Gas-Free Houses & Solar Powered Electric Car Sharing

[@fullychargedshow]

Have you seen our other recent Dutch episodes? which is your favourite? tell us below....

[@jim575757]

The new electric canal cruiser still stays my favourite episode :) Also i would have loved if this episode could have more into depth about which technology is being used. Like which water/water heatpumps, NOM (Nul op de Meter), smartgrid (the charging poles adapt charging power for example in the evening hours) and what is your bill at the end of the month.

[@CrashUK28]

Nice pipe dream but uk has 26 million gas boilers with over 1 million gas boilers installed a year vs 40k heatpump.

[@fullychargedshow]

@@CrashUK28 I agree it's a massive challenge, but early in 2022 we will be showing how we could make some real inroads into kicking gas boilers back into the 20th century where they belong. The fact that millions of new gas boilers are being installed in new build homes is a massive affront to humanity and underlines the fact that the majority of the building industry are as dumb as a bag of rocks and totally under the thumb of the gas lobby. It's the definition of pathetic.

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

@@CrashUK28 ..that weren't there a century ago. Trick is to embrace change, especially where the survivability of us and the planet is a net bonus.

[@mischadebrouwer9855]

Robert, these are houses of a million pounds and up. They're for the top 5% of our country. Our transition will only be successful when we can roll this out for the other 95% as well.

[@michalkluka6527]

Have been living in NL for 3 years now. No other country I ever visited or lived in comes even close to this level of citizen-friendly futurism.

[@s.-8406]

I’ve been living in a brand new (rented) appartment without gas for one year now here in NL. It’s not in a big city like Utrecht but here in my hometown. 28 apartments, maximum 5 year rent (it’s for starters). Every apartment has 5 solar panels. In 2021 I needed €28 worth of electricity from the network, all the other energy was created by the 5 solar panels. That’s heating, hot water, electricity, air recirculation etc. Good insulation did all the work! This really is the future.

[@christill]

It looks really nice to live in a sensible society where they try to make peoples lives better. Maybe the UK can be like that someday.

[@anttilaine9932]

In Finland, we have never used gas for heating up houses, but oil was very common until the 80's. Since then most of the houses have steadily been switching away, and currently less than 10 % are still using oil for heating. The government is also giving subsidies for replacing old oil-heating systems with electric ones. Currently most new houses are built with direct electric heating combined with air-source heat pumps designed for arctic environments, which give heat at around 200 % efficiency at -20 °C, and more than 400 % efficiency at around 0 °C. Many of the newly built single-family houses have also started to choose ground-source heat pumps, which have even better efficiency in the winter, and also larger apartment buildings have started to replace their old oil heating with ground-source heat pumps. So yes, heat pumps *do* work.

[@stephendoherty8291]

Great advert for the heat pump manufacturers. - "If it works in - 20 Finland then it'll work for you"

[@stephendoherty8291]

Do most finnish homes have a high insulation standard (higher or the same as sweden/norway?) . I recall district heating was very common in Helsinki

[@Bart_Roets]

In Brussels and Belgium, oil is 5 times cheaper as paying 0,30 €/kWh electricity for my heatpump 🤔 Sadly, there should be a tax shift away from fossil fuel.

[@matslindholm]

@@stephendoherty8291 Yes, in Sweden, Norway and Finland we probably hade higher standards. District heating is very common here in Sweden. Heat pumps are common also and people living on the countryside often use a wood pellets for heating their home.

[@Smidge204]

Worth mentioning here since it's germane to Robert's opening comments; Yesterday (15 Dec 21) the New York City council passed a new legislation that prohibits new buildings from using gas-burning appliances starting 2024 for smaller buildings and 2027 for larger ones. Initiative 2317-2021.

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

Check out the latest video from a channel called 'Climate Town', which discusses this (right at the end of the video). There have been moves at the state level to remove the power to decide these sorts of things at the city level. Unfortunately, I would put money on NYC being forced to go back on this week's decision before it's implemented - unless people get involved and petition their representatives to counter the wishes of the oil and gas lobbies.

[@matthijskok80]

We have that ruling since 2 years already in The Netherlands.

[@james.telfer]

Wow, does that mean they're restricted to 8mpg V8 toasters now 😆 Seriously though, that's amazingly forward thinking of them, compared to the rest of the country.

[@stephendoherty8291]

Amazed as plenty NYC apt blocks still use kerosene/oil.

[@TheOdizeo]

starting in 2027... well, better than 2030 i guess

[@BobQuigley]

Robert, you deserve a knighthood!! Truly appreciate your ability to stay on track.

[@diwe9984]

Utrecht, the Netherlands in many parts, is much further, almost unbelievably far, that people can already see how we in Europe could possibly live in 10 to 15 years - positively impressive!

