in two 1899 terraces, and both of those had a rating of C and no issues with damp; it really isn't that hard. They usually don't even have a cavity wall, so you must confusing this at least partially with some more recent buildings.

Although I completely agree with the need to update old housing stock the rental sector is heading for very difficult times. Unless grants become available many private landlords will be selling up over the next few years as they will not be able to afford the costs of reaching the higher EPC ratings. This in turn will lead to a further shortage of rental properties on the market and no doubt push rents higher for those remaining.

Properties don't dissappear if they get removed from the rental market; instead they will probably end up in the owner-occupier market, easing that market and reducing the amount of potential tenants

The bottom line is that a huge amount of housing stock in the UK is no longer fit for purpose, especially if high fuel costs continue. There needs to be a serious drive to replace life expired Victorian terracing with new build housing.

Victorian terraces, if well maintained, can be really good houses, and upgrading them for energy efficiency is really not that hard, it just requires some thought.

 

[Lost property]

I will confess to being very surprised just how timidly the UK took the covid measures, I felt sure that there would have been far more trouble than we saw. However this is a different ball game, we are talking about millions of people already close to, on, or even below the breadline being pushed further into poverty. And having to make those awful decisions of putting the heating on, or cooking food because they can't afford to do both. That will push some too far, and it will have serious consequences.


And who do you suppose will end up paying for these measures? Congratulations, you've just made it even more expensive for ordinary folk to live.


18 degrees is practically balmy in some parts, you ought to know being originally from 'oop North....

Seriously though, there are lots of things we can do to reduce our energy bills, including reducing the temperature that we heat our homes. However many people are already in this situation, and don't have a lot of cloth to cut. So the government is going to need to do more than simply say "use less", because those people on the line & unable to pay for their energy are going to get very angry & very desperate.

This Gov't has shown, yet again, how callous and self obsessed it is collectively when it comes to putting the nations interests after their own. We've had to endure how many weeks of internecine petulance and posturing from two individuals intent on telling a very limited and unrepresentative voter demographic what they want to hear, not, what they intend to do .

These price rises have been well publicised for how many months now, hence there has been plenty of time to formulate actions which will partially reduce the damaging and life threatening costs to millions of the UK population. Tax cuts ? VAT cuts ? are merely tinkering with the issues when the only realistic answer is to fund peoples bills directly...and this funding should come collectively from both the Gov't and energy suppliers.

UK weather is predictably unpredictable as as we all know hence all it will take is, hopefully not, for a few cold snaps or, worse still, an extended period of cold / snow / ice and the result will be civil unrest...even if the weather is "kind ", next year's increases are going to further exacerbate the decline in living standards and at some point, the population will react accordingly.

I will be perfectly happy and willing to participate in any such protests

 

[Bletchleyite]

If you need to run the AC six months a year in the UK something is very wrong. There must be some sort of heat source in or near that room

To be fair for several months of the year the bedrooms of even an uninsulated house will exceed 23 degrees. Mine do for much of the summer, the brickwork retains heat like a storage heater, it took a few days to cool after those two 40 degree days.

Are there any companies in the UK whose main business is large scale (say hundreds of properties) domestic property rental? As well as professionalising the business they would facilitate long term tenancies which landlords with one or two properties are reluctant to grant in case they need to raise capital by selling.

The only large ones seem to be housing associations, though there are some smaller ones. I don't entirely get why HAs don't do more commercial build to let as well as social/"affordable", it would be profit to reinvest. Many of the German ones are basically HAs rather than commercial (they call them Stiftungen).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2022 ==

I will be perfectly happy and willing to participate in any such protests

If only Insulate Britain's protests were better designed to achieve what is actually needed, e.g. disrupting building sites rather than roads!