As I am writing this (Oct 2021) Britain (and Europe) is in the throes of an “ENERGY CRISIS”, said to be due to a disappointingly low output from our much-vaunted, and highly subsidised, wind farms – combined with a massive increase in the cost of natural gas, which most UK houses use for heating and cooking.   Electricity prices are also expected to increase by perhaps 50% next year since many power stations are gas-fired.  Heating Oil prices are spiking at the same time.

AIR-SOURCE HEAT PUMPS are now being talked-up as the great green god for home heating, but can they live up to the hype and heat your home “more efficiently” than a gas or oil boiler..?  Probably not unless your home is “well-insulated”, which probably means doing much more than double-glazing and roof insulation.   The cost of these things – at least £10,000 apparently – is way more than what most people can afford.  And, in all but the newest homes, your radiators and piping will also need to be replaced.  (which maybe explains where the £10,000+ figure comes in?). And they’re only suitable if you live in a house with an outdoor area as, although they look like air-conditioner units, they can’t just be attached to the wall – they need air-space around them.  So flats are out.  And then there’s the cost of the super-insulation which, for most existing homes, will be very expensive and probably not cost-effective.

Online commenters are frothing at the mouth with a whole range of imbecilic “solutions” such as…

• COVERING EVERY BUILDING WITH SOLAR PANELS
• WIND TURBINES LINING EVERY MOTORWAY,
• and of course the predictable “final solution” – REDUCE OUR POPULATION..!

Among the other increasingly desperate solutions being proposed is a big increase in NUCLEAR POWER, including dozens of new “small” modular reactors of about 500MW each (which is not exactly small).   Given the UK’s glacial construction times (viz. Hinckley Point, Crossrail and HS2) this will take decades.   Not to mention a horrendous cost.

Power shortages are sure to get much worse due to the much-vaunted EV “revolution” creating an enormous additional demand for electricity, since new ICE vehicles will no longer be sold from 2030.   I suspect wind and solar power is not going to be “fit for purpose” to use an “in” expression.

Nobody, just nobody, has pointed out that the long-term solution to this and all future energy crises is to find a way to USE MUCH LESS POWER – at least 50% less per capita – not just the trivial 3% which the much-hyped “smart-meters” are optimistically claimed to be able to save..!

But, because nobody seems to have a clue as to how that could even be possible, nobody is even talking about such a possibility..!

IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE THINKING AT ALL, WHY NOT THINK BIG..?   

Oasis Cities can achieve those HUGE REDUCTIONS IN POWER DEMAND…!  

Smaller smarter living spaces use less lighting, less heating and less cooling

Super-insulated apartments with only one exterior wall (back wall faces onto the atrium)

Interior atrium-facing apartments (perhaps half the total) would have no exterior walls at all..!

Waste heat from light industry, etc., in the basement (normally a huge car-park) could supply heat and hot water for homes, like the “District Heating” in some N.European countries.  Shorter piping runs will result in much less heat seepage

Much reduced requirement for exterior lighting (street and traffic lights, etc).

Residents will save energy by cooking at home less often, often eating out at inexpensive buffets, or restaurants, etc.

And, of course, no provision for private cars (EV or ICE) and no need for them except for occasional outside trips.

MORE REASONS TO BE ADDED….