[@garethedwards2883]

Interesting video and shows what can be done when the foresight and willingness is there. The car sharing service is just fantastic and I would love it as I hardly use my car which sits on the drive for around 90% of the time.

[@andayataman380]

fcs is the best youtube channel for me, thank you all.

[@marcoburattin3999]

What a joy! I reserved time at the end of my working day specifically to see this episode. The pleasure is easily predictable. The environmental emergency, social tensions, fuel and food shortages seem all reasonable challenges after an episode of Rob!

[@Leopold5100]

Excellent Robert and the whole FULLY CHARGED team. The wonderfull thing about your programs is that you show working examples of how to live reduced carbon towards carbon free. It was these programs that imparted the desire to go solar, install battery, remove gas appliances etc etc. And the greatest thing is that it is saving me money every single day, paid off the solar system in under 2 years. Looking now to expand the system.

[@johnogrady2024]

Love Holland.... One look at Robert's cycling style tells you he's not Dutch (hahah), but his effort is appreciated by me. Thanks for the good work, to all, at The Fully Charged Show.

[@gerry343]

Solar panels and heat pumps should be a requirement in all new build in UK. The Dutch are way ahead of us with infrastructure supporting bicycles including trains with designated cycle space.

[@_TrueDesire_]

solar panels is a luxury not many can afford. My parents had to redo the roof and including the panels ~ 8kW system ended up at €38,000.

[@GrrMeister]

*Great in the UK Summer but next to useless in the Winter - had a quote and worked out would never make economic sense !*

[@GrrMeister]

@@_TrueDesire_ Is that US $ or China $

[@gerry343]

@@_TrueDesire_ I'm talking about new houses and offices. If the panels were built into new buildings the costs would be lower than incorporating a system in an existing structure.

[@gerry343]

@@GrrMeister Sounds like you are referring to fitting solar to an older house. Built in from the outset costs would be lower and any gain in winter is still a bonus.

[@waynethefridgemanosborne8984]

Great video Robert, I was building heat pumps in butcher's shops in the 80s using there freezer motors giving them basically free hot water, I'm so glad the technology has caught up and now doing so well . Shame we have to wait till 2023 before the team comes to Australia, but looking on the Bright side the technical advances between now and then. . Keep smiling everyone

[@lingondraken]

Pretty funny seeing Brits fascinated by "No gas" homes, while it never was a thing in many places! The fact that heatpumps, something I grew up with in the last 25 years, still is a mystery to British and Americans is very... Odd. However, the car sharing stuff is quite cool, and I love the Dutch approach to friendly cities.

[@eaaeeeea]

I can absolutely vouch for these car sharing platforms. My student apartment building has one BEV parked outside. You can rent, lock and unlock the car via an easy to use app. 1 hour = 8 € and 24h = 50 €, so quite affordable for the occasional car user! There are almost always times available for renting within the same day. I can absolutely postpone or even completely omit a car purchase when an easy and affordable EV option like that is available. The car being an EV is also key, because charging at the parking spot is way more convenient than filling up the car with fuel.

[@suchdevelopments]

, you and Fully Charged Show team have GREAT and FANTASTIC XMas and 2022. I will see you in Sydney March 2023, Fully Charge LIVE in Sydney

[@stevenhampton2436]

Thank you for another, informative show... Can't wait to see you in OZ March 2023... :)

[@anyuone]

This is great but they have an amazing public transport system, we have an appalling public transport system. Unless we sort out the one, I’m afraid that the other is sadly a pipe dream. Great video Robert, as always.

[@HYN_Media]

Hi Robert. I know it's not really your brand, but I would love you to do some episode on insulation. It's not "fully charged", but is the most effective way of reducing GHG emissions in the home. Particularly interested in finding out how we can update the insulation in all different types of homes/residence in the UK. Thanks :)

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I am so glad that the NL people are thinking like this. But only Norway, NL and maybe Scotland have made any efforts. There are many countries where this is a tree hugger folly and they aggressively fight any change. The Swiss are right up there with this stubbornness. Great video, and hats off to Utrecht.

[@trsfc1595]

Car sharing That's a good idea in the current COVID crisis

[@peacekeepermoe]

Great concepts and well done NL. Sadly, real estate developers and car rental companies in the UK will take another 10, 20, 30 years to catch up, most probably.

[@BobQuigley]

When enough citizens TELL developers what they're willing to pay for the money flows. Citizens of NL are also regular blokes yet they are accomplishing what must be done

[@Leopold5100]

and over 50 years here in Melbourne Australia

[@markanthony3275]

What do you think of Boris Johnson's gov't announcing that in the future they will ban ALL personal vehicles...both ICE and electric?

[@1one2two3threetwoone]

@@markanthony3275 where did you hear this?

[@NickFoster]

@@markanthony3275 I think you've just made that up unless you have a source for that. A minister recently said we should make shared mobility the norm, but that's not the same thing.

[@seangiblin6992]

Great video as always, but it would be great to have more numbers - typical price per house (or price/m2) - typical cost per km for car sharing - average reduction in energy bill per household. These numbers should be available and would flesh out the report.

[@IDann1]

That’s what I would want too, numbers

[@marcio_de_oliveira]

Exactly, with no numbers every thing is relative, yeah pump heating works but for some reason we keep having brand new houses in UK with gas boiler installed, price means all and most of the people cannot afford heat pumps at the moment I think… 🤨

[@abrahamgalvez7091]

Absolutely brilliant.

[@StonedLlama52]

Very cool episode! Not having a car in London is quite common, things like Zipcar works really well. They just need to be electric cars!

[@kaydesign]

This subject is very inspiring 💫

[@ericvet8b]

👏👏👏 Utrecht!! Why, oh why many more cities/countries/governments are not doing this/pushing for this already!! So heart breaking when I keep seeing massive new housing estates being build everywhere in UK still in the same way as 30 years ago! (Yes, with more insulating, but that’s it!!, and all with gas boilers, no PV, etc…) 🤬🤬😩😩

[@killuazoldyck1352]

The UK building industry hates change, building control and planning hate change too, The way we build here in the UK is the same way we have for hundreds of years. I feel your frustration as i feel it too, there are better ways to build with better materials that are better for the environment. Solar on all new roofs is so obvious, yet the government won't push it. Sadly the UK is way behind in many aspects and always has been, as a young electrician i got to work in France for a few years, it opened my eyes to how behind the UK electrical regulations were, and how stuck in their ways the industry was. It is the same acroos all aspects of UK building.

[@johnmay3266]

Thanks

[@jericoba]

Go, Utrecht!!

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Fantastic city solutions - great video documentary

[@alancapes5644]

Outstanding!

[@davidsoulsby1102]

It's like living in an industrial estate....and wait till someone spills something in the car or leaves McDs rubbish under the seats. We have also seen these "modern ways of living" areas before, 1960s, lots of "community" spaces, Byker Wall, Killingworth and Blakelaw are just 3 I know of. 2 of them flattened and the 3rd severely modified but still not a place you walk around at night. We are humans with all our faults, we are not ant's, who each have a job and mindlessly do it. You will also note the heat exchange technology is via ground pipes not air exchange, its a massive difference to efficiency and costs.

[@MrFgraham74]

I think it's well known that heat pumps work, the issue (at least in UK) is the highly prohibitive retro fit cost along with ability to have space or suitable ground for the amount of pipes required. New build is fine but retro fitting is a real problem and many people can't afford it vs existing utilities.

[@gudfarfar]

We need more cities like Utrecht. Most people really don't use their car very often and when you live in a city where there are plentiful options to get from A to B, quick and cheap is much better than being stuck in traffic all day. When you actually need a car, there are always one an app click away for you to enjoy, and when you are done you no longer need to pay for it. You just put it in a designated car park and connect a charger to it, if the power is under a certain limit, and the car service will take care of it's maintenance and cleaning. If you break something or hit something, the insurance will cover it, but my guess is that you have to pay a little extra for the next lease?

[@ecoworrier]

4:29 I was getting Fred Dibnah vibes there Robert. You just need a flat cap...🤣

[@TheOdizeo]

This is simply brilliant. I live in Melbourne Australia, supposedly one of the 10 most liveable cities in the world but we are getting nowhere compared to Utrecht. They are trying to get rid of the bicycle lanes around the city center and if you want to drive an electric car you are charged with an extra tax...

[@MarekLumi]

Thank you so much for doing this series!

[@MJamilHoque]

Yes. I am impressed.

[@rclarkebeckett603]

Not a single person cares that you are

[@MJamilHoque]

@@rclarkebeckett603 more importantly, you should think before responding!

[@anthonymills9534]

Inspirational, I wish there was similar minded innovators, with the financial backing to do this in Auckland

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Great video thanks for another great video

[@joules531]

What I’d like to see in the show notes is an idea of cost. This development might be very affordable, or completely unaffordable for a family on a budget. How much is the rent on these houses? How much do these electric cars cost to rent? Etc, etc. Great video series as always, but please start talking about costs, so that people can more easily see whether these types of schemes are economically viable, when compared to, for instance, a small second hand petrol car. Many thanks.

[@melodysouljahrootsdubpress5539]

With the average wage in the UK the lowest of Europe (and the longest hours worked) I'm sure nobody can afford to go green. So we'll be stuck with burning lovely CLEAN coal. Yay!!!! 👎🤮

[@jeremylister89]

At LEAST £50,000 per UK household for house improvements ( if possible) heat pump (😂), one EV. Extra £10-15k for solar + battery. 25 million houses use gas. Extra 4 million houses don't use gas. It's a s**tload of money. More than £1000000000000 (12 zeros). And that is just the UK. Good luck doing this.

[@ivobrick7401]

Prices for Slovakia / Central EU. 6 kw unit cost 12 240 E + burns up to 9kW electricity per hour => that means you need to be able to fuel it in winter with solar panels up to 30 kWP + batteries, cost is about 30 000 E or more This small heat pump unit is NOT enough for old houses, that means you need to swap all doors and windows, atleast, which is another extra 3000 E. I do not count cost of work and two wells you need to dig. Luckily we have other options, more or less green.

[@jeremylister89]

@@ivobrick7401 I was quoted £27,000 for off grid hyundai system. The price and the 1 year guarantee on the inverter made my decision really easy. An instant NO CHANCE!

[@robbrookes4889]

@@jeremylister89 You are quoting way over top. My solar plus battery was £7500 fitted. 14 solar panels , around 22sq metres 5KWH battery provides around 3 to 4000kwh per year. .12 year guarantee. Expected life of panels more than 25 years. Depends on EV. Used 4 year old Nissan leaf with 80 to 100miles range around £8000. New MG5 estate with around 250 mile range around £24000, But agree it is expensive. It will come down though and spread over many generations, as it should be, is low compared the cost both financially and to our environment from pollution and climate change. If you can afford it do it if you cant do your best imo.

[@garethnoble11]

Oi! Robert! You're out of order! Its outrageous! If you like Holland so much maybe you should go and live there .... (as I have done).

[@theallsopteam7943]

Looks good 👍🏻

[@victorsvoice7978]

Car sharing makes sense in large cities, where parking is limited.

[@joeblack4026]

Yep it does, I'm using two car sharing services already and I have to say I'm glad I gave it a try.

[@i.k.8868]

It works fine in medium-sized cities too. The quality train connections and bike network mean that often times you just don't need a car in the Netherlands. Car parking usually isn't really an issue in the Netherlands... Most cities use a high parking norm of more than 1.5 parking spaces per home, even those that are heavily bike-oriented. Sure, it isn't always possible to find a parking spot free right in front of your home, but only in some historic neighborhoods it can be difficult to find a spot in your street (and urban streets in the Netherlands are typically not that long). Parking is not the main reason people in Dutch cities turn to car sharing, as typically a shared car is parked further from home than where you could find a parking spot. Even in crowded neighborhoods where there is toll parking, as a resident you can either get one parking permit for free, or for a very low price, like 100 euro per year...

[@mikadavies660]

Nice for all of us in the UK to know just how far we are behind Europe.... But it will do nothing to change the UK whilst we still have a two party system. Where one party does its best to win points off the other or un-do everything that has been done by the opposing party.

[@freggo6604]

same here in the USA :-(

[@andymccabe6712]

Soo...you're in favour of a dictatorship/one party state then...?! Something along the lines of China, Russia etc....? Not sure you've thought this one through.........! How old are you?!

[@freggo6604]

@@andymccabe6712 Did it ever occur to you that there is another option... MORE than 2 parties ?

[@craigknight2764]

@@andymccabe6712 the majority of European countries have coalition governments with more than one party making up the government. Quite the opposite of single party rule.

[@EP-bb1rm]

It's not a 2 party system in Wales or Scotland.

[@asdreww]

High density housing, right next to a railway line, with token solar on the roof that will supply 10% of the electricity costs for the hest pump at best over winter, sharing cars with your neighbours ... It honestly sounds like some Soviet era hell.

[@rclarkebeckett603]

You'll own nothing and you'll be happy.

[@AnnoyingRash]

I'm here after visiting Amsterdam 23 where We ride solar was mentioned

[@156615]

what a beautiful smile

[@VegBazzoBoys]

Great video

[@mardiffv.8775]

Yes, the Netherlands is going electric. The new kabinet/ administration of Rutte 4 has announced to build 2 new nuclear power plants and to keep the existing nuclear powerplant Borsselo open to 2030. In Zeewolde a mega FBdata centre will be build, needing only 114 windmills to produce that high amount of power.

[@markchristoffersen9543]

Love it

[@briankavanagh7191]

Robert, with his Arkwright coat (open all hours) "GeGeGranville" 🤣. What a forward thinking city.

[@mortenmarcherhansen804]

Have been living in a house in Denmark for 15 years With a ground heat pump. And it simply works. No noise, no worries. And very cheap to run. Really recommend it. Do give it a thought if you have the opportunity to choose your next heating system. Price is around 950 pounds yearly for heating a 170 sq meter home.

[@Burtis89]

£20,000+ installation cost and house retrofitting costing more on top putting people off more than its ability to work sadly. Personally if I purchased a house there is no way in hell I would ever be able to afford a heat pump 😥 unless I could get some mad cheap finance option

[@mortenmarcherhansen804]

@@Burtis89 it’s not cheap, that’s right. In all fairness the Price here is 13.500 pounds. And the interest rate is zero in dk for green investments in your house. But the cheap heating does come with a cost.

[@christopherhume8896]

@@Burtis89 Houses on my street in Northern Ireland are £70,000. Even if a heat pump is only £12,000 if you even sold the house it would be for a massive loss because you could never add that on to the sale price. Even putting it on a new build could just price people out of the market unless it's properly subsidised.

[@Burtis89]

@@christopherhume8896 nice and cheap that houses here in Southampton are 270k+

[@jfv65]

@@Burtis89 if you are buying/building a new house look at it from the standpoint of investing. You will get the return, it's a no brainer. Also, if you ever want or need to sell the house which house do you think would sell at a premium? A house heated with increasingly expensive fossil fuels? Or a house heated using a heatpump? Borrowing is cheap these days, you could incorporate it into a mortgage.

[@moony2703]

Solid roofs and car parks of solar panels with no dead space between them brings me so much joy.

[@stephendoherty8291]

The best advert for Utrecht is growing house demand and more business moving or setting up there. Thats what drives other cities to copy or be left behind

[@ehabyoussef3303]

God bless Utrecht

[@daarmc5205]

Great episodes, I am in Ireland, we are so far behind. If only every house had 10 panels and a battery. Average household spends 2,500 euro a year on fuel and electricity

[@kevindruce8915]

It would be great to have some suggestions of what can be done to older houses with what the payback period is. I personally already have solar panels which are proving to be very effective.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Oh, an episode I have missed! Utrecht is a nice town but I don't recommend driving in it, I came out of it a different route ever time... this was pre-GPS-in-every-car...

[@slash196]

App-based car sharing is so much better than owning a car it's silly. There are even cool things you can do that would be impossible with a car you owned, like drive to a bar and take the subway back home. Or if you get stuck in traffic, you can literally just dump the car somewhere and walk to another car on a clear street, as happened to me when I got stuck in (ironically) a climate protest.

[@scottmacmillan3042]

I’ll do just that…. With both kids/car seats and doggo.

[@_TrueDesire_]

what a hippie logic 😂 why don’t just take a taxi if you feel the need to get drunk? ask a friend for a lift for much cheaper than car sharing. i want to own my own car for traveling and carry my own luggage when i want and however i want in a car i bought or leased to my own specification, for my own needs and hard earned money.

[@benjimc1]

I spend between 2 and 6 hrs a day in my car with work commutes and other commitments. Car sharing would never work for me. Just about got my head around going electric with the 30k/yr mileage I do.

[@GdaySport]

Wish this was common in the UK.

[@156615]

I don't understand why underground heating is not so common . there is heat just 5 to 6 Feet below. its great for Heat Pumps. Drive the Pumps through solar and its a good combination.

[@roland9367]

It is very costly. It works great though. But if you are only using 5 or 6 feet, then you need surface, so your whole garden has to go and made new again, if your garden is even big enough. Deep drills just go in one or two spots, but are of course also not cheap. I converted our house of 2013 (well insulated) from gas to heat pump, and ground was not an option. Way to expensive and most likely not allowed to make the drill in our small garden. In the end we installed an air source heat pump which only costs a few thousand Euro (only 5kW), and it was running quite efficiently. It runs mostly at a COP of 5, and yes when it is really cold (-5 or -10 C) the COP goes down to around 3, but it still works fine. So, most of the days it runs as efficient as a ground source heat pump, and for the remaining days that it doesnt, the huge price difference is not worth it.

[@156615]

@@roland9367 thank you Ronald

[@roland9367]

@@156615 Of course for newly built houses it is easier to integrate it. And it can be useful on big old houses where the energy use is so high that the difference in efficience outweighs the added cost.

[@nabeelmajeed4815]

For seeing that it has a Cadillac escalade ESV Electric like the 2020

[@danielmadar9938]

Amazing. To watch, and to weep... I'm involved in setting parameters for sustainable neighborhoods in Israel, and can only dream on what is already reality in Utrecht...

[@andymcvean9631]

This is great...if only our government would embrace this system.

[@melodysouljahrootsdubpress5539]

Highly unlikely.

[@EleanorPeterson]

Oh. I see. It's like that, eh, Fully Charged? Never mind. I'll get my coat. Toodles.😁

[@newbeginnings8566]

Ground source heat pumps are very nice.. Air-air ground source heat pumps are generally useless below 7 deg C... All homes that can use heat pumps must be super insulated with a high quality air humidy evecuation system.. Air-Air heat pumps on old housing stock that is badly insulated (98% of UK housing) will not work.. Travel by public transport in a tiny country that is flat is quite easy.. Hence the Netherlands works fine..

[@Maxpowersisi]

Nice

[@m.1546]

I know it's fully charged about 50% of people in Glasgow don't have cars so it's not that hard to image a world in which car clubs are the norm

[@CurtisDensmore1]

Thank you for saying "ground source heating" instead of the erroneous "geothermal".

[@markd17]

Utrecht Netherlands Population 1.3m Temperature typically varies 0.6c to 23c

[@EugeneLambert]

Brilliant concept, and after watching this episode I'm convinced. What it needs is a HALO development in the UK, to get the ball rolling. Milton Keynes? Dundee?

[@rededwards3479]

Dude....You have to GET VIDEO of the NIO ET5 and bring it to us!

[@SailPink]

I so sorry I worked for housing association one of many 2010 low carbon pilots Hempcrete and lime breathable walls super insulated did not need any heat but has Misubishi ecotech heat pumps providing underflor heating and hot water. The power used was offset by solar PV. Piled foundations used far less concrete than deep trench. No need to travel to Europe to see examples

[@jasongooden917]

The worst thing ever is no parking where you live or visiting people with no parking

[@wernerrietveld]

Oh, I thought is was hunger, war or polio. Thankfully I can aways park my bike at anybody I visit. I hope you can too.

[@AleksandarStefanovic]

But... these houses have parking garages, half of the video talks about how there are parking spaces for people with private vehicles.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

You should realise this street is practically in the city center.

[@sambale9527]

Good 👍🏾

[@dennisharvey4499]

Anyone else noticed the last two links are the wrong way around?

[@stopscammingman]

Large scale move away from gas boilers; fantastic.

[@bernardmills4575]

Car sharing always seems like a great idea. A bit like the idea that we should cycle everywhere to improve our lives. That scheme will probably work well in places like Holland were many people live in apartment blocks and they can afford the rental. It will depend upon a number of factors. Cost to rent the car. availability of cars when needed. No point assuming you can use a car to do a regular trip like school run if everyone thinks the same and there is not enough cars. How far away is the car from your house. flexible terms on rental so you can rent for very short trips. also can you book them? but i expect the cost to usage ratio will put people off. But i hope it works for a portion of all car usage as it will improve road density and reduce pollution. As always well done to the Dutch.

[@paulgiles5989]

The big difference is things like the school run are not usually a car journey in NL. Their cycling infrastructure is safe enough that children can cycle to school. We are so far behind most of Europe transport wise that schemes like this would be difficult I agree. Unfortunately in the UK we build our cities for car dependency whereas the Dutch don’t. We have an awful lot to learn.

[@bernardmills4575]

@@paulgiles5989 I love the Dutch and many aspects of their modern lifestyles. However city life in apartment blocks is not for me. I much prefer my own detached space with green space around it and even though i love cycling i would not be without my car.

[@rclarkebeckett603]

Car sharing, another way of pricing poor people off the road. Why have a cheap old car you can keep for years and do basic maintenance on yourself if it needs it when you can pay a monthly fee to these companies instead. Can't afford it one month because you"ve had your hours cut? Tough no transportation for you.

[@mdc4runner]

I wonder if the people in this city like e-bikes or think they are snobby. Everyone looks so fit!

[@BlondieSuperdog]

Hey Wim; of course that depends on the mix of sources in a given local; world wide wind and solar account for less than 8% of all power. While spots like Texas or California, or south australia and denmark as examples that have a higher percentage, world wide solar and wind are not even keepining up with increased demand for energy; in other words it is a shrinking percentage of all energy used. If everyone had an EV electricity demand would skyrocket far far beyond the current rate of increase in even the most intensive wind and solar developments. It is plausible but only if the rate of introduction increases by a immediately by a factor of 10x assuming one wants to achieve say 50% wind and solar by 2032.

[@wimahlers]

[] ... It is plausible but only if the rate of introduction increases by a immediately by a factor of 10x assuming one wants to achieve say 50% wind and solar by 2032. It already did. With costs going down by a similar factor. And it seems this trend will continue. Of course, at the same time we need to be and get more energy efficient. Like, but not limited to, heat pumps, insulation, passive cooling, reuse and recycling, food production, packaging and consumption, heat pumps, more energy efficient consumables (stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, electronics), etc.

[@lmlm2094]

122 house and 78 car spaces in the car park. Absolutely 0 chance of having that in the UK. They must have an excellent public transport.

[@Bertuzz84]

Plus you can easily ride your (e) bike everywhere. Bikes are used more compared to public transportation.

[@rclarkebeckett603]

@@Bertuzz84 ebike perfect when you need to get to your 5am start cleaning job in the middle of winter

[@jno5]

The car sharing is a great idea, however if you’re disabled and you have to have an adapted car, than car sharing won’t work.Even if they had one with hand controls, if that’s in use (or off the road) your knackard…

[@Simon-dm8zv]

I am sure there will always be a few parking spots available for special cases like these.

[@rompdude]

With the prices of electricity in the UK, I would not want to have to rely on electronic heating, gas is about 1/5 of the price and my bills are far too much already! Until the prices go down, its not feasible I'm my option, at least in colder countries.

[@killuazoldyck1352]

The cost of heating is most affected by how well insulated your home is. But most people don't bother to fix their homes up with better insulation and just pay the extra cost of heating. Air source heat pumps work out cheaper to run long term than gas, there is also a grant from the government to help people change over to air source heat pumps. So you have options, you could change over to electric, but you have to want to change and not keep hiding behind excuses.

[@rompdude]

@@killuazoldyck1352 oh that is interesting re the heat pumps, I'll have a look into that. Whilst it is an excuse regardless, my bills are around 1500pa, so moving to a more expensive option is not an easy pill to swallow. Regardless of how frugal I may or may not be with usage.

[@gavjlewis]

They might be 10 years ahead. But our housing stock is 100 years behind. It's all easy when you start a city from scratch, but we haven't built anything new (city wise) since Milton Keynes 50 years ago. So while electric cars are definitely on the up, and heat pumps should be fitted to new housing we need to be making existing emissions greener. We have added more green ethenol to petrol. We should be adding (or plan to add) hydrogen to the natural gas supply. Heat pumps are just not an option for many homes (both practically and cost) so making the fuel they use as green as possible makes sense. Most modern gas boilers can run a 20% blend today. So move legislation so they can run higher blends and overtime add more to the blend. Then eventually you have removed natural gas from the network.

[@Vinladen7531]

Unfortunately hydrogen will always be too expensive, if you electrolyze water to produce hydrogen you might get 35% of the energy stored in the hydrogen that you put in, a heat pump will give you around 300% of the energy you put in. That's before you get to the infrastructure problems with hydrogen corroding gas pipes and the network would leak like a sieve without expensive upgrades. Besides everyone has an electricity supply. Heat pumps really are a no brained over hydrogen heating.

[@cybergornstartrooper2157]

Running hydrogen has its own set of problems which is why it’s struggling to take off in the automotive space. The best way by far to create hydrogen is from fossil fuels which puts you back to square one.

[@cybergornstartrooper2157]

@@Vinladen7531 300% sounds great until you realise that electricity is more than %300 the cost of gas which equates to bigger heating bills. That’s before we take into account the huge cost to install these systems especially if your going ground source. Air source is slightly cheaper but KZbin is full of Air source horror stories.

[@wernerrietveld]

The Dutch housing stock will be about as old as the British one, having had similar demographic and historic developments in the last decades. And for each type of house different solutions are suitable. The really old, impossible to properly insulate houses will probably need some kind of biogas. Cities and neighbourhoods which are somewhat dense and have industrial activity nearby can be fitted with district heating, where excess heat from factories, servers, sewage plants and whatnot is used to heat homes. Houses with a bit of land can often use ground heat, and if all else fails, you can go all electric. Offcourse, whereever possible the first, second and third step are insulate, insulate and insulate. It for sure will cost some investment per house, and if almost every house needs something, it does ad up quickly. Especially since not only the housing stock needs to be transformed, the transportation systems, industry and agriculture need big changes as well.

[@gavjlewis]

@@Vinladen7531 But adding hydrogen to the gas mix has requires no input from the end user. The blend can be dynamic based on space green generation capacity. The cost of this is taken by all customers of the gas network. By just ignoring the problem you force poverty on the poor. In a £60k 2up 2down you are not going to put in a £10k heat pump. These people will end up with panel heaters with a COP of 1. Even using a heat pump which has a COP of 3 many of these houses will require additional heating in the coldest months.

[@missingtale]

I have a question about car sharing schemes, if you have kids they legally have to be in a car seat in a car. How does that work? Is there a rack of car seats somewhere in the multistorey car park or do you have to collect the car, drive home, fit the seat, go out, go home, remove seat & have space to store it, return car, walk home? Car seats are not really designed to swapped easily either and not all seats fit in all cars. I want to know someone has a solution to this problem

[@JackieWelles]

Car sharing is great although it has to be more affordable. Often you still pay a premium for using car sharing especially if you are student it may not be the best option. Still I’m excited what car sharing becomes over the coming years.

[@TomUlcak]

Someone should have a channel dedicated to Utrecht. Or maybe Fully Charged could have a dedicated correspondent like they have in China. I think it is organic to your channel to look at the complete electrification. Please do it.

[@gavjlewis]

I don't really think a dedicated correspondent is required. A yearly trip on the train (about 4 hours from London) is all that's required. China is different. There is almost daily news about electric cars from China. It's also quite far away to report on. Finally when you put "Journalist" on your visa application your are in for a long ride! 😂

[@vannicrider7953]

So sad that our government wouldn't dream of looking to Europe for inspiration on how to design cities like this.

[@reubenwilkinson845]

If you mean the UK, I felt the same . We’re so backwards , turning out back on EU , on their wish to push into the future whilst we talk about spitfires , nostalgia and no foreigners, depressing . Especially since I feel the UK has a lot of talent just dire corrupt leaders

[@BlondieSuperdog]

This is a perfect time for people to massively carpool in Europe. Not only would this reduce the shortages of fuel; but you'd cut CO2 in half over night; reduce traffic, save people money; and Time - in my area of Seattle such action would save people a hour a day sitting on their ass in their cars. Of course no one does this because the sort that might think it a good idea need Daddy government to do everything - they cant manage it all by their little selves.

[@justinstephenson9360]

Gas free houses are nice but these are all new builds. Far more exciting is the ability to cheaply retrofit existing homes to eliminate gas usage. Last stats I saw had 82-85% of all homes having gas central heating and that barely 25% of homes in the UK are less than 30 years old - over 20% of homes are over 100 years old. Unless retrofitting is easier and cheaper we will only get to a point of elimination of all gas central heated homes in about 100 years time.

[@bimblinghill]

I install heat pumps as retrofit. Installing one in a house >100 years old can bting challenges, but it's nowhere near as difficult as people make out.

[@inz92]

As a Swede I think it’s kinda weird you still burn gas for heat in the UK. When I was a kid in the early 00s everyone was getting rid of their oil boilers and replacing them with heat pumps or district heating because it was just WAY to expensive to heat your house with oil. Like 4000 euro a year expensive. It’s a straightforward thing as long as you have a boiler that is connected to the radiators with water pipes.

[@justinstephenson9360]

@@bimblinghill That would be a great video for this channel - retrofitting a series of typical UK houses: Victorian mid terrace house, late 1920s- early 1930s house (say a semi detached) and a nice concrete 1960s terraced house (which I live in!). Just to show the challenges and the opportunities with some real timescales and costs highlighted and a follow up showing how well they operated, the noise or lack thereof and what the neighbours thought about it a few months in

[@justinstephenson9360]

@@inz92 UK house builders are incredibly conservative in how they build, partly because UK buyers and UK banks who finance the house purchases are equally conservative. Given a choice they would never remove gas central heating until at least 10 and probably 20 years after it had become a more expensive option than using electricity for heating

[@inz92]

@@justinstephenson9360 So a heat pump is cheaper? Would be interesting to know what the annual cost to run a heat pump vs gas boiler is in the UK. Do you know?

[@Yanquetino]

I commented in Patreon.

[@accesser]

Would love to see this in Australia South East Queensland is growing fast,& they want to build bigger and bigger Highway roads , I'd love to see this attempted

[@ADudesRotary]

Come to Adelaide we often generate more solar power than we need and sell it to Victoria

[@micheals1992]

Hate that they're forcing the UK down this path, electric heating in the UK is ridiculously expensive. The price of electric needs to come down here. Currently at 20p/kWh. Just got a quote from British gas, 15p/kWh for off-peak and 40p/Kwh for peak rates :O. Think I'd rather stick with 20p/kWh 24h/day

[@killuazoldyck1352]

Apparently the UK government thinks heat pumps work too! In October 2021 the UK government announced a Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help householders changing from a gas boiler to a heat pump (air source or ground source). The £450 million scheme will run for 3 years and offers a payment of £5,000 per home towards installing a new heat pump.

[@peterwundersitz3715]

if you damage it; what happens?

[@Alan_UK]

Shows what can be done with integrated thinking and planning, but I wonder if the UK is ready for this more community orientated approach. For example, in Poundbury, Dorchester cars are banned from parking in the streets (the streets are narrow and the houses have no front gardens or side space) but many householders still park there and the parking areas behind the houses are half empty. Another example is multi-storey parking (MSP). MSP have a poor reputation in the UK. They are often frequented by vandals, drug dealers, graffiti yobs, gangs, vagrants. Even in the daytime they can be intimidating places. And shared heating system are not liked in the UK; as when they breakdown they can be out of action for weeks - people don't feel in control any more. Thankfully there are some trial schemes in the UK but not all are successful (e.g. BedZED). We need to learn from examples like these in the Netherlands.

[@trispretty]

How much money would I need (lottery win etc) to build a small area with this tech, to prove it works?

[@jfv65]

Borrowing is still cheap. Incorporate it into your mortgage? This modern energy tech adds to the value of the house.

[@trispretty]

@@jfv65 ok. Does anyone have an answer to my question though? I'm after a spread sheet answer. Facts of& figures, not life plan etc. Cheers though :)